America 2015 - part 6

I was 9 years old and I remember it, an explosion thousands of times more powerful than the Hiroshima bomb.

Mt St Helens' eruption is a fascinating story. They say it is the most destructive volcanic event in the history of the US - at least until one of its brothers and sisters blows up.

I remember everything coated in fine white powder. Ash landed across the entire nation. I collected a cup full which I discovered in my parents' attic on this trip.

I had visited St Helens with my grandparents in the 90s and was shocked when I saw the effects.  All the trees were lying down parallel to each other, all greenery gone.

10 years ago it was blowing ash up again, and I was to go Orienteering with Baasha up there. I packed a face mask for myself, and remember the horses being very disturbed in camp.

This time, I was amazed to see that it has still not fully recovered.

Weyerhauser, who owns the forests around it, lost a lot, has worked hard to salvage their investments, but there isn't much they can do in the "tree removal zone" - this is the zone closest to the crater, where all life, including all soil, was blasted away completely. Then there is the "tree down zone" where trees were pushed flat.  7,000 elk died, and 57 people. The survivors tell a fascinating tale; I watched their videos on YouTube before our visit.

The thing that gets me is, for 2 months the volcano grew by 6 feet per day, because the magma was pressing upwards into a dome, and people still died. Including the unfortunate Mr Truman who refused to leave, "If the mountain goes, I go"  - with his poor cats.

The volcanologist Johnston's body was never found, because he stayed at his post sending measurements to Vancouver, who had the seismic data.

8:32 AM: earthquake, searing hot explosion 15 miles high full of lightning, then the largest recorded landslide in history, spilling the entire side of the mountain into the Toutle river and blocking the Columbia.

It's definitely worth a trip to the Johnston observation point, and visitor centers.


This was our first view of Mt St Helens from the neverending highway off I5. At this point the clouds have left the crater so it was the only time we had a view of the opposite side.



At a gas station was this odd vehicle getting its tires pumped up by a bearded guy. A woman was seated inside. They pulled out and drove off. Wow. In America, anything goes.



The crater is on the far left, and the messed up river is in the foreground. The mudflows have had 35 years, but are still visible.




I tried to zoom in on the mudflow area.




On the way up the pass, Weyerhauser posts signs about which species of trees they've replanted. These are Noble Firs, they say, and we were surprised because they look like computer generated images of firs. Or a stereogram. Do you see it?




This photo shows the blast zone, with trees lying down, as well as the new growth. What I didn't know when I took the photo: it looks like a herd of elk, or something, in the upper right corner, making dust.





The blast zone contrasts here with the not-blast zone, trees protected by being on the opposite side of the hills.




Flat vs. standing. I was in awe that we could still observe this effect, after 35 years.



Americans and their amusing signs.




Looking into the crater....


The "tongue" coming out of it...




The tribute to those who died, and doesn't it look like the mountain is smoking in this photo, from the dense clouds?



Lahar.....



Close up lahar...




These trees were not taken down by beavers.






What is that? A steam vent which threatens, "I'm not done yet."



In the visitor's center, a comparison.



Afterwards on the way back to I5, we cached  a beautiful swampland, with Ospreys flying overhead.



Then we found ourselves in Oregon, at Becky Bean's house. She invited us to stay the night, and we were grateful because we wanted to cache Portland the next day.

We had a variety of salsas and lime/cuke chips as appetizers, and I observed how she makes enchiladas. I paid close attention despite the horseplay going on between my husband and one of her kids. Well, he was laughing the whole time...


Next: More at Becky Bean's