In May, we traveled to Mt St Helens from the west, along the Toutle River to Johnston Ridge Observatory. That approach offered sweeping vistas of the old lahar flows that changed the Toutle River forever. We got to look almost straight into the crater, but we didn't get to see Spirit Lake, only about 5 miles away. To do that requires some rugged hiking for the direct route or a drive of about 130 miles. Not practical for a simple day trip.
Heading east on US Highway 12 past Mossyrock and Morton to Randle, it was apparent that the late arrival of summer had delayed hay harvests. It seemed that farmers everywhere were making hay as fast as they could.
Traveling along with Cowlitz River for part of the way, the waters of Riffe Lake reflected the blue sky so closely that I just had to stop to take a picture. Mossyrock Dam is the tallest dam in the State of Washington at 606 feet from bedrock. Riffe (rhymes with "life") Lake, named for a community it covered, has 52 miles of shoreline and is 23 miles long and is a popular spot for boating and fishing.
Although I didn't know it when I set out for the east side of Mt St Helens, the trek to Windy Ridge would not have been possible back in May. In fact, it would not have been possible before July 12, the day I went there. Officially, Forest Roads 25 and 99 did not open until July 13, but they were ready to travel by the afternoon of the 12th. Landslides had blocked both Forest Roads, requiring a new bridge to be built.
After leaving US-12 at Randle, there are no services available along the way -- no food, no gas, no water, no cell phone reception. There are a few chemical toilets provided by the Forest Service, but that's it. Forest Road 25 winds through dense forests, then Forest Road 99 climbs the foothills surrounding Mt St Helens to Windy Ridge viewpoint. In several places, the road dips sharply where the soil beneath has slid or sunk. Rather than filling in these large dips, the Forest Service has simply patched pavement to make the drop-offs a bit more manageable. If you're not paying attention, it is very easy to hit one of these too fast and damage your car. So, while the scenery is nice, it doesn't make for a relaxing drive.
Unlike the western approach, there are no interpretive centers as you approach the mountain from the northeast. There are half a dozen viewpoints with small parking lots and there are several wide spots in the road where one can pull over briefly for a quick look and perhaps to snap a photo. Since the road was not yet officially open and there was little traffic, I was able to stop here and there for a few seconds to snap a quick shot from the driver's seat.
8.5 miles from Mt St Helens, this 1972 Pontiac Grand Prix was left undisturbed after the eruption. The picture at top is from a Forest Service sign at the site, showing how it looked in 1980. The bottom picture is what it looks like today.
At the end of the line, Windy Ridge, there are 361 steps to reach the official viewpoint. A few brave souls actually make that climb, braving strong winds, no hand rails, and steps that aren't spaced quite right for comfortable climbing. I didn't even try. Going up is hard on quadriceps and hips. Coming down is really tough on knees. Even young, athletic types are seen stopping every 50 or 100 steps to rest.
Below are some of the photos I took along the way. If you want to see more, there are 26 photos in the series.
Some trees that were somewhat shielded by ridges managed to hold on to some their bark during Mt St Helens' 1980 eruption.
Unstable soils cause the road to dip and crumble in many places. A landslide blocked part of Forest Road 99 until July 12. Denuded tree trunks still stand all around.
Lush greenery and young trees grow amidst the snags left from Mt St Helens' 1980 eruption.
Even after 32 years, there still are some places where there is little greenery to distract from the deadfall within the blast zone of Mt St Helens.
Rugged terrain between Mt St Helens and Mt Adams to the east.
Spirit Lake is about 200 feet deeper than it was before the 1980 eruption of Mt St Helens. Thousands of tree trunks still float on the surface of the lake 32 years after the blast.
Here's a close-up of some of the thousands of tree trunks still floating in Spirit Lake at the foot of Mt St Helens.
If you look closely, you can see a bit of Smith Creek in the lower center. This is the view looking east from Windy Ridge at Mt St Helens.
View from Forest Road 99 on the northeast side of the mountain.
View from the northeast, about 7 miles from the volcano.
This perspective shows the profile of the lava dome inside the crater, as seen from northeast of the volcano.
This is the view from the parking lot at Windy Ridge, 4 miles from the crater of Mt St Helens.
Wildflowers seen near Mt St Helens. Center is foxglove. Lower left is wild strawberry. Don't know the names of the others
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I prefer to call it "experience" :-)
Eccentricity is for octogenarians, I feel ... and I have still a way to go to get there! lol
Hi Briar, Am tempted to get some fresh canned tuna. I only eat canned tuna or salmon when it's hot out. Otherwise cant stand fish but cold tuna salad with chopped pecans and crisp lettuce is really good indoors with A/C.
Oh the reason I came by was that while watching the Olympic basketball, the camera shows the top of the hoop ring. Written on the rim it says; Inspiring A generation.
That just seemed like something you would come up with.
And no, I would not want my router to have an eccentric orbit! That's too scary to even consider.
Sandi: As to eccentricity, I don't think age has anything to do with it, except possibly in perfecting the art form. Borrowing from Wiki, here's what I mean by eccentricity:
Quoting Ggrrl: Oh the reason I came by was that while watching the Olympic basketball, the camera shows the top of the hoop ring. Written on the rim it says; Inspiring A generation.
That just seemed like something you would come up with.
{{{Thank you very much}}}
Try stuffing a tomato with your tuna salad sometime. Or pop a Tuna Melt under the broiler for a minute.
No, I agree with you about eccentricity not being age related. When I was at college we had a drama lecturer whom we were all a little afraid of. She would wander down the main college corridor looking for unwilling slaves. She would stop you and ask you to hold her horse, handing over imaginary reins, which you had to accept. The unwilling "horse-holder" was then expected to stand there, holding the reins, until she returned... and woe betide if you didn't! As you can imagine there was a great exodus from the corridor if she was seen to be about!
I'm eating it!" That'll either get you an A, or thrown out of class, lol!
Sandi: What a strange lecturer! Was that eccentric? Or psychotic? From what I've heard: neurotic people make up fantasy worlds; psychotics live in them!
Ylee: That is absolutely priceless and I can certainly picture you doing that now, if you went back to school now. Somehow, like Sandi, I can't picture an 18-year-old kid doing that.
I had another look for the definition of eccentric and found a British expression.... "barmy as a crumpet"!
I thought it apt for your blog after you made crumpets! lol
Wishing you a very happy and weather safe month!
Ha, the temperature reported in your sidebar is 59.8°. I can't even remember the last time it was that cool here.
Hope life's treating you well!
Hope all is well, and you are just getting on top of all that weed whacking!
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