Movin' Right Along: Weather Erupting

Mount St. Helens under cloud

2019-09-27 (Friday)

We had a very good day today, with a variety of weather to go with it. When we woke up this morning, it was warm, with a bright blue sky and very few clouds. I said to Joey, “We should get some great views of Mount St. Helens with this clear sky!” I guess I jinxed it. By the time we arrived at the Mount St Helens Visitors Center at 10:30ish, there were already some clouds massing in the sky. By the time I looked out the window at the center for a “view through the trees” of the mountain in the distance, the sky was covered with gray clouds. But at least the skyline with the mountains was visible.

Due to the fact that I read a lot of the newspaper reports of the volcano’s eruption (on May 18, 1980, for those of you who don’t quite remember about it), we were at the center for 90 minutes or so-- Joey finished way ahead of me and went out to wait in the RV. I found the articles in the paper fascinating, especially the extent of the immediate fallout of the eruption-- skies as black as night in cities 50 miles away, inches of volcanic ash covering everything to the east of the mountain, etc. The extent to which the ash fell heavily made it clear exactly what happened in the Ashfall Fossil Beds in Nebraska which we went to last month-- that volcano was in Idaho, but the ash really travels far! In the case of Mount St. Helens, it traveled around the world--and that was a “small” eruption.

Anyway, it was about lunchtime when I finished, so we ate our lunch in the parking lot while we discussed some plans for the rest of the day. We wanted to go up to the Johnston Ridge Observatory for a close-up look at the volcano crater. We also needed to make some plans for the next 24 hours, including where/when to do laundry, where to spend the night, and where we could find good wifi for the football game at 12:30. Regarding the night, we wanted to look at Seaquest State Park, which was literally right across the street from the visitor center. I thought that would be a nice place to stay tonight, but was pretty sure it would not have any wifi for tomorrow. And certainly no laundry.

So after lunch, we did a reconnaissance mission. We left the RV in the parking lot of the visitor center (the Jeep was still unhooked from the night before; we’d driven them separately for the less than 5 miles from the KOA) and drove the Jeep across the street. We really liked the looks of the State Park-- it was very green and pretty. But of course, there was no internet or wifi or phone service.

Mount St. Helens, still under a cloud

From there, we drove down to the town of Castle Rock, 5 miles away (by the I-5) and discovered that not only could we get excellent AT&T coverage, but the town had very good free wifi as well. There was also a reasonable looking laundramat with good reception in its parking lot.

So we drove back to the visitors center, drove the RV across the street with the Jeep leading the way, and found ourselves a nice spot. Then we hooked up the RV and while I paid the fee, Joey made himself some tea. Finally, we were ready to go up to the ridge and see the mountain close up, but unsurprisingly, it was about 2:45 already!! Luckily, the Johnston Ridge Observatory closes at 6pm, so I figured, an hour up, and we’d get there by 4pm, giving us two hours there.

Mount St. Helens, under a different cloud

We drove up in the Jeep, and the whole time, we were noticing the clouds being more ominous even than before. We also made several stops on the way up, which took extra time. One was because I wanted to see the North Fork Toutle River, which is where the largest part of the overwhelming mudslide came down from MSH, carrying everything with it. I pulled out at the beginning of the long bridge, and as I started across, it started to rain! Meanwhile I could also see sun, so I looked for a rainbow--and sure enough, I got an entire rainbow arced right across the bridge! So pretty, but I was too close to get more than part of it in my photo. Once I got back in the car, we left that little rain shower behind.

Rainbow crossing the Toutle River Bridge

We also stopped at the Sediment Collector Dam (I think that’s what it’s called), and looked at that for 10-15 minutes. The dam is an Army Corps project to help keep the mud, which continues to come down off the mountain to this day, from flooding down the Toutle River and clog it all up, as it did after the eruption. Although there is a hiking trail of not quite 2 miles which goes right to the dam itself, it was wet and late and obviously we were contented with the overlook, and (in my case) to read an extensive newspaper article about it.

