9.5 hr
Overview
If you are a hiker in good shape, this hike will tear you apart. All you'll be able to say is, "I can't take it much longer!" However, if you are a hiker in excellent shape, who has hiked Mount Defiance the hard way, you may have so much fun you'll barely realize how sore you are hiking this mountain. These directions follow the Monitor Ridge route when the road to the Climber's Bivouac Trailhead is clear. Other routes include the Dryer Glacier ascent (see the Mount Saint Helens via Butte Camp Hike ) and the Monitor Ridge rim via the Worm Flows route, done in winter via June Lake . Much of the year, the Monitor Ridge route is crowded with the maximum 100 hikers allowed per day. Seek more solitude on week days early or late in the season. Try to avoid foul weather as one of the main reasons for doing this ascent is to get a view into the crater and see the living, breathing, smoking maw of an active volcano.
Trail Stats
15.4 km
1422 m
2524 m
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Photos
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