Thanks, Nick, for taking us on this tour. My parents were climbing Mt. Rainier when Mt. St. Helens erupted They had their skis on their backs (they weren't going all the way to the top of the mountain), and as soon as they saw that the pyroclastic flow was coming their way, they put on their skis and skied down the parking lot where ash was already falling. They started to drive down the mountain road and the only way they could get down safely was to follow the tail lights of the car in front of them because so much ash was already falling. By the time they got to Longmire Hot Springs, it was already dark. They safely made their way home, and it sure seems to me that they could be categorized as survivors of the blast, since they were lucky to get down to their car, drive down the mountain, and make it home without their car konking out somewhere along the way. If any of those things had gone wrong, it could have been curtains for them.
@@medievalcreatures Good one mc. No way Jose! They were on a different mountain. And just in case you were making fun of this story, it actually happened just as I said it did.
They were definitely lucky for sure. I was only 5 in Portland when it erupted. All I remember is my mom putting a coffee filter with a rubber band on my face for a breathing mask. I have photos of my dad shoveling off the roof because they were expecting rain which would make things worse. If anyone wants to see the actual ash from the eruption, go to the mouth of the Toutle river that dumps into the Cowlitze river just north of Castle Rock WA. there is a huge pile of it.
I worked on a tree planting crew in the blast zone the year after the eruption, about five miles of the crater. I will never forget all the downed trees facing the same direction away from the blast, going for miles and miles, the skeletons of dead elk, and the thickets of burned trees. The thick pumice like beach sand. Nothing lived. In the end, we’re just bugs riding on a big ball.
Nicks a good student as well as a teacher. Pays to do your homework. I think everyone is interested in Mount St. Helens. Nick will soon be at 100k subs. That is a considerable achievement for a geology channel.
Thank you Nick! I have driven,hiked and ridden motorcycles on those roads/ woods. I have a home on 141,a few miles off of hiway 14,heading to Trout Lake. This video has really got me loving that area ..
So stoked for this one! I've been lucky enough to be a park ranger in the Mt. St. Helens National Volcanic Monument for the last five years, and the 99 road still blows me away every time I'm able to get up there! If anybody does end up finding a digital copy of that Evarts + Swanson geologic transect paper please let me know, seems like a great resource to help me and my coworkers update some of our interpretive panels along that route (:
Awesome tour! From Wikipedia: Harry R. Truman (October 1896 - May 18, 1980)[a] was an American businessman, bootlegger, and prospector. He lived near Mount St. Helens, an active volcano in the state of Washington, and was the owner and caretaker of Mount St. Helens Lodge at Spirit Lake near the base of the mountain. Truman came to fame as a folk hero in the months leading up to the volcano's 1980 eruption after refusing to leave his home despite evacuation orders. He was killed by a pyroclastic flow that overtook his lodge and buried the site under 150 ft (46 m) of volcanic debris.
Wow - that geologic map really gives a nice perspective for the upcoming series! Thank you for the field trip around Spirit Lake and the exposed pluton rocks, and bringing us along on the latest geological journey.
Thanks for reminding me what Spirit Lake Pluton looks like. 1981, we hiked into MSH northern blast zone via forest road. There were protected trees & around a corner, all blown down.
Great video. I used to go backpacking in that area with my boy scout troop in the 1970's. That road was there back then, but it was an unpaved logging road. There was a lot of pumice in the road cuts back then too, so I wouldn't assume any exposed pumice was from the 1980 eruption. We used to climb up to the top and slide down in it, wearing holes in our jeans in the process.
I hiked that road a couple of weeks before the eruption, well inside the red zone, but I was obsessed. What turned me around is when I looked at a road cut, I saw about an inch of forest duff on top of 10" of pumice. Under that was another inch of forest duff. That 10" of pumice was from an eruption ~1800 and got me to wonder what it would be like to have that fall on me. So I split ASAP. Note that at that time, nobody was thinking of a horizontal blast.
I enjoy your geology lessons, it's ironic because I'm an old man who hated school, but I find your enthusiasm, inspiring and particularly this evolving story of Mt St Helens interesting and I wonder about the spirits of those who died so abruptly that morning.
It *is* fun to learn new things. That's why we are here! :-) I've been up to Windy Ridge a few times, but it is fun to learn more about it with you and to see the area again after 10 years or so. Happy birthday yesterday!
