Thread: Happy Mt. St. Helens Day

29 years ago today, Mt. St. Helens erupted. I remember it well, because at the time, as now, I lived close enough to see her on a clear day.

For a close look at what she's doing now, you can check out the volcano cam at:

http://www.fs.fed.us/gpnf/volcanocams/msh/

I remember hiking on the lower mountain about fifteen years ago. It was nearly impossible to go off trail because of the maze of fallen timber combined with thick undergrowth. Even more than a decade after the explosion the Cowlitz still flowed with ash. Many miles to the East at Yakima Firing Center still had valleys you could still stand ankle deep in ash and couldn't follow a vehicle because it was too powdery to see. I imagine the tree fall is still there unless it's been removed--it will take centuries to decay some of those huge trunks.

I hope to retire just South of Olympia in a about a year, once again within viewing range of Mount Helen.

Those who wants on updates about Mt. St. Helens;

Last may 20,2009, Wednesday, in the early evening, signals was lost from both VolcanoCams. Both were back online sometime Thursday afternoon. The cause of the problem was found to be a commercial network service that supplies access between the Interstate 5 corridor at Castle Rock, Washington, and the Forest Service network near Johnston Ridge. The cameras continued to function with no problems, however, network access was not working. But all seem to be well last friday morning.