Mount Saint Helens & The Gifford Pinchot National Forest
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On May 18th, 1980, one of the most geologically and financially destructive events in modern American history took place in a quiet corner of Washington State – Mount Saint Helens blew its top. In the eruption’s wake and subsequent landslide, 57 people lost their lives; 250 homes, countless bridges and hundreds of miles of rail and roadways were destroyed.
Having moved to Seattle in 2013, I was still new to exploring all that the Pacific Northwest had to offer. Visiting Mount Saint Helens was definitely high up on the list of places to check out and when work called for a trip down to Government Camp, Oregon*, I decided to make a detour on the return trip to Seattle. Here are the resulting photos…
Cozy accomodations with plenty of skis to test on Mt. Hood’s glacier.Headed to the top of one of many volcanoes in the Pacific Northwest – Mount Hood.Mount Hood, Oregon.
Charlie, the co-pilot for the day.“Stay away from the tracks and stay alive!”One of the roads within the Gifford Pinchot National Forest.Mount Saint Helens from across the valley on NFD25.A panorama from NFD 25, looking down into the Clearwater Creek area of Gifford Pinchot National Forest.Snags amongst new(er) growth en route to the Windy Ridge Viewing Area of Mount Saint Helens.
“A snag refers to a standing, dead or dying tree, often missing a top or most of the smaller branches.” – WikipediaThe landscape is still scoured by the 1980 eruption and resulting pyroclastic flow.#CampTacoma in the shadow of Mount Saint Helens.Climbing for a better view.