Mount St Helens - August 31, 2004

I didn't get to spend nearly enough time at Mount St Helens National Volcanic Park (yes, that is its name) as I wanted to once I got there. Getting there in itself takes quite a journey. Mount St Helens is not near the freeway(I-5); you must exit onto a state highway and drive about an hour to get to the Johnston Observatory, the closest visitor's center to the actual mountain. You can get closer - the entire area is a recreational area. So you could hike and/or camp at the nearby lake; I did neither.

The day I went was very warm, almost hot even. The flying insects were out in force - you could not walk without being swarmed by them. I don't believe they were dangerous, just a nuisance. I'd only allotted 2 hours which, again, was not enough. I did get to attend a short talk about the mountain. The "ranger" - not sure if that was his title as this Park is not affiliated with the National Park Service - had many pictures and other visuals. I found out the St. Helens is, by far, the most active volcano in the Pacific Rim. It tends to erupt every hundred years or so, so we should not be surprised when it does. Since I visited, the mountain again vented some steam (in late September, 2004).

After the talk, I viewed a very good film (I would have said entertaining but I am not sure a film with footage of a volcanic eruption should be labeled "entertaining") about the 1980 eruption. The film itself lasted about half and hour, and I really liked it. You can buy copies of it (I would not watch it enough to buy a copy) but I cannot for the life of me find any books out there about the event, except for a children's book and I would like something more in depth than that.