Butte Camp Trail No.238A
The ride starts at Red Rock pass
on the Toutle trail #238. At about 1-1/4 miles from Red Rock pass
the Butte Camp trail #238A diverges from the main trail#238 and heads more northerly.
The ride to this point has been a
moderate grade that I enjoyed very much.
The pitch in the incline increases
and the ride becomes more technical. The path is mostly hard packed with lots of
lava outcroppings and roots crossing the trail. I take the climb in little
sections, my goal is to ride and not hike. In the steeper sections I ride with
my weight balanced between keeping the front tire on the ground and keeping
enough weight on the rear tire so that I do not lose my grip. I watch the trail
intently; picking my way around and through the outcroppings, lose rubble, and
roots. Looking for the next place where the grade is a little less and I can
take a short break to catch my breath and lower my heart rate. In reality there
are only a few sections between the cutoff and the butte camp area that are that
steep. Most of the time I just have to slow my pace to a crawl to maintain a
consistent heart rate. For me the whole ride is in 1st and 1st gear. I don’t
believe I was able to shift up until I hit butte camp. There were at least 4
trees down across the path between the cut off and the butte camp area.
Upon arriving at the butte camp area, there is a large rock outcropping next to the
trail. The jumble of rocks that form the outcropping covered in moss and packed
together with ash, overlook a small valley. The outcropping stands way above the
tops of the trees in the valley below, Mt St Helens and the ridge that makes up
the southeastern flank are visible to the northeast. This is clearly an
area that is visited by every hiker to pass by.
On the return to the trail it continues on through a small
tree and meadow area, the path itself raised a few inches above the surrounding
landscape. After a short stretch where I was able to shift up to my normal range
of gears, the trail starts to climb again.
After making a switchback the grade
increases and my pace slows back down to what it was before. The trail
switchbacks up the hillside through tall, large timber. Alternating between hard
pack and lose rock. The rock that makes up a lot of the trail is small, coarse
and gravelly in nature, hard to ride through. I take to walking my bike in many
of these sections. The slope of the hillside is quite extreme, which makes me
cautious. I only ride in a few sections since a slight mistake would put me on a
skid down through the trees. I have fallen down hill before, and I don’t want to
go that route again. There are three switchbacks before the trail turns to the
north.
At this point the trail narrows up even more. I dismount and after a few
feet, find there is not enough width to the trail for me to even walk my bike,
so I have to carry it. The trail breaks free from the timber here and crosses a
rockslide. It is very narrow and I find my self, forcing my focus to the trail
because to look up makes my knees weak. The route pass off of the slide and onto a cliff.
A few feet down
the trail, and it comes right out onto the cliff edge. The view is
awe-inspiring.The ridges and valleys
stretched out before me fading into a blue haze. As I look off to my right, I can
see the trail crossing over the slide area, a thin line across the slope.
Turning back to the north I get back on my bike and start riding on the hard
packed trail.
The area has changed into an alpine terrain. The trees here are
stunted. The ground packed ash and lava rock. The kind of trail I like to ride,
although there are not many I don’t like to ride. Mt St Helens barren and brown
takes up the horizon, visible through the small trees that make up my
surroundings. A ¼ mile further along the trail and the trees disappear. The area
is a brown meadow as the trail winds up onto a small lava ridge. Above the tree
line now, I can look back over the trees at the butte I just circumvented and
the valleys beyond.
Just a short distance further and this trail intersects with
the Loowit trail 216. I take a look at my map, thinking about the possibility of
looping around onto trail 240. I am not excited about the prospect of crossing
back over that slide area. I soon come to the realization that the energy I have
expended on the climb from 3,124 feet to my location now at 4,794 feet has taken
its toll. Adding another 6 to 8 miles onto my trip is probably not the best
idea, besides I only brought enough water for the planed excursion and my bottle
is close to empty. After a short break, looking over the breathtaking views I
decide to head back down the trail.
Great ride back to the cliff. The trail has
plenty of slope and other then a few peddle strokes here and there I am coasting
and breaking all the way back. As I approach the cliff, through the trees, I can
feel my pulse starting to increase.
I took a few pictures, then picking up
my bike, and started the transverse back across the slide. About half way across, I
stopped on a small wide spot. The spot had a small dead tree on the down slop
side of me, and I was able to put my bike down. I had to kneel for a moment and
focus on my racing heart. After I felt back under control, I again picked up my
bike and continued on across. I could hear voices far off.
After making the
crossing, I rounded the shoulder of the butte and the trail widened back out. A
short way down the trail and I hopped back on my bike, to scooter a long the
trail. Both my hands on the breaks and one foot pushing off on the hillside,
like you would if you were riding a scooter. I did that in sections where I felt
a little unsure of my self, and planted both feet on the bike whenever the trail
felt firm enough. I always have a tendency on a narrow trail that has a steep
side slope to steer too much toward the uphill side. I think it is only natural,
but I have to keep focused on the trail and keeping my bike in the center,
because when you ride too high on the trail, you only make the bike unstable.
I can here voices down below me,
closer now. The trail breaks into a small meadow
area as it reaches the first switchback on the way down. When I re-enter the
forest, I can see a party of people hiking up the trail. Since trail etiquette dictates
the hiker has the right of way, and I can use a short break, I stop in the first wide spot to let them
pass. There are 9 or 10 people in the party, and one dog. We exchange
pleasantries as they pass, then I continue on down the trail.
A couple of more
switchbacks and I am back to the butte camp area. I have to say that I didn’t
care much for the ride in that ½ to ¾ mile, but it has to be done to enjoy the
rest of the ride. From here on the trail is moderately steep, with lots of
challenges.
Like up on the top, the trail is a lot of fun for me. Areas of lose rock and
rubble, then stretches of lava rocks sticking up in the trail, making stair
steps down the trail, with lots of roots. Bumping down through each section,
making swift smooth runs along the edge of the trail as it winds its way down
through the woods. Careful to keep the right amount of pressure on both breaks
and extra careful not to clamp down too hard on the front break as I bounce down
over root and rock. Stopping only long enough to dismount and lift my bike over
downed trees, I reach the main Toutle trail in about 15 to 20 minutes.
Another
15 to 20 minutes and I am back to the lava field. Walking my bike across the
sections of lose sharp lava, and riding as soon as I get to the filled in areas.
The total ride was right at 8 miles, with about a half a mile of carrying my
bike. There were a lot of hikers this day, in total I came across 18 hikers, one
party of 10, another of 5 then a couple and a single hiker.
