To Mt. St. Helens or not? That is the question. It has been four good but long days in the Pacific Northwest, a long nine days of travel total. I’m feeling fairly tired. I think I should head straight to Seattle, check in to my hotel, and relax for the afternoon. . . . But there’s the problem of Mt. St. Helens! I’m tired - but Mt. St. Helens is only about fifty miles from the interstate. . . . I think I’m worn out. But the mountain is sooo close, and the sky is turning blue . . . How about if I pack up and get in the car and then decide? Okay. Ahh, it’s a no-brainer. It’s so close, how can I give up the chance to see Mt. St. Helens? I head out.Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect. ~Chief Seattle, 1855
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| Lewis River at Merwin Park |
There are two routes from I-5 to Mt. St. Helens. According to material I’ve read, the southern route, across Hwy 503, is the more scenic route, the one that travels through forested land and will eventually take me to Ape Cave and Lava Canyon, and on around and up to Windy Ridge and Spirit Lake, the closest points to the mountain itself. So it’s decided, I take 503. Though the fog is lifting and the sky is blue overhead, I note that the sky above the mountains to the east is totally covered in clouds. I recall it being said of the tall mountains that they create their own weather. For that reason, one can never know if the sky will be blue. I have been cautioned that I likely will not see the mountain. But there’s a chance. And it’s only 50 miles off the interstate. I head east.
I very quickly find myself in forest, and note that the road is paralleling the Lewis River. This river originates on the western slope of Mt. Adams in Washington, flows south of Mt. St. Helens, and terminates when it flows into the Columbia River. I learn that the river was named after A. Lee Lewis, an early settler who homesteaded near the mouth of the river. I need to get close to the water, so I begin looking for parks or other means of river access. I see signs for Merwin Park, and I turn off. When I arrive at the entrance to the park, I am surprised to learn that it is not a state or federally owned park, rather is owned by Pacific Corp, an electrical energy company. Pacific Corp controls various dams and hydro-electric plants on the Lewis River, and they have created parks and recreational facilities for public use. I think, that’s very nice. But I wonder what I don’t know that might make me think otherwise. Oh, sounds so cynical! Actually, I know it is just a recognition of complexity. In any event, I find my way to the edge of the river. It is wide and flat and gray today. I take some photographs, and wander on.
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| Lewis River, Yale Reservoir |
I very quickly find myself in forest, and note that the road is paralleling the Lewis River. This river originates on the western slope of Mt. Adams in Washington, flows south of Mt. St. Helens, and terminates when it flows into the Columbia River. I learn that the river was named after A. Lee Lewis, an early settler who homesteaded near the mouth of the river. I need to get close to the water, so I begin looking for parks or other means of river access. I see signs for Merwin Park, and I turn off. When I arrive at the entrance to the park, I am surprised to learn that it is not a state or federally owned park, rather is owned by Pacific Corp, an electrical energy company. Pacific Corp controls various dams and hydro-electric plants on the Lewis River, and they have created parks and recreational facilities for public use. I think, that’s very nice. But I wonder what I don’t know that might make me think otherwise. Oh, sounds so cynical! Actually, I know it is just a recognition of complexity. In any event, I find my way to the edge of the river. It is wide and flat and gray today. I take some photographs, and wander on.
Soon I learn that my cynicism was for good cause. I pass a multitude of signs along the road that state "No Way BPA," I learn that there are plans to erect high voltage power lines in this area, and that residents have banded together in protest.. . . . Complexity. I find myself hopscotching from Pacific Corp park to Pacific Corp park along the Lewis River. I stop at Speelyai Bay and Yale Reservoir. I learn that the Lewis River is home to the Bull Trout, and there are fish hatcheries located next to some of the parks.
Temperatures are falling. By 11:00 a.m. it is 36 degrees and snow has begun to fall lightly. These are tiny, hard pellets of dry snow. Does this constitute sleet? I don’t know. I’m from Florida and don’t know these things. I finally reach an entrance to the Mt. St. Helens National Volcanic Monument and I drive on in. But I am disappointed to discover that just beyond this entrance, the roads to Ape Cave, the Climbers Bivouac, and Lava Canyon are closed, because of snow! I had no idea there was this much snow still on the mountainsides. I am disappointed. My maps had indicated that there are a number of waterfalls just beyond where the road has closed. I was looking forward to exploration. Instead I turn around and head back toward Hwy 90.
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| Inside Mt. St. Helens National Volcanic Monument - Badly "Harvested" Forest |
I stop on the side of the road and walk out into a snow-covered field. The snow is so deep that I can only do so by walking in the steps of those who blazed the "trail" before me, prints that are 6 inches deep. In the distance I can just see the base of Mt. St. Helens; the top of the mountain is covered by clouds. In the distance I see odd-looking mountains: there was once a stand of trees that has been clear cut, creating patches of total white amid still-forested areas. I frown. Then I realize that I, too, am walking where there was previously a forest. My steps take me around stumps of the trees that once were. I am pleased when I see small new trees jutting up out of the snow.
It was strangely like war. They attacked the forest as if it were an enemy to be pushed back from the beachheads, driven into the hills, broken into patches, and wiped out. Many operators thought they were not only making lumber but liberating the land from the trees. — Murray Morgan, The Last Wilderness
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| Swift Reservoir |
However, soon I receive a major disappointment. As I reach the junction of Hwys 90 and 25, signs indicate that Hwy 25 is closed ahead! I am crushed. This is the road that accesses Windy Ridge, the closest point to Mt. St. Helens. And it is the only way "out of here," short of my returning the way I came. I stop at the Mt. St. Helen’s Visitor Center to see if there’s another way in or out, but the Visitor Center is closed. I have no choice. I turn around.