Never forget. Two high school friends were there and ended up in the water. Went to California for family wedding that summer and seen the destruction. Been to Mt St Helen’s several times. Something special I will say..🌞
My wife and I were living in Oregon just south of Portland near Newberg in 1980 went St. Helens blew up. I was working on the roof of the house we were building and when the volcano blew we felt the whole house shake and heard a loud boom sort of like an jet aircraft breaking the sound barrier. We couldn't see St. Helens from our house but a few hours later we drove into town and saw St. Helens spewing black ash off toward the northeast. St. Helens had been puffing ash periodically for several weeks prior to the main blast and I think a lot of people were not sure it would ever blow, but there had been a bulge building on the NE side of the peak a few weeks prior to the eruption. Great pics and geology info.
HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! 🎉🎂🎶 It's 6/20 today. Heres to your GREAT HEALTH and JOY, and to all your loved ones and subscribers. We so appreciate you, Nick!
Thank you Nick for sharing the map and field guide! They sound so helpful for getting acquainted with the region. Excited to get to know the Spirit Lake Pluton!!!
It was nice to listen to you and your wonderful descriptions again. As I have mentioned to you before as a blind person, I love your videos so much, since you are so descriptive. I loved listening to the different sounds of the rocks as you tapped on them. You inspire me to come out there to visit even more. I have climbed Lassen Peak twice and absolutely loved it both times. Mount Saint Helens is one of my goals.
The summer before the eruption. My family stayed with friends who had a homestead several ridgelines west of St.Helen. Looking out the windows at their home and seeing this enormous mountain towering above everything never got old. We did some hiking and horseback riding. That area is so beautiful. As is so much of the PNW. Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us. Its a real pleasure!👍😺
Hi Nick, I'm enjoying your Spirit lake video - very informative! I was living in the 100 Mile House area when Mount Saint Helens blew. Thanks for your video!
Oh how wonderful a beautiful, educational field trip while I recover from COVID in a very humid place. So happy to see new growth there. Fascinating two different distributions of volcanic rock types in the same area! Thank you!
I've been fascinated and learning about Mount St Helens since it erupted in 1980 but more so since my visit to the area in 2007. I have books and videos at home about the event and every time I watch it, it still gives me shivers.
NICK, (or anyone else who could respond) . . . I was hiking an incline towards a ridge on the South (SouthEast?) side of Mt St Helens many years ago. A forested incline. In this forest, going up the side of the incline up towards the ridge were the most amazing HUGE, SHELF-LIKE SLABS OF LAVA from an old eruption, that were all covered in green moss. You could walk mostly on these slabs and work your way up the hill to the top of the ridge (where you could look down into part of the devastated area). Once again, GIGANTIC, FLAT, MOSS COVERED SHELVES OF LAVA, LAYER AFTER LAYER, GOING UP THE HILL (in forested area, untouched by the 1980 eruption, although just on the other side of the ridge from the affected area). I wish I had taken pictures of these things. Has anybody else ever been there and seen these huge slabs? It is a frikkin' amazing area! Like some enchanted Elfin forest.
One of my favorite areas! Love to come that way from Randle. We stay at tacklack lake by Adams often and love to drive over from there. Love the Gifford Pinchot!
Fascinating video and very timely. We will be spending a week At Mossy Rock campground soon and I can see roaming around this area during a day trip. Thanks for all your effort in making these vids.
This is such wholesome content you share Nick. All of the traveling and sharing you do on here for us viewers is just top notch. A huge thank you to you from the east coast in Connecticut. 👍
As I'm watching this video I'm looking to the south from where I am in Chehalis, I can see Mount Saint Helens from here. Really cool knowing that you were up there today giving us this tour. I've been to Windy ridge many times. Fascinated with the geology up there. Looking forward to the live streams!
Very good show. Have wanted to get up to this road every since the eruption. I will date myself. The windy ridge road existed prior to the 1980 eruption as a gravel road. I connected to it one time from either the Wind River drainage to the south, or around Swift reservoir. This was some years before it became active. It had then also a gorgeous view down to Spirit Lake's prior existence. Having boated on Spirit Lake many years prior to the eruption I still remember looking down through the clear water to where my step father, who grew up in Woodland, pointed to the trees standing upright below us. I lived in Cougar at the south foot of the mountain during parts of 1st and 2nd grade. You make geology fascinating once again for me Nick. Thank you. I Always watch for new episodes.
