October, 2020
This was my last full day here, my last opportunity on this trip to see inside this crater. I was up early-ish and did all my morning chores, then jumped in the big white truck and started the long drive up to the mountain, my third drive during this camping trip up to the mountain.
Third time’s a charm, right? If that’s true, then today the weather and the clouds should clear enough that I will be able to see inside the mountain, inside the crater, right? I sure hoped so!
Rather than keep you waiting, I’ll just say it right up front … the third time is definitely a charm! Today the clouds cleared! I have some terrific photos of the inside of that mountain volcano crater. Here’s just one photo (below), taken while I’m standing at Johnston Ridge Observatory and looking south, right into the north-facing crater of this volcano …
Isn’t that stunning? Look at that huge lava dome that’s building, in the middle of the crater.
Ok, let’s go back to earlier this morning. Let me take you along for the day. I promise, more photos of the crater and its new lava dome will be coming below. No worries … no eruptions happened today. 🙂
Let’s get up the road to this mountain!
Ah, first view of the mountain from the road, mostly fluffy white clouds. I kept going but I was ready for disappointment.
I stopped along the road to get some photos of the Toutle River (pronounced “tootle”), with its new route and its new bottom land (new as of 1980, that is, when the volcano erupted and changed the path of this river).
There’s a stump in the middle of the photo above. I estimated it was 2-3 feet in diameter. The closeup photo below shows a little more detail. That tree was ripped right off the base/stump during the blast or shortly thereafter, looks like it was ripped apart too, as a gazillion tons of ash and pumice and dirt came barreling down the hill.
All the rivers hereabouts are still full of the ash and pumice and dirt from the explosion. There is no clear water here. Some of the lakes are miraculously enjoying the return of fish, without any of the fish being “planted” there. There is still great speculation as to how/why the fish have returned to those lakes. The rivers are still full of silt and dirt and ash even 41 years later.
Ok, back in the truck and on up the road.
Here (below) was my next view of the mountain. Fewer clouds! I like that!
Here’s a closeup below. I’m looking at the western side of the mountain so I can’t see into the crater yet, but it’s looking promising.
Just as I snapped the photo above while I was standing next to the road, I could hear that logging truck, and feel the vibration of it, roaring around the corner coming directly at me. I put my camera down and looked up. I waved at the driver … he waved back. No problems. 🙂
The photo below shows what a whole lot of the road up to the mountain looks like, with its millions of acres of new trees planted by Weyerhaeuser after the 1980 eruption. In the first few years after the eruption, 18 million seedlings were planted … all by hand. Types of trees were chosen and planted in specific areas based on terrain, elevation, water availability, etc … Western Red Cedar, Grand Fir, Hemlock, Douglas Fir, Red Alder, and Noble Fir.
Around another bend in the road, this was my next view of the mountain below. The clouds are lifting. I’m still looking at the west side of the mountain, but I’m seeing more and more of it as the clouds lift.
Finally, after that long drive, I arrived at Johnston Ridge Observatory. I parked the big white truck and followed the sidewalk around a couple of turns … the final turn brought me to this view (below) … the volcano and the crater, in perfect view.
Here’s a view below of the entrance to the Observatory gift shop, etc, but who cares about that when the mountain is out in full force?!
I walked directly to the edge of the observation platform and just stood there for a long time. Keep in mind that 1/3 of the volume of the mountain is gone … the top HALF of the height of the mountain is gone.
Even Little Towhee was mesmerized (above). Usually she cheeps and chippers about something, but she was completely silent here. As was I.
The photo above shows the top of the new lava dome, with its three steam/lava outlets. There’s a three-peak outlet on the left, then the highest outlet in the middle of the photo, then another outlet on the right side of the photo. The outlets continue to steam and gas, and continue to produce lava that builds the dome. One of these days … one of these days … no one knows when … this volcano will erupt again.
Photos below show some of the land right in front of the volcano, to the north of the volcano. The hills on the left were there before, but all of the lower flat land is new, blown out from the mountain from the eruption, and the new land goes on for many, many miles more to the north.
There’s a lake, or part of a lake, in the photo above … it’s Spirit Lake … the NEW Spirit Lake. Because of the massive amount of ash and pumice and dirt and debris blown out of the mountain, the old Spirit Lake was filled completely. The bottom of this new Spirit Lake is higher, higher than the TOP of the old Spirit Lake. The lake has risen by about 200 feet such that the bottom of this new lake is actually higher than the TOP of the old lake. And this new lake, even 41 years later, still has millions of huge tree trunks floating in it, trees that were smashed and torn and blown onto the water during the eruption. Those trees aren’t rotting, even after 41 years. If you use Google Earth and go to Spirit Lake in Washington, you’ll find this lake to the north of Mount St. Helens, and you’ll see a grey area in the northeastern part of the lake … that’s not grey dirt … that’s millions of huge dead trees still floating there, so blasted full of pumice and ash that they aren’t rotting.
