Revisiting favorite places #43: It will be next year before we can visit Johnston Ridge again due to the road being washed out in heavy Spring rains. This view from Johston Ridge is about 4000 feet above the Toutle River Valley below. It's a great place to see how the north face and much of the top of Mt. St. Helens blew out in 1980. It's almost impossible to get a sense of scale, but the little green specks are tall conifers.