I remember an old forest service map of Spirit Lake which noted a submerged forest on the northern end. I wondered what it looked like. From my understanding of St. Helens history, there was a major eruption ~1500 which blocked the Toutle, creating the lake and submerging that forest. It is interesting to note that the bottom of the lake now is higher than the surface was before the eruption.
Yes, we motored across the lake from south to the northern end that day, and it was there we saw the submerged trees. Thank you for prompting my memory a bit. Yes, much higher now, I wonder if any of the former lake bottom is unburied. As an aside my older sister chaperoned Girl Scouts at a camp on the south end for several summers probably 60s or early 70s. Also it was my understanding, not directly but probably through relatives, that most indigenous people did not go to the mountain or lake - because the spiritual nature of the place was dangerous.
Oh, in case you are interested, I believe a smaller lake in Oregon, used to be no motorized craft, Clear lake by Santiam pass had an outlet blocked by a lava flow and has trees standing beneath the water’s surface as well.
Great video! I’m looking forward to more exploration videos like this. I love that you bring along the papers, reference materials and maps. Learning new things is fun! Hi-ya!
I was working on a fire on the east side of Mt St Helen’s in either 1978 or 1979. I was real proud of the timber we saved but Mother Nature had other plans. I haven’t been back but it is great to see the area again in your video. I can’t wait for A to Z.
Thanks Nick. I remember going out there along the Tuttle River around 87 and wow it was like the moon with a river running through it. Found a Elk femur bone sticking out of the ash...
😃Woo✨Nick, thank you for the drive, now I can connect with the ghost volcanoes schemes!💞💗So fun to learn something new!! Yea, we've driven on that road in...I wanna say, in '97?!...I see more green defiantly!!✨💚😁
Thank you Nick this short field trip reminded me of my childhood my brother was a Forester for Weyerhaeuser before and after the blast spent many Summers driving these roads
Such a beautiful visit for us to scratch around the Spirit Lake pluton with you, paying tribute to the geologists killed that day, my how it has changed. Tx.
Thank you Nick for bringing us along! Stunning views as always and much to learn. I'm trying to be a good student and have started reviewing the Crazy Eocene A to Z series. It's good to freshen up to be ready for the new series. 😊 Love from Dreischor in The Netherlands. (I NEED to get to Washington - for at least a couple of years I guess - to experience the beauty of your state and the geology of it in particular)
My Wife and Just Married and for many years before and after walked the paths of Middle Springs on Sulfur Mountain in Banff National Park, Canada. After Mount St. Helen's Eruption the Spring Waters stopped. The Springs of both the Upper Hot Springs, Middle Springs and the Cave and Basin Just Stopped for almost 2 Months.That Bell Got Rung. There was also a Fine Layer of Ash on Vehicles in the Townsite of Banff Alberta.2 Days after the Eruption. Nick Please Keep Your Those Wonderful Videos Up and Don't Lose That Passion That You Have,And That We Have Come To Love. Say Hi to Liz Again thanks. Michael Weeks Red Derr
Great camera work and running commentary. It (almost) feels like I'm right there with you on the field trip. All I need is sunshine and dry wind, and that mixed smell of dust and pine trees.
The Mount St. Helens eruption was one of the early seeds of my fascination with Earth sciences and geology. I finally got to visit it several years ago on a bucket list trip with my best friend, and I have to say the weather you've got is way better than ours. I have many pictures of the mountain clouded in, from Johnston Ridge Observatory.
Thanks for the tour. Started reading the paper from 1988..., a bit dry for me. Not easy to picture, vague remembrance of the backyard information from a few years ago. This video is very beneficial. Keep it going, kid.
