As I climb up the ridge followed by Trail 216D, the views get more spectacular. This is looking across the Pumice Plain below the Mt. St. Helens Crater. At the top of the extremely colorful ridge in the upper right (one of the most spectacular sights in the National Monument) is the Johnson Ridge Observatory, which is reached by the fastest car route into the Monument (two hours from Portland; to my destination in the monument, driving time was 3 hours of torturous twisting and turning).