Afoot and Afield: Portland/Vancouver. Douglas Lorain
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but obvious trail goes sharply down the embankment on the southeast side of the pull-out, descends four quick switchbacks, and then skirts the edge of a clear-cut. Once reentering forest, the path settles into a pattern of ups and downs that will continue for the remainder of the hike and add significantly to the total elevation gain of the trip. The abundantly green vegetation is the usual mix of western hemlock and Douglas fir draped with mosses and ferns. Although the trail stays well above cascading North Siouxon Creek, you can always hear this rollicking stream in the canyon on the right.
At 1.6 miles, just as the trail reaches creek level, you cross a good-sized but unnamed side creek. In early spring this crossing can be a bit intimidating, so look for a log just downstream. After the creek crossing, the trail makes a couple of uphill switchbacks and then descends near the base of an old clear-cut before resuming its up-and-down pattern. At 3 miles you make a sometimes tricky crossing of another good-sized side creek, this time in the middle of a steep, sliding cascade that doesn’t quite merit the title “waterfall.”
Black Hole Falls, North Siouxon Creek
More uneventful but attractive forest hiking takes you to 4.5 miles, where you turn right onto a spur trail signed BLACK HOLE. This path switchbacks downhill for 0.2 mile to the base of Black Hole Falls, easily the scenic highlight of the trip. Thundering over a basalt cliff and filling a terrific (but cold) swimming hole at its base, this 55-foot waterfall is an impressive sight. In the spring, when the water is high, the spray from the falls fills the rocky amphitheater here providing constant moisture for the mosses and ferns that cling to the rock face. Expect to see dippers, chunky little gray birds that live along mountain streams, feeding in the creek and tending a nest behind the falls. This waterfall is an ideal lunch spot. Unfortunately, there is no adequate campsite in the area, so hikers must make this a day trip.
TRIP 2 Huffman Peak Loop
| Distance | 14.5 miles, Loop | |
| Elevation Gain | 3000 feet | |
| Hiking Time | 7 to 8 hours | |
| Optional Map | Green Trails Lookout Mountain | |
| Usually Open | May to October | |
| Best Time | Mid-June | |
| Trail Use | Dogs OK (but ford may be dangerous), horseback riding | |
| Agency | Mt. St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, Gifford Pinchot National Forest | |
| Difficulty | Difficult |
HIGHLIGHTS So you’ve come to the Siouxon Creek area and you feel that the Siouxon Creek Trail (Trip 3), while beautiful, just doesn’t provide enough exercise. Well, there’s another worthy option here for athletic hikers looking to pump up that heart rate. The climb to Huffman Peak will satisfy the cardiovascular needs of the most avid hiker and has the added benefit of providing a first-rate view of Mt. St. Helens.
By making a loop out of the trip and returning on the Siouxon Creek Trail, you won’t even miss the waterfalls and forests that are the area’s main attraction. In addition to strong lungs and thighs, this hike requires an unusual piece of equipment—a pair of wading shoes. You’ll need them to make the bridgeless lower crossing of Siouxon Creek.
DIRECTIONS Begin by driving to Battleground, either by going north on State Highway 503 from Interstate 205, or by going east on State Highway 502 from Exit 9 off Interstate 5. From the intersection of the two state highways in the middle of Battleground, proceed north on Highway 503 for 16.8 miles, and turn right on N.E. Healy Road just after you pass the Mt. St. Helens National Volcanic Monument headquarters.
After 9.2 miles on N.E. Healey Road, bear left at a poorly signed junction and travel on single-lane, paved Forest Road 57. Drive another 1.3 miles, and then turn sharply left on often unsigned Forest Road 5701. Follow this rough, paved road for 3.7 miles to its end at a trailhead parking lot.
The trail departs near a large signboard about 100 yards west of the parking area. You hike just 50 feet and turn left (west) at a signed junction. For the next couple of miles you follow an easy trail that parallels the road, staying some distance below it in a lovely western-hemlock forest. Along the way you splash across three small side creeks that won’t even get the tops of your boots wet, but which provide enough water to satisfy an array of riparian plants like devil’s club and maidenhair fern.
After 1.9 miles the trail splits, and you go right on a path that winds steadily downhill for 0.2 mile to a good camp beside a ford of Siouxon Creek. This is where you need to break out the wading shoes. The stream is about 30 feet wide and calf- to thigh-deep, depending on the season. The ford isn’t particularly dangerous, but until late summer you can expect it to be chilly.
Pick up the trail above a little gravel bar on the opposite bank and quickly climb away from the water. The trail uses several short switchbacks and a couple of fairly steep traverses to reach the rounded crest of a forested ridge.
This forest is a good example of the succession process that takes place at low elevations of the western Cascades. The high canopy of the forest is made up of tall Douglas firs, while beneath this canopy grow shade-tolerant western hemlocks. If this forest manages to avoid logging or fires for the next couple centuries, the firs will die and the hemlocks will take over as the climax species. But since you don’t have time to wait for this process to take place, pick up your pack and push on northeast up the ridge.
For almost a mile the going is very easy as you stay level or gradually climb in a dense forest, and then the uphill grade picks up a little as you climb near the southern edge of the rim. Along the way you often come to open areas where you have to push through thickets of Oregon grape and salal, but which give you frequent views over the deep, green depths of the Siouxon Creek drainage. The trail gets steeper as it works away from the rim and traverses the heavily wooded north side of the ridge. This steeper grade lasts for almost 1 mile before you level off and contour across the ridge’s south side. As you go higher, wildflowers become more common, especially lupine, beargrass, bunchberry, and white anemone. When the uphill finally ends, the trail curves to the left and crosses a partly forested slope with lots of huckleberries and good views east to Huffman Peak, and then you come to a saddle and a junction with the North Siouxon Trail.
If you are up for a cross-country scramble, take the time to visit the top of Huffman Peak from this saddle. The climb initially goes through forests and then up an open rocky slope. The way is often steep and requires some rock scrambling, but it is not dangerous. The reward for this effort comes in the form of extensive views from the rocky summit. Several roads and clear-cuts spoil things a little, but the fine views of massive Mt. Rainier, truncated Mt. St. Helens, and bulky Mt. Adams more than make up for it.
View of Mt. St. Helens from Huffman Peak
After returning to the main trail at the saddle, you turn east and traverse the steep slopes on the shady north side of Huffman Peak. The trail goes through the saddle east of