Looking forward to the new series. My first encounter with Mt St Helens was in the early 1960s, a Seattle Mountaineers climb of the mountain. We camped at Timberline Camp the night before. We ascended via the Dogs Head route. The Dogs Head survived the May 18, 1980 eruption (just barely), along with the lower portion of the adjacent Forsyth Glacier. From the top of the Dogs Head it was another 3000 feet of elevation up a 35-degree snow slope to the summit. That slope provided a fast glissade on the descent. However, our rope team’s descent came to a sudden stop when my teammates went into self arrest when they saw the snow covering a crevasse fall away as I passed over. Spring of 1980 I joined friends on a couple light plane flights around Mt St Helens. On one of the flights a steam and ash eruption barreled into the sky off our left wingtip. The morning of May 18 I joined a gathering of the stunned and astonished at a viewpoint on a ridge top west of Portland. Some memories are seared so deeply, it is hard to believe it was 44 years ago.
Spirit lake before the eruption was the most amazing magical place on the earth. I was very fortunate to have spent time hiking the old growth around the lake. No one who had spent time in those groves of giants doubt the indigenous stories of magical spirits (hence the name)
Hope Nick falls in love with the topic and enthusiastically digs into topics a little deeper than is typical, exposing a story that is hidden in the details. Glad to see him so close to Oregon, we are desperate for someone to do for Oregon geology what Nick is doing for Washington in the fine granular detail!
Just a quick correction for you Nick. Forest Road 99 (the Windy Ridge road) was there long before the 1980 eruption. They just made repairs to it and reopened it in the early 90's. Love seeing you showcasing the geology in my neck of the woods. I hope you can return to the area in a future video. The Indian Heavens wilderness has a huge volcanic field that stretches from Mt Adams to the Gorge.
I was just there on Friday. I barely missed the chance to meet you in person. I am such a fan of your channel and have throughly enjoyed learning the geology of the PNW. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge with us on TH-cam. I hope to meet you in the future.
We were just up at Windy Ridge a couple weeks ago. The roads are a little rough in a few places. Just an incredible view of the devastation. We climbed to the top of the look out. We want to go back in the future so we can look at the rocks and learn more about the geology and the rock formations.
Thank you so much Nick! I am headed there in a few months and was wondering what the road to Windy Ridge was like. Beautiful area. The road is much nicer than some of the mountains roads I am use to.
Haven't been there since July of 1980. I was 18. I find this kind of geology fascinating.I would love to see the only stratovolcano I have seen in person once again. Well retirement is 2 1/2 years away. Great field trip Nick. Looking forward to seeing more places in Southwest Washington state
Thanks, Nick, for taking us on this tour. My parents were climbing Mt. Rainier when Mt. St. Helens erupted They had their skis on their backs (they weren't going all the way to the top of the mountain), and as soon as they saw that the pyroclastic flow was coming their way, they put on their skis and skied down the parking lot where ash was already falling. They started to drive down the mountain road and the only way they could get down safely was to follow the tail lights of the car in front of them because so much ash was already falling. By the time they got to Longmire Hot Springs, it was already dark. They safely made their way home, and it sure seems to me that they could be categorized as survivors of the blast, since they were lucky to get down to their car, drive down the mountain, and make it home without their car konking out somewhere along the way. If any of those things had gone wrong, it could have been curtains for them.
Brilliant story, I am glad it had a happy ending.
@@suebritt6831 Me too!
I was hoping you would say they surfed that pyroclastic flow on their skis :-0
@@medievalcreatures Good one mc. No way Jose! They were on a different mountain. And just in case you were making fun of this story, it actually happened just as I said it did.
They were definitely lucky for sure. I was only 5 in Portland when it erupted. All I remember is my mom putting a coffee filter with a rubber band on my face for a breathing mask. I have photos of my dad shoveling off the roof because they were expecting rain which would make things worse. If anyone wants to see the actual ash from the eruption, go to the mouth of the Toutle river that dumps into the Cowlitze river just north of Castle Rock WA. there is a huge pile of it.
I LOVE it when you take us along when you go into the field. I learn so much and get to enjoy wonderful views. Thank you!
I worked on a tree planting crew in the blast zone the year after the eruption, about five miles of the crater. I will never forget all the downed trees facing the same direction away from the blast, going for miles and miles, the skeletons of dead elk, and the thickets of burned trees. The thick pumice like beach sand. Nothing lived. In the end, we’re just bugs riding on a big ball.
Really enjoyed this one Nick. The view of Mount Saint Helens at 12:40 was just spectacular!
We love the field trip, thank you, Nick!
