Mount St. Helens - an Incredible Sight

On Sunday, May 18, 1980 a relatively small earthquake measuring only 5.1 on the Richter Scale set off the largest eruption in the Cascade Mountain Range in modern times. The eruption of Mount St. Helens reduced the height of the mountain from 9677 feet to 8364 feet in a matter of minutes. This natural explosion killed fifty-seven people and scoured an area of over two-hundred square miles. A sideways blast sent a thick steam cloud filled with rock and debris over a destructive path at speeds of more than 300 mph.

A vertical explosion of ash and steam rose from the mountain and began to drift across the United States and Canada. A couple days after the eruption I remember seeing this cloud over my home in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, almost seventeen-hundred miles from the mountain. Within a couple of weeks this cloud covered the entire earth. The statistics and facts from this cataclysmic event are staggering.

I had closely followed the events of the eruption at the time and then the regrowth of the area since. When we were planning our trip out west, Mount St. Helens was one of the must see places on our list. We had set aside an entire day to explore the area and had what we thought were perfect plans for the best viewing of the volcano and the surrounding region.

Our base camp was at Cape Disappointment State Park where we left our Airstream. In our early planning we found out that there was limited RV camping around the Mount St. Helens area and we certainly did want to tow our thirty-foot Airstream around the mountain. After traveling through this area I would caution anyone from visiting this area with an RV. Make use of a base camp, like Cape Disappointment and then drive to Mount St. Helens. There are several tent camping areas along with area motels.

Our goal for the day was to circle the region and take one extended hike within the National Monument area. To begin I set our GPS, which we had named Dora, to take us to the Mount St. Helens Visitor's Center. From there we would get a map and directions for the best way to tour the region.

There are two basic ways to visit and see Mount St. Helens and the surrounding area. There is the route which most people take and the one I would highly suggest and then there is the route we took. First of all there are only two places where you can get a really good closeup view of the volcano. The first requires a long one way drive but is also the only place where you can look inside the crater, this is at the Johnston Ridge Observatory. The second route is an even longer and more circuitous trip through the forest and surrounding mountains. Dora our GPS, brought us to the second route.

Dora was told to take us to the Mount St Helens Visitor's Center and she did as she was told. What I did not know and she did not tell us was that there were several visitors' centers and she took us to the closest one and in her defense it is the only one named, visitor center. This visitor center, which does have an admission charge, is on Spirit Lake Highway just off of Interstate 5.

The volcano was 30 miles away and was just starting to be visible as the morning mists cleared away. At the center there is a short hiking trail which takes you through some old growth forest. Inside the center is an interesting movie with a very good ranger talk afterwards. You will also find exhibits of the volcano, a gift shop, and bookstore. I purchased a map of the area along with a pamphlet: Decker, Robert and Barbara. Road Guide to Mount St. Helens, Double Decker Press. I would highly suggest purchasing this pamphlet prior to your visit. The pamphlet suggests several driving tours and has very good maps and fine photos.

I took the pamphlet and map to the information ranger who suggested we go north and first see the crater at the Johnston Ridge Observatory then drive around to the northeast side. I thought I knew better and we went in the opposite direction, around the south side of the mountain.

After four hours of driving through beautiful towering pines on a slender two lane road, negotiating one lane bridges and not seeing any volcano evidence, my wife suggested we turn back. But I had my map and kept on driving east on highway 503 until I made a wrong turn onto highway 83. How did I know it was a wrong turn? The dead end sign was a dead give away. My wife was being very quiet, only a few sighs and under the breath, "I told you so's" could be heard from her side of the van. We turned around and drove back but not all the way, I continued east now on route 90, determined to find rubble and waste from the volcano.

At the junction of route 25 and five hours of driving I turned north. We only drove a few miles when we came around a curve and the scene was like a moonscape. We had been driving through a thick forest of conifers, red alders, cedar, and pine trees now there were no live trees. What there was were stalks which once held branches, leaves and needles. The abrupt change was startling.

We were on the east side of Mount St. Helens and had just entered the National Monument area. Today there are two areas of recovery. The first is managed by private timber companies and The National Forest Service This area is being aggressively reforested. Then there is the National Monument area, one hundred and ten thousand acres that have been set aside to study how nature heals itself. We had just entered the National Monument area where it is estimated it will be another one hundred years before the forest returns.

We took the turn on route 99 toward Spirit Lake and made several stops along the way. The first was the miner's car. This is a jeep, up ended and thrown sixty feet by the blast, and then covered with mud. The family inside was killed. Then there was Cascade Peaks Overlook which afforded excellent views of the volcano. This is also the only place to get snacks, beverages and use a bathroom for many, many miles.

When reached Spirit Lake we decided to take our hike. The parking area is 600 feet above the lake and from that vantage point all we could see were logs matted tightly on the water. This is how I pictured Spirit Lake from all of the shows I had watched about the eruption of Mount St. Helens. The trail head sign told us it was only a mile to the lake. The Truman Trail is actually 6.5 miles long and one way. The area is being extensively studied and hikers are required to stay on the trail. They enforce this rule with substantial fines for those who stray off onto the recovering undisturbed areas.

The trail was named for Harry Truman an elderly gentleman who had a lodge on Spirit Lake and refused to evacuate before the volcano erupted. His lodge and body were buried under tons of volcanic ash and deposits so hot they sterilized the entire area. Before the eruption Spirit Lake was a popular resort area. The lake was created by an earlier eruption of Mount St. Helens about thirty-five hundred years earlier and its history has been closely linked to the volcano ever since.

The hike down was not bad at all. The interesting thing we noticed was that there were trees starting to grow at the beginning of the hike but as we descended there were none. On the lake bed there was hardly anything growing, just a few dandelions. There were no surviving plants or animals in this area so all regrowth has to come in from the outside.

The view from the bottom was spectacular. The face of Mount St. Helens which was blown off can be seen as a jagged scar on the once symmetrical pyramid mountain. There was a field of Indian Paintbrush Grass in bloom off in the distance giving a bright red color to the grey mud background. The log mat we had seen from the top, which appeared to cover the lake, was just along this part of the shore and only extended out about thirty or forty yards. The lake beyond was blue and tranquil.

There was a large round flat rock about eight feet in diameter and four feet high which my wife and I sat on while admiring the view. A gentleman walked by and introduced himself as a geologist doing research on the recovery of the lake area. He told us the rock we were sitting on was thrown from the volcano during the eruption. Mount St. Helens is five miles away and this rock must weigh many tons. The force of this eruption continues to amaze us with each example we uncover.

Prior to the eruption the Spirit Lake was surrounded by old growth forest afterwards it was totally covered by a mat of logs. This mat now covered only a small portion of the lake. Inside this mat was an active community of insects and small mammals. They will aide in removing these logs and the lake will soon be free of all evidence of the unimaginable violence which slammed into its water. The blast created an estimated eight hundred and fifty-foot high wave which pushed 1200 feet up Johnston Ridge leaving a ring which today resembles a bathtub ring.

The hike back to our van was made easier by the excitement we both had after visiting the lake area. We could have climbed twice the distance and not have noticed it. This hike was one of the highlights of our entire trip and we strongly encourage everyone to make the trek down to Spirit Lake when you visit the area.

We did not make it out to the Johnston Ridge Observatory to get a look inside the crater. By the time we had driven the remainder of the road around the north east side of Mount St. Helens it was starting to get dark. It was well after midnight when we returned to our campground. We had been gone almost twenty hours since leaving early in the morning. Next time we will listen to the ranger and follow his advice. However, we did make a complete loop around the Mt. St. Helens region and saw many incredible sights along the way. The day was a success and we have no regrets.