Saddle Mountain

In early August Sue and I hiked Saddle Mountain. It's a very steep lump of lava near the coast with two peaks separated by a saddle. On a clear day you can see both Mt. Saint Helens and the ocean, but today there were clouds both West and North even though it was completely clear where we hiked.

The left peak of Saddle Mountain, as seen from the trailhead.
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The right peak of Saddle Mountain, as seen from the trailhead.
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The trail started in this alder woods.
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Sue at the start.
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A view from midway up the mountain.
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There were lots of rocky crags sticking out of the mountain.
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On the way up there were lots of strange flowers that grew out of the rocks.
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Here's another picture of the strange rock flowers, this time from a patch that wasn't fully in bloom so you can see the plants underneath.
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To keep the trail from washing away (and to improve footing) there was chickenwire laid on the trail in parts. This was in the saddle between the two peaks.
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The second (Northern) peak. You can see the trail to the top if you look carefully.
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The Northern peak, with Sue and I.
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The parking lot, as seen from the saddle.
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More rocky crags.
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A shoulder coming off of the peak. You can see the clearcuts down below and a person sitting on the shoulder (she was reading a book).
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On a clear day, we would be able to see the Pacific from here, but there were some clouds over the coast.
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Between the shoulder and the actual peak there was a huge chasm. You can see people standing on the left side of it here.
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Sue taking a drink in front of some rocks as we go back down the mountain.
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We're almost back to the bottom of the trail here.
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It didn't come out so well in the picture, but this rock was really amazing the way that it was completely covered in moss on one side.
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Back

The left peak of Saddle Mountain, as seen from the trailhead. (Medium) (Large)	The right peak of Saddle Mountain, as seen from the trailhead. (Medium) (Large)	The trail started in this alder woods. (Medium) (Large)	Sue at the start. (Medium) (Large)
A view from midway up the mountain. (Medium) (Large)	There were lots of rocky crags sticking out of the mountain. (Medium) (Large)	On the way up there were lots of strange flowers that grew out of the rocks. (Medium) (Large)	Here's another picture of the strange rock flowers, this time from a patch that wasn't fully in bloom so you can see the plants underneath. (Medium) (Large)
To keep the trail from washing away (and to improve footing) there was chickenwire laid on the trail in parts. This was in the saddle between the two peaks. (Medium) (Large)	The second (Northern) peak. You can see the trail to the top if you look carefully. (Medium) (Large)	The Northern peak, with Sue and I. (Medium) (Large)	The parking lot, as seen from the saddle. (Medium) (Large)
More rocky crags. (Medium) (Large)	A shoulder coming off of the peak. You can see the clearcuts down below and a person sitting on the shoulder (she was reading a book). (Medium) (Large)	On a clear day, we would be able to see the Pacific from here, but there were some clouds over the coast. (Medium) (Large)	Between the shoulder and the actual peak there was a huge chasm. You can see people standing on the left side of it here. (Medium) (Large)
Sue taking a drink in front of some rocks as we go back down the mountain. (Medium) (Large)	We're almost back to the bottom of the trail here. (Medium) (Large)	It didn't come out so well in the picture, but this rock was really amazing the way that it was completely covered in moss on one side. (Medium) (Large)