Thanks Nick. I was there in 1980. I was stationed at Ft Lewis when she blew. That is something i will never forget.
Thank you Nick. I tune you in and always learn something new.
Thank you for taking us there.
Hey there, Nick. So love these field trips!!
Nicks a good student as well as a teacher. Pays to do your homework. I think everyone is interested in Mount St. Helens. Nick will soon be at 100k subs. That is a considerable achievement for a geology channel.
Very enjoyable episode! Now I am getting excited all over again.
These field trips are the best!!! That’s what it feels like. Excellent stuff!!
Thank you Nick! I have driven,hiked and ridden motorcycles on those roads/ woods. I have a home on 141,a few miles off of hiway 14,heading to Trout Lake. This video has really got me loving that area ..
Breathtaking views! Thank you Nick for taking us with you :) And yes, learning is fun! ;)
Happy Birthday, Nick!
So stoked for this one! I've been lucky enough to be a park ranger in the Mt. St. Helens National Volcanic Monument for the last five years, and the 99 road still blows me away every time I'm able to get up there! If anybody does end up finding a digital copy of that Evarts + Swanson geologic transect paper please let me know, seems like a great resource to help me and my coworkers update some of our interpretive panels along that route (:
Nicely filmed, Nick. Thanks for the into to the area!
Awesome tour!
From Wikipedia:
Harry R. Truman (October 1896 - May 18, 1980)[a] was an American businessman, bootlegger, and prospector. He lived near Mount St. Helens, an active volcano in the state of Washington, and was the owner and caretaker of Mount St. Helens Lodge at Spirit Lake near the base of the mountain. Truman came to fame as a folk hero in the months leading up to the volcano's 1980 eruption after refusing to leave his home despite evacuation orders. He was killed by a pyroclastic flow that overtook his lodge and buried the site under 150 ft (46 m) of volcanic debris.
Loved your views Nick,, how interesting to see first hand the regrowth of the areas vegetation... remarkable
Thanks for taking us along Nick, it's always great!
Thank you for taking us along
Indeed, learning is fantastic. Thanks for the tour, heading from the East of Mount Saint Helens. Cheers from Stanwood! 🍻
Wow - that geologic map really gives a nice perspective for the upcoming series! Thank you for the field trip around Spirit Lake and the exposed pluton rocks, and bringing us along on the latest geological journey.
You kept me sane during the pandemic. Thanks Nick...
Thanks for reminding me what Spirit Lake Pluton looks like. 1981, we hiked into MSH northern blast zone via forest road. There were protected trees & around a corner, all blown down.
Nick im really really excited about this study. I always enjoy your stuff but this is right down my alley. Thank you!!!!!!!
Great video. I used to go backpacking in that area with my boy scout troop in the 1970's. That road was there back then, but it was an unpaved logging road. There was a lot of pumice in the road cuts back then too, so I wouldn't assume any exposed pumice was from the 1980 eruption. We used to climb up to the top and slide down in it, wearing holes in our jeans in the process.
I hiked that road a couple of weeks before the eruption, well inside the red zone, but I was obsessed. What turned me around is when I looked at a road cut, I saw about an inch of forest duff on top of 10" of pumice. Under that was another inch of forest duff. That 10" of pumice was from an eruption ~1800 and got me to wonder what it would be like to have that fall on me. So I split ASAP. Note that at that time, nobody was thinking of a horizontal blast.
Nice tour, thanks Nick.
Thanks Nick ! Extremely informative!
I enjoy your geology lessons, it's ironic because I'm an old man who hated school, but I find your enthusiasm, inspiring and particularly this evolving story of Mt St Helens interesting and I wonder about the spirits of those who died so abruptly that morning.
It *is* fun to learn new things. That's why we are here! :-) I've been up to Windy Ridge a few times, but it is fun to learn more about it with you and to see the area again after 10 years or so. Happy birthday yesterday!
Never forget. Two high school friends were there and ended up in the water. Went to California for family wedding that summer and seen the destruction. Been to Mt St Helen’s several times. Something special I will say..🌞
My wife and I were living in Oregon just south of Portland near Newberg in 1980 went St. Helens blew up. I was working on the roof of the house we were building and when the volcano blew we felt the whole house shake and heard a loud boom sort of like an jet aircraft breaking the sound barrier. We couldn't see St. Helens from our house but a few hours later we drove into town and saw St. Helens spewing black ash off toward the northeast. St. Helens had been puffing ash periodically for several weeks prior to the main blast and I think a lot of people were not sure it would ever blow, but there had been a bulge building on the NE side of the peak a few weeks prior to the eruption. Great pics and geology info.
