Paul Lewing on thu 19 jan 06
on 1/19/06 10:41 AM, Hank Murrow at hmurrow@EFN.ORG wrote:
> I am toying with the idea to arrive at NCECA a day or two early and
>> take a
>> side trip to Mt St Helen. Anyone else planning the same?
Check the weather before you go. There is a series of volcanoes all up and
down that range, and St. Helens is the one that's most often socked in. I'd
say if you can't see it, don't go. Our weather here on the Wet Coast comes
out of the SW, and just SW of that mountain is the Columbia River Gorge, the
biggest break in the coastal mountains any where around here. So the rain
piles up on St. Helens more than it does the others.
A possible alternative might be a trip up to Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood.
It's a little more likely to be clear, and even if it's not, the restored
Arts & Crafts Era lodge is a treat. All furnished with crafts and art by
Oregon artists. Can't compare with molten lava, though.
By the way, St. Helens was more active last summer than at any time since
the big eruption. It's still oozing lava and steam, but no one can figure
out why it isn't having the little earthquakes it should be having with
that. It's gradually rebuilding itself. It had built itself a new cone
inside the crater that had gotten up to about the height of a 20-story
building (if I remember right) and then it blew it out this summer. At the
moment, it's oozing lava at about the rate of one of those huge dump trucks
they use on road building projects, every three seconds.
Paul Lewing, Seattle
Tom Sawyer on thu 19 jan 06
I am toying with the idea to arrive at NCECA a day or two early and take a
side trip to Mt St Helen. Anyone else planning the same? Will share
expenses.
Tom Sawyer. If you chose contact me off line.
tsawyer@cfl.rr.com
Laurie on thu 19 jan 06
I went there last July. It is very much worth seeing. Should be even
prettier with snow.
You should give yourself at least half a day for the trip so you can
stay awhile and go to the various visitor centers.
It's a very winding road the closer you get to the mountain! Make
sure you get gas before you go off of I-5.
Take lots of photos!
Laurie in Sacramento
On Jan 19, 2006, at 5:18 AM, Tom Sawyer wrote:
> I am toying with the idea to arrive at NCECA a day or two early and
> take a
> side trip to Mt St Helen. Anyone else planning the same? Will share
> expenses.
>
> Tom Sawyer. If you chose contact me off line.
>
> tsawyer@cfl.rr.com
Hank Murrow on thu 19 jan 06
On Jan 19, 2006, at 5:18 AM, Tom Sawyer wrote:
> I am toying with the idea to arrive at NCECA a day or two early and
> take a
> side trip to Mt St Helen. Anyone else planning the same? Will share
> expenses.
Dear Tom et al;
The Visitor's Center has good explanations, and you would have to have
a permit to hike up the mountain. Not sure how much in advance. Perhaps
vheck the forest service sites.
Cheers, Hank
www.murrow.biz/hank
Tom Sawyer on fri 20 jan 06
Thanks Paul for the information. You previously mentioned hiking which I
don't intend doing at all with my gimpy knee. I thought it would be
interesting to see Mt. St Helen and to investigate whether I might find some
ash for sale which I could ship. In looking at my first message, I see I
said something about sharing expenses which I really don't care a flip
about; I just thought it would be nice to have some companionship.
Tom Sawyer
Gayle Bair on fri 20 jan 06
Tom,
A few years ago returning from a summer vacation in Oregon
we made a quick detour visit to Mt. St. Helens. We were pressed for time
& decided to take the helicopter tour. Though it wasn't active at the time
it sure "blew" me away! I was snapping my 35mm and digital camera while
hubby was videoing... I think my son was the only one to get an
uninterrupted view but I sure got some great shots! It's
pricey but wow what an experience. Check out
http://www.mt-st-helens.com/Helicoptertour.html
There are other helicopter tours in the area but this one is connected to
the park. We felt safer taking this one.
Gayle Bair
Bainbridge Island, WA
Tucson, AZ
www.claybair.com
-----Original Message-----
From: Tom SawyerThanks Paul for the information. You previously mentioned
hiking which I
don't intend doing at all with my gimpy knee. I thought it would be
interesting to see Mt. St Helen and to investigate whether I might find some
ash for sale which I could ship. In looking at my first message, I see I
said something about sharing expenses which I really don't care a flip
about; I just thought it would be nice to have some companionship.
Tom Sawyer
Paul Lewing on fri 20 jan 06
on 1/20/06 6:45 AM, Tom Sawyer at tsawyer@CFL.RR.COM wrote:
> I thought it would be
> interesting to see Mt. St Helen and to investigate whether I might find some
> ash for sale which I could ship.
Ah, I hadn't thought about that angle! I wouldn't count on getting any
usable ash from a trip to the monument, although you might. I have actually
never been up to the new visitor center on the northwest side of the
mountain, so I'm not sure. But remember a couple of things. First, it's
been 25 years since the Big Blow, so if you find a good deep bed of ash,
you'll want to skim off the top, because it will have organic matter and
dirt from the air in it. Second, the closer to the mountain you are, the
coarser the ash is (think "air-floated"). You might not find much that
close that's any finer than gravel. Of course you can always sift it.
Third, the ash was carried to the northeast, by all that prevailing wind off
the Pacific. So the best places to look for good usable ash are actually
50-100 miles east and north of the mountain, out in the desert. Another
possibility is to cruise along the Toutle River and look for what looks like
beds of fine gray sand. The Toutle drains the part of Mt. St. Helens (not
Helen, by the way) that erupted, and there were massive ash flows down that
river. I think you'll cross the river on I-5 on your way to the visitor
center.
Paul Lewing, Seattle
nsmheralds@netzero.net on mon 30 jan 06
>Ah, I hadn't thought about that angle! I wouldn't count on getting any=
usable ash from a trip to the monument, although you might. I have actu=
ally
never been up to the new visitor center on the northwest side of the
mountain, so I'm not sure. But remember a couple of things. First, it'=
s
been 25 years since the Big Blow, so if you find a good deep bed of as=
h,
you'll want to skim off the top, because it will have organic matter and=
dirt from the air in it. Second, the closer to the mountain you are, t=
he
coarser the ash is (think "air-floated"). You might not find much =
that
close that's any finer than gravel. Of course you can always sift it.
Third, the ash was carried to the northeast, by all that prevailing wind=
off
the Pacific. So the best places to look for good usable ash are actual=
ly
50-100 miles east and north of the mountain, out in the desert. Another=
possibility is to cruise along the Toutle River and look for what looks =
like
beds of fine gray sand. The Toutle drains the part of Mt. St. Helens (n=
ot
Helen, by the way) that erupted, and there were massive ash flows down t=
hat
river. I think you'll cross the river on I-5 on your way to the visitor=
center.
You might also want to be aware of a couple of other access-related thin=
gs:
1) It's illegal to collect material from within the National Monument. =
I don't know if rangers or law-enforcement personnel will necessarily wr=
ite you a citation, but the'll more than likely make you squirm. Fortun=
ately, there's plenty of material in the blast zone that lies outside th=
e NM. HOWEVER, =
2) much of the land surrounding the volcano is owned or leased by one or=
more lumber companies, so many of the forest access roads will be gated=
and inaccessible by vehicle. You'll want a good set of maps to know wh=
ere to go.
=
Nathan Miller
Thistillium Pottery
Newberg, OR
=
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