[stevefromdodge]

My son Micah and I took advantage of the good weather on Sunday for a trip to Johnston Ridge. We started at the visitor's center and took in the view from there:

A couple of views at the memorial:

Then we headed east on the Boundary Trail. The flowers are in full bloom here and it's hard to decide whether to look up or down.

Micah's a pretty creative photographer in his own right, for a nine year old.

I thought I'd try the same shot:

Soon, the trail veers across a cliff-like ridge. The trail is safe enough, but carelessness would be really ugly.

At the end of this ridge, there's a great viewpoint of St Helens:

and Spirit Lake and Mt Adams.

Then trail starts slabbing north from here and soon enters a sandy wash. The broken sign is at the Truman Trail junction.

The trail skirts the east side of Harry's Ridge. There more moisture here and a lot more plantlife. Huckleberries will soon be the dominant plant here. I saw a few salmonberry plants and a lot of avalanche lilies.

We turned around just passed the Harry's Ridge Trail junction. Micah enjoyed the ancient snow and the view to the east was magnificent.

Looking south over Harry's Ridge at St Helens

Grabbed a few more shots on the way home from various pullouts and viewpoints.

7.3 miles of hiking, maybe 1000 feet in elevation gain