Another good one Nick
Fantastic, Nick! Very interesting! Looking forward to the next installment!
Thank you for sharing.
HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! 🎉🎂🎶 It's 6/20 today. Heres to your GREAT HEALTH and JOY, and to all your loved ones and subscribers. We so appreciate you, Nick!
This is so wonderful, Nick. Thank you. I am excited about all of the Cascade information we will be learning.
Thanks for your videos Nick, I’ve been watching you for years !
Thank you Nick for sharing the map and field guide! They sound so helpful for getting acquainted with the region. Excited to get to know the Spirit Lake Pluton!!!
It was nice to listen to you and your wonderful descriptions again. As I have mentioned to you before as a blind person, I love your videos so much, since you are so descriptive. I loved listening to the different sounds of the rocks as you tapped on them. You inspire me to come out there to visit even more. I have climbed Lassen Peak twice and absolutely loved it both times. Mount Saint Helens is one of my goals.
The summer before the eruption. My family stayed with friends who had a homestead several ridgelines west of St.Helen. Looking out the windows at their home and seeing this enormous mountain towering above everything never got old. We did some hiking and horseback riding. That area is so beautiful. As is so much of the PNW. Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us. Its a real pleasure!👍😺
Thank you for this. I'd forgotten the beauty in that country.
Hi Nick, I'm enjoying your Spirit lake video - very informative! I was living in the 100 Mile House area when Mount Saint Helens blew. Thanks for your video!
Thank you. Beautiful area. (The cracks at the edge of that road look…precarious 😮!)
Oh how wonderful a beautiful, educational field trip while I recover from COVID in a very humid place. So happy to see new growth there. Fascinating two different distributions of volcanic rock types in the same area! Thank you!
I've been fascinated and learning about Mount St Helens since it erupted in 1980 but more so since my visit to the area in 2007. I have books and videos at home about the event and every time I watch it, it still gives me shivers.
NICK, (or anyone else who could respond) . . .
I was hiking an incline towards a ridge on the South (SouthEast?) side of Mt St Helens many years ago. A forested incline.
In this forest, going up the side of the incline up towards the ridge were the most amazing HUGE, SHELF-LIKE SLABS
OF LAVA from an old eruption, that were all covered in green moss. You could walk mostly on these slabs and work your way up the hill to the top of the ridge (where you could look down into part of the devastated area).
Once again,
GIGANTIC, FLAT, MOSS COVERED SHELVES OF LAVA, LAYER AFTER LAYER, GOING UP THE HILL (in forested area, untouched
by the 1980 eruption, although just on the other side of the ridge from the affected area).
I wish I had taken pictures of these things.
Has anybody else ever been there and seen these huge slabs?
It is a frikkin' amazing area! Like some enchanted Elfin forest.
That stressing of the pumice being 44 years ago kinda hurts.🥲 I was a kid when St.Helen erupted. Time sure does fly!😺
One of my favorite areas! Love to come that way from Randle. We stay at tacklack lake by Adams often and love to drive over from there. Love the Gifford Pinchot!
Mt. St. Helens is so awe inspiring to me. I remember when she blew. We had ash here in Denver by the next day. Thank you for this.
Thank-you for the recon -- It's been a while for myself as well.
Fascinating video and very timely. We will be spending a week At Mossy Rock campground soon and I can see roaming around this area during a day trip.
Thanks for all your effort in making these vids.
Thanks Nick for bringing us along both for that and reminding me I really need to visit the area.
This is such wholesome content you share Nick. All of the traveling and sharing you do on here for us viewers is just top notch. A huge thank you to you from the east coast in Connecticut. 👍
As I'm watching this video I'm looking to the south from where I am in Chehalis, I can see Mount Saint Helens from here. Really cool knowing that you were up there today giving us this tour. I've been to Windy ridge many times. Fascinated with the geology up there. Looking forward to the live streams!
