Broke camp this morning and move further north closer to Mount St Helens. Found a really nice RV Resort that was all but brand new and a really reasonable price.
On my way into the region, stopped at the Mount St Helens Visitor Center to view the movie, read through the displays and get some hiking information. The movie was not great, a little outdated and the displays were interesting. Certainly not a destination unto itself, but a good source for an initial introduction into the park, the services, but most of all, the volcano and the events of 1980.
For those of you who don’t remember, Mount St Helens erupted in May of 1980 and destroyed a very wide swath of pristine timberland and recreation area. 1200 feet of mountain top was destroyed, thousands of acres of trees and forest land, mud slides over 50 miles away, blocked the shipping channel in the Columbia River, sent ash flying all the way around the world covering 11 US states in the process, and killed 57 people.
The debris field did manage to naturally damn a couple of valleys and in the process created two brand new lakes. The eruption and subsequent recovery period did provide scientists with an unprecedented look at an active volcanic event, and mother nature’s natural recovery process and the evolution of new lakes.
Dropped the motor coach and setup camp, then ate a quick lunch and headed further in towards the volcano. SR504 ends at the Johnson Visitor Center on a ridge overlooking the north side of the mountain. The US Forest Service runs this park and they have a great interpretive center right on the hill overlooking Mount St Helens. There are hiking trails that provide fantastic vistas of the mountain side and the barren valley the eruption left 18 years ago.
The negative side is that you have to pay $8 whether you want to hike, just look at the mountain or visit the displays. Kind of excessive if you ask me. It was quite crowded when I was there as well, but five minutes down the hiking trail and you will leave the crowd well behind.
The US Forest Service has left the volcano and the mountain side much as it was in May 1980. Leaving mother nature to recover in her own due time. The hill side hosting the visitor center has slowly recovered some green and there are a ton of wildflowers growing everywhere. The biggest problem is keeping people on the path and off of the fragile growth and recovery areas.
One final note, this is still considered an active volcano. You don’t see the steaming
bowl of lava at the top like you do on TV, but there is a crown in the middle of the mountain that is slowly growing. Scientists have an extensive monitoring grid in place and are constantly watching for signs of activity.
Mount St Helens