50@50 – Mount St. Helens, WA
Since “Culture” reflects our beliefs, values and identities, events have a way of jarring our reality – instantly creating a collective cultural marker. Each generation has these markers; some, like December 7, 1941, are so strong that its “memory” is handed down to those not yet born at the time.
On May 18, 1980, Washington’s Mount St. Helen’s massive eruption blew 1300 vertical feet off the volcano, the force of which obliterated the landscape for miles and resulted in the largest recorded landslide in history. The ash turned day into night, and was seen “raining’ in New Jersey a few days later.
Though over 18 million trees were planted, many acres were left alone to understand how and when the landscape recovers on its own. Thirty years later, the naturally evolving areas are sparser in vegetation, but no less spectacular. The plant life has greater diversity. With fall color, the hills in masked red, gold and orange foliage seem eerily reminiscent of the fire that still burns below. The area has evolved into an informative laboratory for scientists worldwide.
To hike up Mount St. Helen’s or in the surrounding backcountry, one must procure a permit. For those without permits, several short trails can be enjoyed from the west (SR504), south (FR83) or east (FR99). We traveled slowly up the eastern flank of the volcano, winding north around past Windy Ridge. A series of steps at the end of the road takes one up to a tiring, but oh-so-worth-it viewpoint. Looking into the space left by the blast, I felt like if the mountain burped, I’d be fried! Part of Spirit Lake remains clogged with thousands of decaying logs. Another two mile trail descends 700 feet down to the shoreline, where one see more clearly the path and force of the landslide.
The 1980 eruption exhibited the degree to which we are powerless against the raw power of our planet. Somehow, humanity seems fragile in this context and our everyday crises awfully small.