I am feeling a bit ticked off! Having made the decision to visit Mt. St. Helens, I am seriously unhappy to have my plans thwarted. It is noon at this point, half the day is gone. But I decide that I will not give up, I will head back to I-5 and take the northern road, Hwy 504, into Mt. St. Helens. I figure I have about a two hour drive before I reach the northwest entrance to the park. But there will still be daylight, I will still see the mountain (assuming, of course, that the weather cooperates). As I head back, I probably drive much faster than I should on these winding mountain roads. It takes about an hour to reach I-5. It is raining steadily by now.
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| Mt. St. Helens and North Fork of the Touttle River from Hoffstadt Bluffs Visitor Center |
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| The Blast Zone |
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| Touttle River Valley |
Just subsequent to the collapse of the north flank, an explosion referred to as a "lateral blast" of rock, ash, and hot gases exploded upon an area of about 230 square miles, north of the volcano, in a fan-shaped vector. Scientific calculations indicate that the blast ranged from an initial 200 mph up to approximately 670 mph. As far as 19 miles from the volcano, forests of trees as tall as 100 feet high were flattened in seconds. Shortly after the lateral blast, a vertically-directed column of ash and steam exploded from the volcano, reaching an altitude of more than 12 miles.
By 11:45 am, a little more than 3 hours after the initial collapse of the north flank of Mt. St. Helens, an ash cloud dense enough to block out all sunlight reached Spokane, Washington. The intense heat, melted snow and ice, and debris from the explosion created an immense mudflow that ran rapidly down the Touttle River Valley, knocking down trees and destroying everything in its path. The mudflow eventually reached the Columbia River, filling its channel and stopping ship traffic. By early May 19th, the eruption had stopped. Mt. St. Helens was 1,314 feet shorter after the blast. It now stands at 8,363 feet tall.
I leave the Visitor Center and travel on. Roadside educational exhibits document reforestation efforts. More than 150,000 acres of forest in a 234-square-mile arc were devastated by the eruption of Mt. St. Helens. The affected lands were owned variously by Weyerhauser (68,000 acres), the US Forest Service (64,000 acres), the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (12,000 acres) and other private land owners (6,000 acres). The forests consisted of western hemlock, western red cedar, and several species of fir. Oddly, much of the downed timber was still useable, but in danger of damage due to insects and disease if not salvaged.  |
| Mt. St. Helens and the Touttle River Valley |
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| Replanted in 1983 |
Though Weyerhauser engaged in reforestation efforts on their privately-owned land, the US Forest Service made the decision not to harvest or re-forest, rather to allow natural activities to take place. In 1982, the 110,000 acre Mt. St. Helens National Volcanic Monument was established. Inside the monument, no salvage and no tree planting were allowed. Today the "blow down forest" has virtually disappeared. I learn that the weight of snow packs each year has pushed tree trunks into the ground and soaked the trees while summer sun subsequently bakes them. The result is a rapid deterioration of the trees. At the same time, wind-blown seeds caught by the moist, nutrient-rich tree trunks have established an area of low-lying grasses and shrubs, that has allowed other growth to take place.
As I head on toward the mountain, I travel through areas of green, re-planted forest while also viewing less lush areas of growth in the zone that has not experienced re-planting. I am pleased at the re-planting and re-growth. But I note that the re-planted forest has an odd look to it. I realize that this is because there is little to no understory. Natural, undamaged forest has an understory, some thick with ferns, flowers, and other plants, some less dense, depending upon the part of the world in which it is located. But I see little growth under these trees. I guess it will take more time for this type of growth to occur.
I travel on. Soon the land and trees around me are snow-covered. In fact, it begins to snow intermittently, a light snow that does not stick to the road. I am at 3,800 feet in elevation. Notwithstanding the falling snow, the clouds around Mt. St. Helens continue to dissipate, and I am treated with several hours of good views, "Oh Wow!" views. Oh Wow! There are few cars on the road. I think I have seen perhaps 6-10 cars going in either direction. I guess it’s too early in the season for most folks to think about visiting. That’s fine with me. I enjoy the solitude amid the great beauty of the wild. I stop on the road multiple times to take photographs. I soon learn that the road is closed once again, at the junction of Hwy 504 and the road to Coldwater Lake. I cannot get up to the Johnston Ridge Observatory. But I can access Coldwater Lake.
Coldwater Lake
The sun illuminates not only the eye of the man, but shines into the heart of the child. In the presence of nature, a wild delight runs through the man, in spite of real sorrows. - Ralph Waldo Emerson
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| Bank of Coldwater Lake |
Coldwater Lake was formed by the eruption of Mt. St. Helens, when a debris dam penned Coldwater Creek. There are several similar lakes within the Mt. St. Helens Volcano Monument that were formed by debris dams. Scientists must keep a close eye on these lakes and their dams, as failure of the dams would produce mudflows comparable to or more devastating that the mudflow resulting from the 1980 eruption. As a result of this danger, "outflow channels" have been constructed to control the water level at Coldwater Lake (and others).
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| Mt. St. Helens Behind Coldwater Lake |
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| Coldwater Lake |
All too soon it is late enough that I know I must head north, to Seattle. I must work tomorrow. I stop multiple times on my way out of the Park, inhaling its beauty. I pass four deer on my way back to I-5. I think of the words of explorer George Vancouver
A Lifetime is not enough to explore this country, a man is too small to feel it’s size. The poet has not been born to sing its song, nor the painter to picture it.No, a lifetime is not enough. But I will enjoy the rest of mine as I do my best to explore all that I can.
Donna
©April 19, 2011
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