Very good show. Have wanted to get up to this road every since the eruption. I will date myself. The windy ridge road existed prior to the 1980 eruption as a gravel road. I connected to it one time from either the Wind River drainage to the south, or around Swift reservoir. This was some years before it became active. It had then also a gorgeous view down to Spirit Lake's prior existence. Having boated on Spirit Lake many years prior to the eruption I still remember looking down through the clear water to where my step father, who grew up in Woodland, pointed to the trees standing upright below us. I lived in Cougar at the south foot of the mountain during parts of 1st and 2nd grade. You make geology fascinating once again for me Nick. Thank you. I Always watch for new episodes.
I remember an old forest service map of Spirit Lake which noted a submerged forest on the northern end. I wondered what it looked like. From my understanding of St. Helens history, there was a major eruption ~1500 which blocked the Toutle, creating the lake and submerging that forest. It is interesting to note that the bottom of the lake now is higher than the surface was before the eruption.
Yes, we motored across the lake from south to the northern end that day, and it was there we saw the submerged trees. Thank you for prompting my memory a bit. Yes, much higher now, I wonder if any of the former lake bottom is unburied.
As an aside my older sister chaperoned Girl Scouts at a camp on the south end for several summers probably 60s or early 70s.
Also it was my understanding, not directly but probably through relatives, that most indigenous people did not go to the mountain or lake - because the spiritual nature of the place was dangerous.
Oh, in case you are interested, I believe a smaller lake in Oregon, used to be no motorized craft, Clear lake by Santiam pass had an outlet blocked by a lava flow and has trees standing beneath the water’s surface as well.
Oh, so good to hear you. Traveling home from Ross Lake. Cool to see the area. ❤
Great video! I’m looking forward to more exploration videos like this. I love that you bring along the papers, reference materials and maps. Learning new things is fun! Hi-ya!
I love how you are so positive about learning. You make learning fun!
Graet Video Nick, thanks so much, Skip from michigan.
I was working on a fire on the east side of Mt St Helen’s in either 1978 or 1979. I was real proud of the timber we saved but Mother Nature had other plans. I haven’t been back but it is great to see the area again in your video. I can’t wait for A to Z.
Thanks Nick. I remember going out there along the Tuttle River around 87 and wow it was like the moon with a river running through it. Found a Elk femur bone sticking out of the ash...
😃Woo✨Nick, thank you for the drive, now I can connect with the ghost volcanoes schemes!💞💗So fun to learn something new!! Yea, we've driven on that road in...I wanna say, in '97?!...I see more green defiantly!!✨💚😁
Awesome,, thank you ❤️❤️❤️safe travels.
I’ve missed your videos. Thx for posting!
Thank you Nick this short field trip reminded me of my childhood my brother was a Forester for Weyerhaeuser before and after the blast spent many Summers driving these roads
Such a beautiful visit for us to scratch around the Spirit Lake pluton with you, paying tribute to the geologists killed that day, my how it has changed. Tx.
Thank you Nick for bringing us along! Stunning views as always and much to learn.
I'm trying to be a good student and have started reviewing the Crazy Eocene A to Z series. It's good to freshen up to be ready for the new series. 😊
Love from Dreischor in The Netherlands.
(I NEED to get to Washington - for at least a couple of years I guess - to experience the beauty of your state and the geology of it in particular)
Great stuff, Nick! Looking forward to the series, and the previews over the summer.
was at spirit lake lodge in 79 , the scenery change was amazing ,
Yes, it is fun to learn new things. Thanks for facilitating that!
My Wife and Just Married and for many years before and after walked the paths of Middle Springs on Sulfur Mountain in Banff National Park, Canada. After Mount St. Helen's Eruption the Spring Waters stopped. The Springs of both the Upper Hot Springs, Middle Springs and the Cave and Basin Just Stopped for almost 2 Months.That Bell Got Rung. There was also a Fine Layer of Ash on Vehicles in the Townsite of Banff Alberta.2 Days after the Eruption.
Nick Please Keep Your Those Wonderful Videos Up and Don't Lose That Passion That You Have,And That We Have Come To Love. Say Hi to Liz
Again thanks.
Michael Weeks Red Derr
I visited from the other side in 2010. Looking forward to these sets of investigations.
Thank you for inviting us.
