We woke this morning to find it sunny and very hazy. Deciding that Mt. Rainer NP was probably going to be over run with locals like on Saturday, we decided today would be a good day to visit Mount Saint Helen National Volcanic Monument which is run by the Department of Agriculture. The drive to the Northeast entrance to the monument and then on to the Wind Ridge Overlook was 2.5 hours. We followed US12 to rt131 in Randall. From Randall, its 46 miles to the final overlook on a paved road that is falling apart. It was rough, twisting and rockin and rolling. Considering the number of people we saw driving the road we are surprised it is not better maintained. There are two other entrances to the monument, one on the southeast corner and the other at the northeast corner, but they would be an additional 2 hours to get to either one. At the second overlook, we could easily see Mt. Hood and Mt. Adam along with Mt Saint Helen.
We stopped off at the Harmony Lake and Spirit Lake overlooks to see tree trunks that were blown/washed into the lakes in May 1980 are still floating around in large log mats that drift on the wind. The devastation from the blast is still clearly visible almost 40 years later. The areas outside the monument have been restored through a combination of public and private re-plantings with native trees. The areas in the monument are being allowed to recover naturally and are being closely studied by scientists. The one visitor center we passed on the way in was closed. We had planned to do some hiking in the monument in return trips but decided it was just too far to drive for a day hike. Critter Sighting: We saw a white tail deer along the road on the drive in.
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| Entrance Sign with Mount Saint Helens in the background |
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| Spirit Lake with floating tree trunks |
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| Mount Saint Helens |
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