Keller Travels: Mount St. Helens

May 18, 1980

"At 8:32 a.m., a magnitude 5.1 earthquake centered directly below the north slope triggered that part of the volcano to slide, approximately 7–20 seconds after the shock. The landslide, one of the largest in recorded history, travelled at 110 to 155 miles per hour and moved across Spirit Lake's west arm. Part of it hit a 1,150-foot high ridge about 6 miles north. Some of the slide spilled over the ridge, but most of it moved 13 miles down the North Fork Toutle River, filling its valley up to 600 feet deep with avalanche debris. An area of about 24 square miles was covered, and the total volume of the deposit was about 0.7 cubic miles."

August 10, 2013: Our day to see the mountain!

Five years ago we were here but the area was covered with fog. When we awoke to fog in the campground we were disappointed. We looked at the webcam on the mountain and the sky looked clear, so off we drove. It took awhile for the fog to lift.

Mount St. Helens minus 1400 feet off the top after the eruption!

"Harry Truman was the caretaker of the Mount St. Helens Lodge located at the foot of Mount St. Helens beside Spirit Lake. In the weeks before the eruption Harry refused to evacuate saying, "I don't have any idea whether it will blow. But I don't believe it to the point that I'm going to pack up. Truman discarded all of his concerns about the volcano and his situation, at one point stating, "If the mountain goes, I'm going with it. This area is heavily timbered, Spirit Lake is in between me and the mountain, and the mountain is a mile away, the mountain ain't gonna hurt me... boy."

Well unfortunately Harry and his 16 cats died when a pyroclastic flow engulfed the Spirit Lake area, destroying the lake and burying the site of his lodge under 150 feet (46 m) of volcanic landslide debris."

Our first hike was along the Boundary Trail, Truman section, that led to Spirit Lake. I didn't know what to expect but I was very surprised with the landscape surrounding Mount St. Helens.

Steep and narrow for awhile.

Spirit Lake was 300 feet deep before the eruption. When the debris field hit the lake it displaced the water doubling the size of the lake and lowering it's depth to 150 feet. You can still see the logs floating on the surface.

The ranger had told us storms were in the area so the minute we heard thunder to head back. Thunder first and then lightening. Hikers are the highest point in this area, taller than most of the trees, so getting back to shelter is important. The only problem is the lake is 4 miles away from the shelter. We watched the sky the entire time and the dark clouds floated past and we never heard thunder or saw lightening.