We decided to drive to Mount St. Helens so for the next hour or two I rode in the car enjoying the fantastic scenery. Fall colors, conifer forest, mountains, lakes, and rivers held my attention as we slowly crept behind two logging trucks. Eventually, we found our way to the visitor center. As we drove up the valley towards the center I could still see downed trees and one hell of an eroded river channel far below where the instantly melted glacier water had tore through anything in its path. It’s hard to imagine an explosion so powerful to have effected such a large area. Alan told me that he’d seen play by play photos of the explosion taken by two USGS employees monitoring the volcano. Of course, they hadn’t survived the blast. Again, it’s hard to imagine an explosion so grant that no place in the valley would be safe. There’s nothing they could have done.
Anyway, we got our stuff together and bought purple bracelets from a semi-cute ranger so that we could go hiking. Then we crested the ridge where we met very powerful wind gust. We fought the wind off as we progressed up the ridge across from Mount St. Helens. The lighting on the mountain was poor so I took few pictures of Mount St. Helens. To be honest, I thought the mountain much prettier from the other side though it was neat to see steam rising from the crater. We stopped at an extremely windy overlook where we photographed Mt. Adams and glimpsed the log jam in lake Spirit Lake. It’s hard to believe that 15 years after the eruption those logs are still floating.
The route toward Mt. St. Helen had been closed due to volcanic activity. We decided to continue toward the next ridge. Once we crested the saddle the wind blew wicked strong. From here, we had a great view of Mount Adams. We could also see many tan dots outlining an elk herd to the left. I wanted to see the view higher on the ridge so I climbed up to where I got a good view of the log jam. I took a few more pictures of Mt. Adams and the log jam and then we started back. It seemed to me that Brian must have been worried about getting back before dark because we hiked back very fast. We hiked faster than I really wanted to hike since I’d been sick.
I didn’t feel very well back at the car mostly because I should have eaten more that afternoon. I hadn’t eaten for awhile. I laid back in my seat as we rode back trying to feel better and eventually nourished myself back to health with some salty peanuts and a granola bar. I felt better when we arrived at our campsite below the ____ bridge. Alan and Brian looked around in the woods and I finished eating. Alan determined we could get our vehicles further down the road to a good campsite above the ____ river. He changed his mind when he saw the back left tire of Brian’s SAAB raise several feet above the ground. Not long after, we went to bed. To Big Cedar
Mt. Adams
Brian sits while Alan and I photograph Mt. Adams.
The view of Mt. Adams from atop a windy ridge.
Mt. Adams
The view of Mt. Adams from atop a windy ridge.
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Viewed:
Spirit Lake
Another view of Mt. Adams including Spirit Lake.
The logs move from one end to the other depending on the wind.
Mt. Adams
Another view of Mt. Adams.
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Viewed:
Spirit Lake
Look at that grass blowing in the wind.
This pit was a little wetter. Jeff was quite focused on getting clear of the spray.
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