A Million Pictures of the Same Thing: Mt. Margaret Hike via Norway Pass Trailhead

 Mt. St. Helens from Clearwater Viewpoint.

The original question was, did I know of any good hikes that would showcase fall foliage…

…which makes it hard to understand how I arrived at the Norway Pass trailhead, a landscape that intermittently looks as if it has been decorated by nuclear explosions.

The first part of the trail ascended the shadowed side of a ridge that provided just enough cover to keep huckleberries cool to the taste. 

Boundary Trail #1 dances on the ridges surrounding Mt. St. Helens’ northern blast perimeter.

Some patches of scrubby vegetation are sensitive to the season and erupt in fire-like reds and yellows.

Unexpected landscapes evoke the sensual: Lush grass meadows of the Alps, fresh goat’s milk, and Heidi’s sweet-smelling bed in her grandfather’s hayloft.

Warm fingers of light dry my sweaty brow, and confronted with such beauty, I dare to search the heavens for some promise that the god of deluges will not destroy with fire again…but no bow appears.

A cloud materializes from the lake…a spirit.

With the passing of the sun, the sky’s mood darkens, but in an act of autumn grace, remains benign.