Nowhere have the winds of change blown across a landscape the way they did within living memory at Mount St. Helens.
“It was the largest landslide in the whole world for all of recorded human history,” said Sonja Melander, science education manager at the nonprofit Mount St. Helens Institute.
The giant May 18, 1980, landslide uncorked a volcanic gas chamber that released in a lateral blast and created “a stone-filled wind moving at hundreds of miles per hour that dramatically changed the landscape,” she said.
It rapidly buried streams, riverbeds and lakes; since then, across nearly 40 years, a more gradual wind of change has continued blowing across the landscape, reclaiming what was destroyed and growing new ecosystems.
If you go
What: “Summer on the Mountain” Volcano Exploration Days at Mount St. Helens.
When: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. June 22, July 27, Sept. 28.
Admission: Free.
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What: Mount St. Helens Sky and Star Party.
When: Daytime Aug. 24 and after dark that night or the night before.
Admission: To be determined.
Information: www.mshinstitute.org or 360-449-7883
You can explore all that geologic drama in quicker-than-geologic time with a guided hike along the Winds of Change trail at Mount St. Helens this summer. Except for August, every fourth Saturday — June 22, July 27 and Sept. 28 — will be a family friendly “Summer on the Mountain” day at the Mount St. Helens Institute at Coldwater Lake. That means free admission and lots of scientific fun.
There was no Coldwater Lake where you could summer on the mountain before that big day in May 1980. But there was a Coldwater Creek, which got buried under hundreds of feet of eruption debris, along with the whole Toutle River Valley.
The result was a fast-rising 5-mile-long lake, dammed by soft material that looked likely to erode easily and cause major flooding below. The solution was to create a series of artificial spillways and outlet channels, along with a tunnel built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to nearby Spirit Lake.
Since then, Mount St. Helens has become a fabulous living laboratory where scientists study not just volcanism but ecological resilience. The easy Winds of Change trail is an excellent place for you to study it, too. It’s a paved loop trail, about one-third of a mile long, and it’s decked out with interpretive kiosks explaining how flora and fauna have returned to a landscape that was destroyed and remade not very long ago. On “Summer on the Mountain” Saturdays, trail guides will lead interpretive hikes every hour on the hour.
“That’s a great trail for anybody. It’s short and slow, but there is so much to see,” said Melander. “The surrounding area is what got impacted by the lateral blast,” and now it’s an amazing example of “ecological succession,” she said.
A bigger, deeper guided hike through that landscape is along the Hummocks Trail. This guided hike is expected to cover 2.4 miles in about two hours — meandering up, down and around a lumpy landscape of hills, ponds and streams that are literally new on this planet.
“The path highlights the return of life and it’s quite dramatic,” said Melander. “One moment you’re in a dense forested area, among the alders that came back since the 1980 eruption. Then you go up a little hill and you’re out in open space like a desert.” Watch out for elk, waterfowl and amphibians. Don’t forget water and sunscreen.
Also, don’t forget that this landscape is a legally protected science lab; stepping off the trail and into the wilderness can earn you a $100 fine.
What else happens during “Summer on the Mountain” Saturdays? Science and craft activities for kids all day, including “trash-cano” demonstrations, featuring a volcano scientist or volunteer cooking up a gas-powered eruption inside a trash can.
Looking up
The one summer Saturday that isn’t a free volcano festival aims to tilt your gaze straight up into the sky. That’s the telescopic Sky and Star Party, set for daylight hours on Aug. 24, plus an evening of camping out and stargazing — either that same night, or the night before, Aug. 23.
The problem with scheduling a star-viewing night this far in advance, Melander said, is that you can’t schedule the weather. So, the Mount St. Helens Institute is figuring on making that call — stargazing that night, or the before? — in mid-August, once weather trends are clearer.
Whichever night it turns out to be, she said, the Rose City Astronomers and the Friends of Galileo Astronomy Club will be there with telescopes and expertise. Tent camping, dry RV camping in the parking lot and limited indoor accommodations will be available, but details and prices are still being worked out, Melander said; if you’re interested, go to the Mount St. Helens Institute events page and click on the “sign up here” link to get the details as soon as they’re available.
The August Sky and Star Party at the Mount St. Helens Institute will require an overnight fee (or day pass if you don’t spend the night) that’s yet to be determined, Melander said, but all “Summer on the Mountain” events (June 22, July 27, Sept. 28) are free.
There are also several one- to four-night sleep-away summer camps for youth, middle-school GeoGirls only, and whole families, Melander added, with scholarships available. Financial aid is available for the Sky and Star Party too.
“We always want to welcome everyone who wants to come, no matter their financial situation,” she said. “The mountain is for everyone.”