Info from the internet says … the volcanic eruption blocked the outlet of new, larger Spirit Lake. The rising water in the new lake threatened to breach the new natural ash/dirt dam at the outlet and cause catastrophic flooding downstream, even more than was already happening, even more damage than wiping out roads and farms and bridges and closing Interstate Highway 5 (52 miles downriver). In November 1982, the US Army Corps of Engineers finished construction of a huge pumping system and pumped 80,700 gallons of water out of the new Spirit Lake, then pumped it across the landslide/dam, and into the new Toutle River channel, rapidly enlarging the Toutle River, but in effect reducing the chance of catastrophic damage had the landslide/dam burst. That 80,700 gallons was NOT pumped just one time, it was not pumped once a month, or even every week, or every day … not even every hour … they pumped more than 80,000 gallons of water out of the new Spirit Lake every minute in order to save all of us who lived downstream. Three years later (three years!) they stopped pumping because the US ACE had completed a tunnel which now automatically diverts water from the new lake.
In my three days here, but especially this third day, I was stunned and amazed by the earth and its power. And yet I’m also amazed and so thankful for what some humans did, and are still doing, to reduce the risk of catastrophic damage to the rest of us.
This was a spectacular day for me. I wish my friends had been here with me. But, if they had been, then I wouldn’t have been alone. Maybe when one looks directly into even just a portion of the full power of the earth, one needs to be alone.
They say there are 1,500 volcanoes around the world … but only 500 have erupted in the entire recorded history of humankind. I saw Mount St. Helens blow in 1980, although I was south of her when she blew in 1980. She blew towards the north, as she has the last 3 or 4 times that she has erupted. So when I saw her erupt in 1980, I was sort of “behind” her, behind the eruption. But today, I stood right in front of her, and looked into a crater that will likely erupt again and, when it does, it will likely erupt directly towards where I stood today.
As mentioned, I stood there a long time, just looking and thinking and feeling and wondering. In the end, I sincerely wished her my very best.
What great information you come up with on every trip. And wonderful pictures!
I,too,was here when The Mountain blew. To the north. Some people heard it. I didn’t, although I remember seeing the huge mushroom cloud of smoke and ash. Also the stories of the people who were caught in it, some because they were stubborn and didn’t heed the warnings and some because they were working. I remember the pictures of the river washing out everything in it’s path and of the terrible devastation that you describe. Fortunately for us the prevailing winds carried most of the ash to the east and we only got a light coat of it. I think you got more than we did.
Thank you for the very interesting trip and the great photos!
You’re welcome. Thank you for sharing your experience when St. Helens blew. It was quite the experience, wasn’t it! Something we’ll never forget.
I was in Ellensburg in eastern Washington when the mountain blew. I didn’t see it at first, but we all HEARD it. Man what a roar. Yes, the wind blew a lot of the ash and dirt and smoke east at first, then a day or two later everything already in the air and everything still coming out of the mountain got blown to the south towards Oregon. In fact, within a few hours of the blast, we couldn’t see the smoke coming at us because it was already so thick in the air. It covered everything! People were told not to drive their cars because the pumice would be taken into the engine air system and destroy the engine. Our homes were filthy, our food was filthy and tasted horrible, but we lived through it and can now tell the tale. Yes, the way Ann tells the story is excellent, and the photos are great!
I’d forgotten the “don’t drive your car!” warnings, but they were all over the news in Oregon too. And there were lots of engine replacement/rebuilds done over the next six months or so for cars that were driven in spite of the warnings. If you HAD to drive a vehicle, you were told to change the engine oil and the air filter at least once a week, because of the pumice in the air. Great stories, thanks Nevada.
I am absolutely stunned by all of this, how I feel just looking at the photos and reading about this. How powerful it must be to actually stand there in front of that volcano. Or maybe how small and vulnerable you’d feel standing there. For sure it is on my list to go see if I’m ever in the area.
Oh, small and vulnerable indeed. I found that I wasn’t breathing at times, the thought of that mountain blowing up right in front of me was so powerful. As well, standing at Johnston Ridge Observatory, you had to turn your head to see from the eastern edge of the mountain to the western edge of the mountain, you couldn’t just move your eyes like you can when looking at these photos. The mountain is huge! Yes, David, do come see it.
How impressive! What a great way for me to learn stuff. Thanks Ann.
You are welcome! 🙂
Looking online I’m finding a number of videos about the eruption, but I gotta say none are as good as the descriptions here. It’s on my list to go see. We hear so much about Yellowstone and Yosemite and others … why don’t we hear about Mount St. Helens? It’s a world-renowned site! Thanks Ann. 🙂
I’ve wondered why there isn’t a bigger deal made about Mt. St. Helens too. I suppose one reason is because there isn’t a monstrous campground up there. But each of the three days I was up there, there were hardly any other people at the overlook sites and/or on the road. It’s a fascinating place, maybe the only volcano you can look into without being physically up on the mountain, that lots of people drive right by without having a clue that it’s there. Yep, come see her.
