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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