Mount St. Helens With Her Head In The Clouds

In 1980, Washington State’s Mount St. Helens erupted onto the World stage. After three months of grumbling, on May 18^th she literally blew her top, in a cataclysmic explosion that sadly killed 57 people, flattened thousands of acres of mature forest and replaced the top 1300 feet of her summit with a crater 2000 feet deep.

Like so many others, a young Rich was completely taken aback by this dramatic reminder of nature’s awe-inspiring power. Right then and there he promised himself he’d one day travel to Mount St. Helens and witness the devastation for himself.

That dream final came true 33 years later.

Sort of.

As we drove up Spirit Lake Highway in May 2013, it was obvious the weather was not going to be kind. The closer we got to the mountain, the closer we also got to the base of the brooding clouds overhead. It became a question of which we’d reach first.

Mount St. Helens is up there somewhere

Finally, we arrived the visitor centre at the Johnston Ridge Observatory, which overlooks the remnants of the volcano. From there we had the most amazing view of…

A big grey blur!

Occasionally, the wind would shift and we’d get the briefest glimpse of the crater and the new dome growing within it.

But just as quickly, the clouds would fall back into place, obscuring all but the very bottom of the mountain.

Is there a hint of blue in there?

…No, probably not!

Just to prove I was there!

That’s not to say our visit was a waste of time. Far from it. On the way up to (and down from) the Observatory, we did indeed witness the devastation caused by the famous eruption over three decades ago. Not to mention loads of evidence of how nature has begun healing itself in the intervening years.

Rain on Coldwater Lake

Trees felled by the blast

Tree trunks mixed in with the debris from the explosion, surrounded by new growth

But sadly that picture-postcard panorama of Mount St. Helens’ now lop-sided peak will have to wait for another day.

One final look back towards Mount St. Helens –
Better luck next time!

This post was inspired by Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge, which this week is Clouds.

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