A Tale of Two Volcanoes: Inside the Blast Zone, Part 1

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30 July 2003: Inside the Blast Zone, Part 1

I had planned to go to Mt. St. Helens National Volcanic Monument today, and so I started out early as it would take around 3 hours to get to this volcano. Mt. St. Helens erupted most recently in May 1980, and is a dynamic place to visit.

I was eager to go to Ape Cave (a lava tunnel) in the south part of the volcanic monument and I wanted to go to Windy Ridge on the east side of the monument. As I drove south from Crystal Mountain I just couldn't make up my mind as to which one I should go to first and whether it was indeed possible to do both of these widely separated places in one day. In the end I chose to go to Windy Ridge as this is the closest one can get to the volcano by road. A map of the roads and trails in the park is linked here so you can locate where I stopped.

To get to Mt. St. Helens from Crystal Mountain I travelled through Mt. Rainier National Park, and then got on US 12 east to Packwood. When I reached Randle (around 11a.m.), I turned onto Forest route 25. I soon crossed the Cowlitz river (the river that carved the Box Canyon in Mt. Rainier NP), and in a few miles, the Cispus river. I had intended to buy my Forest pass at the Woods Creek Wildlife station, but that was closed. Forest Rt 25 goes through thick forest, which was not affected by the 1980 eruption. An elk crossed the road at one point.

I stopped briefly at Bear Meadow on Forest Rt 99, where I took this photo.

A few miles later, the road entered the blast zone. The hillsides were covered with dead trees, some of which were upright, others had toppled over. Shrubs with brightly coloured flowers were thriving. There were small little rock slides in a few places. Gusts of wind would whip up the mud forming small dirt devils. One could see these on the side of Mt. St. Helens too. The road became quite treacherous to drive, with precipitous drops in several places. I drove slowly, allowing other cars to pass when possible. Fortunately none of the other visitors was unduly impatient or aggressive. I did have my heart in my mouth when I could see large stretches of the road in front of me.

I stopped at the Cascades Peaks Viewpoint around noon to eat my lunch and to buy my Forest pass. The shop had locally made huckleberry chocolates, which were delicious. (One can pick wild huckleberries (link apparently valid for 2003 season only!) in Oregon and Washington during July and August.) The staff at the shop were very helpful in suggesting that I walk the Harmony trail to Spirit Lake and climb the sand ladder at Windy Ridge.

From here I could see Mt. Hood (in Oregon), for which I have a very poor quality photo that I've not included here. I have a better photo of Mt. Adams which is to the left.

Spirit Lake from Donnybrook viewpoint, on the way to Windy Ridge. Spirit Lake is around 3.2 miles long, 3098 acres in area, at an elevation of around 3475 ft and has a maximum depth of 151 ft.

Spirit Lake from Donnybrook viewpoint, on the way to Windy Ridge. The right ide of the lake is covered with dead trees from the 1980 eruption.

Spirit Lake from Donnybrook viewpoint, on the way to Windy Ridge.

View of Mt. St. Helens from Smith Creek Viewpoint.

View of Smith Creek from Smith Creek Viewpoint.

Mt. Adams from Smith Creek Viewpoint.

Dead trees seen from Smith Creek Viewpoint. Note the combination of standing and fallen dead trees. The hillsides are completely exposed, so one felt the heat from the sun very intensely.

A panoramic view of Smith Creek Viewpoint is available through the Mt. St. Helens web page.

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All photos are copyrighted 2003 onwards. Please contact me (ndcruz at depaul dot edu) if you wish to use these photos.