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Lava Canyon Trail - Lower Section

© Copyright 2018, Jess Stryker.  CC-BY-4.0 License.
Model release granted by Julie Stryker.
Lower Lava Canyon Trail near Mt St Helens.  Section of Lava Canyon trail below the swinging bridge.  Gifford Pinchot National Forest, Washington, USA.

This is my wife Julie crossing a section of trail below the swinging bridge where a spring comes out of the side of the mountain. There is a cable to hang onto when crossing. Just outside the picture on the right it drops 100' over a cliff! The rock is extremely slippery, we would not have crossed it without that cable! The Lava Canyon Trail is in 3 sections, the upper loop is paved and accessible,  the middle loop is wide and graded and features a swinging bridge that some people will not want to cross (still worth hiking to.)  This is the lower section below the swinging bridge, which is suitable only for advanced hikers.  The lower section is very narrow, no railings, with long drops into the river torrent below.