Hiking on Mount Saint Helens (continued)

So much about nature sets me in a state of awe.  When I see mountains that took millions of years to form, or cascading waters that --inch by inch--have worn away rock to create canyons and  waterfalls.  Or when I have the rare opportunity to look at the remains of a mountain after a volcano has blown a quarter mile of its peak away, and I see the ashes and debris left behind.

And then seeing life returning in the midst of that bed of cinders and dust.  Life *will* go on.  The persistence of life, the grand cycle, helps me see my place in the scale of the world. I see this and have a sense of my infinitesimally small role in the grand scheme of things.

Below, rising out of the ashes and burned trees, fireweed begins to make its way toward the sun.  Yarrow sprouts from an area that looks like nothing more than rock and ash.

Life returns --    Fireweed

Life returns on Mt. St. Helens - Yarrow

But to really appreciate the power of returning life,  we walk a few miles along Truman Trail to Windy Trail where we can see the rim of the volcano.  What a stark contrast to the woods and waterfalls we enjoyed just yesterday.

Hiking on Mt. St. Helens

That may be a tiny puff of ash blowing in a breeze.  Or it may be a little bit of volcanic gas rising from the Mount Saint Helens’ active core. 

Mt St Helens Hikers

Lunch on Mt. St. Helens

The contrasts in the image below almost summarize this entire trip.  In the foreground, the barren Mt. St. Helens landscape that is just returning to life so many years after the 1980 eruption.  In the distance, wooded hills that were relatively unscathed by the blast. And past the distant green beyond,  I can see Mount Rainier, another inactive (but still live) volcano. 

View of Rainier from Mt. St. Helens

All this definitely puts things in perspective for me.

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Hiking on Mount Saint Helens

At last!  The hikes we’ve taken have been beautiful, and always, in the back of my mind, was the knowledge that this is an active volcano zone.  But it’s one thing to know that this mountain *could* erupt, even though it’s quiet and tranquil now.  When you’re on Mt. Hood, you can easily forget it’s a volcano.

It’s another thing to witness the devastation left by a volcano that erupted in my lifetime...that still emits poofs of gas from deep within, that is still monitored and still active.

Before and After

This is a photo of Mount Saint Helens before the 1980 eruption (https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2002/of02-468/ )

and after.

Mt. St. Helens from Spirit Lake

The eruption blew off one quarter mile (1300 feet) of the mountain’s peak, leaving a one-mile wide crater behind. The violent explosion raised the air temperature in the area to over 800°F  and blew out the east side of the volcano,  destroying old growth forest, choking streams with ash and debris.

This photo from History.com,  which I used earlier in this trip blog, shows Mt. St. Helens erupting on May 18, 1980.

And that is where we are going today.  We pack a picnic lunch and drive two-and-a-half hours to Windy Ridge, going through the blast zone, passing logs five feet in diameter.  Yes, the logs were five feet wide... try and imagine how tall the original trees were. Those majestic trees tumbled like dried twigs in the volcano’s blast.

From Windy Ridge, 4,170 feet high, we look down on the blue waters of Spirit Lake.  Activity here is restricted as scientists continue to study and monitor the volcano.

Spirit Lake--- dead trees blown off the mountain

The eruption-induced avalanche of 1980 was massive, one of the largest landslides of the modern era.  It raised the Spirit Lake water level by 200 feet (that’s about the height of a twenty-story building).  Trees blown into the lake now form an ‘island’ in the brilliant blue waters.

As I view the area around the lake, I’m struck by the scorched remains of trees that stand out amidst the ashes.  I’m even more impressed by the vegetation battling its way out of the cinders to begin repopulating the hillside.

Life returns

Life *will* go on.

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Waterfalls, Beautiful Waterfalls

Eagle Creek

Today we leave Hood River, driving a half hour to Eagle Creek, a tributary of the Columbia River.   As the Creek waters carve through the rock down to the Columbia River Gorge, they create beautiful waterfalls. 

From the Eagle Creek trailhead, we hike seven miles up Eagle Creek Canyon.  Our trail takes us through abundant forest, sometimes growing near the surging waters, other times taking us into the quiet of the forest where the rushing waters are muted by the trees between us.

A side trail*  takes us to Metlako Falls, which drops one hundred feet to Eagle Creek below.  The falls get their name from the Indian goddess of salmon.  I’ve heard there are kayakers who have gone down Metlako.  I don’t see salmon or kayakers...I’m still having trouble imagining a kayak plummeting down that water

Metlako Falls  

Punchbowl falls

After lunch we head back to the van and go for an fairly easy three-mile walk along Horsetail Loop to Ponytail Falls.

   Horsetail falls

Tonight we are at Skamania Lodge on the Washington side of the Columbia River.  After dinner, we enjoy a presentation from a forest service professional who presents images and information on the 1980 volcanic blast of Mount Saint Helens.

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* I usually mention at the start of each new series of posts that I am not traveling now, but writing based on my journals and photos of the trips I’ve taken.  Since some things change, I do some research to verify that what I have seen still exists.  Since I visited the beautiful waterfalls above, the side trail that leads to Metlako Falls has closed because the overlook collapsed into the gorge (in early 2017).  As I understand it, there is no safe place to view the falls at this time. (info from http://tinyurl.com/MetlakoOverlookClosed)

Indian Heaven Trail

We pack a picnic lunch and cross the Columbia River to travel about one hour north toward  Washington, toward the base of Mount Adams. Our hike is a loop through Indian Heaven starting at about 4100 feet and gaining about 1000 feet in the first few miles.  Then the trail levels off to a rolling terrain through woods, with ponds and lakes and views of the mountain beyond.

Indian Heaven Lake

Indian Heaven Trail

The trail is beautiful, the blue-green lake that reflects the surrounding woodlands has a story-like feel.  For a few of us, the story setting might be better named ‘Mosquito Mountain’ instead of Indian Heaven.  Some things don’t change.  Mosquitoes are initially attracted to carbon dioxide but once they arrive at the CO2 source (in this case, humans) they are especially drawn to heat.  And lucky me, I’m always just a little on the warm side.


Even this doesn’t detract from the view of Mount Adams,  about 12,300 feet high as we swat...I mean walk, and enjoy the the beauty of Mosq.... er ...  Indian Heaven Trail.

Mount Adams from Indian Heaven

We leave the Indian Heaven loop and head back toward Hood River, going to the Ice Caves.  I forget for a moment that I came here to hike live volcanoes, and that means lava.  Over the years, the flow of molten rock  created lava tubes; combined with glacial growth and recession, a network of caverns formed Ice Caves beneath the ground.  Wooden stairs lead down into a cavern where the air is cool.  Intrepid hikers take flashlights and explore the 650 foot cavern, observing lava flows and ice formations.

Less intrepid hikers back out of the cave. I admit it. When I fully understand where the walk is leading, I retreat  I may have overcome my fear of heights but I still don’t love small dark spaces...not sure I’ll ever be a spelunker.

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