I think Little Towhee is so cute and so wise. Have you written that book about her yet Ann? 🙂
Ah, I have not, Ruby. It’s on my list. Little Towhee keeps me so busy with our adventures. She wants to see everything. She wants to go go go! 🙂
Wow. I didn’t know anything about this. I’ve spent the last three hours online reading various websites about this volcano and watching a few videos. I always thought you had to go to Hawaii to see volcanoes. This was great, thank you.
You’re welcome, Joe. I grew up here and I didn’t have a clue until I was well into adulthood about the volcanic properties of Mt. St. Helens (and Mount Rainier and several others here). It’s the “ring of fire” around the Pacific Ocean that we are part of … volcanoes all around the ring in many countries. I was just lucky to be in the right place at the right time to see this one erupt.
I’m really impressed that you go and do all these things whether you’re with other people or not. Someone else here mentioned that recently. I’m thinking about buying some kind of RV but I don’t know what I want yet. I’ve read your early posts about how you decided and that helps a lot. But what also helps and really puts a bug in my ear and a fire under my butt is blog posts like this one that show so many wonderful places to go and spectacular things to see. I gotta get out there! Thank you! 🙂
Oh, Emily, I encourage you to go find your RV, whatever type it turns out to be … and it might even change during the first year or two. Watch videos, read books and magazines, watch blogs :-), talk to people who own the type of rig that you might be interested in. I’d suggest you stay away from dealerships, places that sell RVs, since the salespeople there may not always have your best interests in mind, and the salespeople may not even have any RVing experience. I like what you say about so many wonderful places to go and spectacular things to see … that’s the point of it all. You can change rigs down the road if you want to, but at least you’ll be out there and seeing those spectacular things even if the first rig isn’t exactly perfect. I’m glad you’re here, Emily … welcome!
We’ve driven right by the turnoff to Mt. St. Helens, I can’t tell you how many times driving up and down I-5. The next time we’re down in that neck of the woods, we’ll STOP, and go see that volcano. The Silver Lake Resort sounds wonderful as a place to stay in the shoulder season. Your photos of the lake are gorgeous.
Yes, it’s a great place to stay in the shoulder season, or in the winter though sometimes the road up to the mountain might be closed in winter. I’d bet summers at this resort/campground are pretty crowded and noisy with lots of kids and dogs and people having a good time.
Silver Lake is so pretty. There is a fancier campground up the road at the far eastern end of the lake but it has no view of the mountain. I liked it right where I was. 🙂
Oh, the suspense was killing me, if you would be able to see into the crater, after such effort.
And what a thrill to read that you had. Your photos of the snow-capped “peak” and all that glorious detail are stunning.
Sometimes, and often alone, we are lucky enough to come across a sight that takes our breath away, and thank you so much for describing it so, so well.
Thank you for the wonderful words, Robin. And yes, to everything else you said. 🙂
Hey, Ann. Saw your post in LC and had to look you up. Sounds like you’re having fun with your truck and trailer since you retired.
I was in San Francisco when Mt St Helens blew in 1980. I was driving the Green Tortoise bus north into the pumice cloud of ash, fearful that it was going to ruin the Detroit 6-71 diesel engine on that trip. Don’t know if it did any damage but I do remember the Joan of Arc on-a-horse statue with a mask on her face in the roundabout at NE Glisan and 39th Ave (Now Caesar Chavez Blvd). I thought the few people wearing masks was laughable but it was no joke. Portland streets and rooftops were drifting in the ash of St Helens and it affected those with asthma and COPD even if they were careful. In retrospect, I realize the masks people wore were absolutely useless because the ash was so fine it went straight through the filter.
That’s all for now. Glad to hear you’re doing well. Happy trails to you!
Whoop!! Elaine! How the heck are you? Ok, for everyone else here, Elaine and I knew each other about a hundred years ago in Portland, Oregon. Elaine’s description of the ash in Portland is spot on … it was awful, everything was completely covered, not just a whiff or two of it in the air, but completely covered! It took months, maybe years, to clean out all the ash from that 1980 volcano eruption.
Elaine, I fondly remember the trip I took on one of your Green Tortoise bus runs down to California. Ah, fond memories. 🙂 Best wishes!
Just started reading your blogs today and thoroughly enjoyed the pictures and narrative. I lived in HI for 32 Years and now reside in Port Orchard. I saw several volcanoes erupt on the Big Island. There’s something about their magnitude and power that seems to be unparalleled on earth. The last property I owned there is now covered in lava, about 20 to 30 feet of it. Reminds me of the impermanence of all things. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Donna, welcome! 🙂 Oh boy you sure do know about volcanoes and the power of them … not just the physical power but the spiritual or emotional power. Mt. St. Helens has lava output but so far it doesn’t have the massive lava flows that the Hawaiian volcanoes have. 20 to 30 feet deep, wow, and that’s just in a portion of your lifetime. This earth is so powerful, so much more than we can imagine. Thank you for your comment. I’m really glad you’re here.