Great camera work and running commentary. It (almost) feels like I'm right there with you on the field trip. All I need is sunshine and dry wind, and that mixed smell of dust and pine trees.
Viewing these volcanoes from a distance really gives you a sense of scale of these behemoths.
I'm safe, watch em from Australia 😮
As soon as you said "ghost volcano rock" I was like "so THAT'S why it's called Spirit Lake"
The Mount St. Helens eruption was one of the early seeds of my fascination with Earth sciences and geology. I finally got to visit it several years ago on a bucket list trip with my best friend, and I have to say the weather you've got is way better than ours. I have many pictures of the mountain clouded in, from Johnston Ridge Observatory.
Thank you.
Thanks for the tour. Started reading the paper from 1988..., a bit dry for me. Not easy to picture, vague remembrance of the backyard information from a few years ago. This video is very beneficial. Keep it going, kid.
Great video. I was just at Windy Ridge last Saturday...I appreciate the thorough explanations. Thank you Nick!
Looking forward to the new series. My first encounter with Mt St Helens was in the early 1960s, a Seattle Mountaineers climb of the mountain. We camped at Timberline Camp the night before. We ascended via the Dogs Head route. The Dogs Head survived the May 18, 1980 eruption (just barely), along with the lower portion of the adjacent Forsyth Glacier. From the top of the Dogs Head it was another 3000 feet of elevation up a 35-degree snow slope to the summit. That slope provided a fast glissade on the descent. However, our rope team’s descent came to a sudden stop when my teammates went into self arrest when they saw the snow covering a crevasse fall away as I passed over. Spring of 1980 I joined friends on a couple light plane flights around Mt St Helens. On one of the flights a steam and ash eruption barreled into the sky off our left wingtip. The morning of May 18 I joined a gathering of the stunned and astonished at a viewpoint on a ridge top west of Portland. Some memories are seared so deeply, it is hard to believe it was 44 years ago.
I’ve ridden the Ape Canyon/Smith Creek loop several times on my mountain bike through the years. Definitely a lot more vegetation growing back!
That's awesome thanks for sharing
Bummed I missed ya up there today! Thanks for the video from one of my favorite places
I so appreciate your interest in sharing your knowledge and the views , thank you good sir
Spirit lake before the eruption was the most amazing magical place on the earth. I was very fortunate to have spent time hiking the old growth around the lake. No one who had spent time in those groves of giants doubt the indigenous stories of magical spirits (hence the name)
Very interesting and beautiful!
12:54 what a view! I also hope the term "ghost volcano" takes off!
Hope Nick falls in love with the topic and enthusiastically digs into topics a little deeper than is typical, exposing a story that is hidden in the details.
Glad to see him so close to Oregon, we are desperate for someone to do for Oregon geology what Nick is doing for Washington in the fine granular detail!
Fun to learn new things. Keeps the head alive and well.
Just a quick correction for you Nick. Forest Road 99 (the Windy Ridge road) was there long before the 1980 eruption. They just made repairs to it and reopened it in the early 90's. Love seeing you showcasing the geology in my neck of the woods. I hope you can return to the area in a future video. The Indian Heavens wilderness has a huge volcanic field that stretches from Mt Adams to the Gorge.
Thank you for getting back to the rocks.
I was living in Aldergrove BC at the time and we were showered in ash from the blast. Thanks Nick.
I've been up that way many times. It's not a road for the faint of heart.
I was just there on Friday. I barely missed the chance to meet you in person. I am such a fan of your channel and have throughly enjoyed learning the geology of the PNW. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge with us on TH-cam. I hope to meet you in the future.
We were just up at Windy Ridge a couple weeks ago. The roads are a little rough in a few places. Just an incredible view of the devastation. We climbed to the top of the look out. We want to go back in the future so we can look at the rocks and learn more about the geology and the rock formations.
Thank you so much Nick! I am headed there in a few months and was wondering what the road to Windy Ridge was like. Beautiful area. The road is much nicer than some of the mountains roads I am use to.
This is cool! I was out there in 2000 (I think it was). What a other worldly place it was then!
Haven't been there since July of 1980. I was 18. I find this kind of geology fascinating.I would love to see the only stratovolcano I have seen in person once again. Well retirement is 2 1/2 years away. Great field trip Nick. Looking forward
to seeing more places in Southwest Washington state