Finally, we stopped at a couple of overlooks--one of a trestle bridge over the valley (where I read about the work Weyerhaeuser has done in timber reclamation in the area--they lost millions of dollars from the eruption, because they had a tree farm on the side of MSH), and one of the mountain. I’d been grumbling nonstop during the drive up about the clouds, but because they seemed so variable, but was maintaining some hope. But when we stopped at the Loowit Viewpoint, only a mile from the Observatory, a dark cloud had settled right on top of MSH. We could see the foot of the mountain, with the area which was deepest in pumice (I think it’s called the pumice plain) and bright green new plant growth there; also deep ravines of dark grayish-brown, and the Toutle River coming down the mountain. But we couldn’t see the crater, or of course the lava dome inside, or any details at all that would distinguish it from any other mountain.

Mount St. Helens under a cloud, with a display panel to help identify it

As we stood there reading the display panels, which explained what we SHOULD be seeing, we were very aware of a black cloud approaching us yet again, and suddenly without warning, there was a whoosh of a cold front and the rain suddenly came down in needles. We had to make a run for the Jeep, and we were both distinctly damp. (I was damper... since I’d gotten wet earlier.) We’d gone through 4-5 light rain showers, but nothing like this. Joey was ready to just go home, but I said no, we were only a mile away and I wanted my national park pin for my collection!

By the time we’d gone the extra mile, the rain was already almost stopped, but as we went into the center, the cloud was even lower on the mountain. However, we had an hour and twenty minutes, and were determined to use it! We saw two films--on on the actual eruption (there were a lot of cameras at the ready to record it, because the scientists knew from earthquake activity and a few “practice” eruptions by MSH that it was going to be soon), and one on how the area almost immediately started to rejuvenate, with plants and then animals. The latter ended with a statement about how the mountain is coming back to life in so many ways, and will continue to shape the earth-- and then the screen rolled up into the ceiling, and the curtain behind it rose, to dramatically display floor to ceiling windows with a panoramic view of: TA-DAAA!!! White fog!!. Obviously on clear days, you get a fabulous view of the mountain at that point through those windows. What we got was, as I said, white fog, COMPLETELY covering the mountain by now. We laughed but it was disappointing. I was hoping to see MSH herself.

I was particularly interested in the panels describing experiences from some of the survivors who had been closest to the mountain when it erupted. They were absolutely harrowing! One was about a family with a 4 year old and an infant--they were able to escape somehow, and were picked up by a helicopter the day after the eruption. One was about 4 loggers working in the forest--only one of them survived to give the details of their escape, and he was badly burned from the explosion of hot air which preceded the ash cloud. Another was a couple, who were tent camping and suddenly saw the river of mud and fallen trees rushing down upon them. The man was able to leap onto a log and “ride it like a horse”, but the woman fell into the mud. Luckily he was able to find her in the chaos and grabbed her wrist (which was broken) and held on to her. They were carried miles by the mud and debris, finally “escaping” by climbing over logs toward the shoreline as they were being carried downstream.

Dramatic clouds which are not covering Mount St. Helens

We were shaking our heads in awe at the entire experience when the announcement came that the observatory was closing. Throughout our stay, we saw through the large observatory windows nothing but white-- once the entire view was a white curtain, but most of the time we could see down into the valley just outside the ridge, and also see the foot of Mount St. Helens, as before. I tried hard to get a little more into my photos, but there was just no visibility. It was very disappointing from that point of view, but we learned so much and the information was all so interesting, that I don’t feel too terrible. From all the movies and photos, I feel as if I’ve seen it, somehow.

So at 6pm, we had to come down the mountain in the Jeep, in the gathering gloom from rain, which came in earnest for a lot of our ride. Then it would stop and we’d have clear views of the mountains, and a couple of gorgeous views with clouds and sky. Maybe it could have been worse-- I looked at the weather report for the mountain, and it may snow tomorrow. We are NOT prepared for that! But anyway, we got home at 7:30, turned on the furnace to fight the chill, and had an easy dinner of kasha and scrambled eggs.

I can’t upload this blog until tomorrow, when we go into town around noon for lunch, laundry, wifi, and football. And after that, I’m not sure what we’ll do next.