May 2 - snow and mountain goats at Mount St. Helens

Snow and mountain goats on a ride in May? Anything is possible when you are on a bike! Today I felt like putting some miles on and going north. So I met up with a few friends at Latus and headed up to Washington to meet Grant Myers in North Bonneville. Grant led us on a spectacular ride here, there, and everywhere before landing at Mount Saint Helens.

From North Bonneville we headed east on highway 14 and then north on Wind River Highway to Carson. The section from Carson to the McClellan Overlook along Curly Creek road was phenomenal. Cold, crisp air, thick green trees, vistas of snow-capped mountain peaks, and all kinds of tight twists and turns was just the dose of wind therapy I wanted today.

From the overlook we got some great pictures of the east side of Mount Saint Helens before heading to Cougar and then Amboy for lunch at Nicks. While at lunch I convinced Grant to take the long way home – heading north on I-5 and then east on highway 504 to the Johnston Observatory at Mount Saint Helens. I think that section of highway 504 is one of my new favorite stretches of road. I love the way you can swoop around curve after glorious curve without shifting below fifth gear. The road is in great condition and the curves are wide enough that you can enjoy one spectacular snow peak after another.

The Observatory was surrounded by snow and not yet open to visitors. But we were able to take in an almost 360-degree view of the mountain range and also see quite a few mountain goats on the slopes of Mount St. Helens. I didn’t know this before, but apparently, mountain goats came back to St. Helens in the early 2000’s and are flourishing there now. What a day!