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1

PDeXplore OP t1_istyyrf wrote

Just mind blowing the impact that this eruption had, some 30+ years later. Seeing pictures of how this used to be a fairly lush forest, but as it sits today most of the St Helens area is basically a desert. There are quite a few spots that still have a graveyard of dead trees remaining from the original forest, and surprisingly basically none have grown back.

Would be interesting if anyone here was alive to visit the area before the eruptions in the 80s that can comment further.

Fyi shot on Sony A7C, Tamron 17-28mm, f/9. Instagram for more PNW landscape stuff

15

Acceptable-Royal-257 t1_isu0sg3 wrote

Was alive? Don’t be insulting- I’m not that old. My family and I used to camp up there. It was beautiful with the trees, lakes and the (then) perfectly domed mountain top.

−4

PDeXplore OP t1_isu60nn wrote

Replying to Acceptable-Royal-257 (#134,804)

Haha, sorry about that! Certainly a lot of users here were not alive 40 years ago, let alone old enough to remember spending time in the area before it changed.

Have you visited the area enough in the years since to see any kind of change over the past few decades?

2

HighOnGoofballs t1_isu7vu0 wrote

If you use google earth you can see the tens of thousands of trees still floating today in the nearby lakes

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PDeXplore OP t1_isuanu9 wrote

Replying to HighOnGoofballs (#135,255)

Wow! I do see that in Spirit Lake. In fact, I remember hiking towards Spirit, from far away it kind of looked like an abandoned city with all the "rubble" everywhere. It wasn't until I got much closer that I could make out that it was all just dead trees everywhere.

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Glum_Can1264 t1_isuqh77 wrote

Did you take this photo? Have you trekked up the mountain it’s self?

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FrillySteel t1_isurw0s wrote

Replying to PDeXplore (#134,684)

And most local scientists will tell you that the area rebounded a great deal faster than they anticipated. They were expecting it to be entirely lifeless for at least several decades, but some floura and fauna returned just a few short years after the eruption.

15

darrellbear t1_isuwlld wrote

I was living in the Colorado high country at the time of the eruption. I got up the next morning to drive to work. My windshield was dirty, I turned on the wipers and squirted washer fluid to clean it. I ruined my windshield instantly.

68

rededelk t1_isuzbpo wrote

"long"? Don't think so seeing as how the earth is maybe 3 billion years old or whatever. That's a nice pic

−3

rededelk t1_isv5lo8 wrote

Replying to CmdrKhaos (#137,160)

Not sure what you mean but I sat on the edge of Kilauea eating a T-bone and drinking red wine after hiking the caldera, it erupted the next day, can't believe I did that. I fly fish so I know what they are, just don't get your context

−3

xMonkeyy t1_isv7gw0 wrote

mmmm ash and rock :)

1

bryman19 t1_isvky8k wrote

Hell of an eruption

6

PDeXplore OP t1_isvnfwt wrote

Replying to islandpancakes (#137,451)

Drought certainly makes it feel more desert like, but that's certainly not the reason all the trees are gone haha. But yeah, even around Mt Hood and the Gorge it starts to feel a bit deserty with how dry it gets.

5

HeadOfMax t1_isvpmbh wrote

Did you do the long hike from the observatory?

I was out there a few weeks ago, my pictures don’t look nearly as nice as yours.

2

Tamwulf t1_isvpn01 wrote

Replying to Glum_Can1264 (#136,465)

Believe it or not, that picture is about... I want to say 5 miles from the volcano? St. Helens is also a little over 8,000' high. Hiking/climbing the north face requires a permit, and it is still classified as an "active" volcano. The caldera is still building and occasionally emits steam/ash clouds. It's a fantastic place to visit with gorgeous scenery.

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Ocean_Kiwi t1_isvtht5 wrote

St. Helens has a pretty cool gift shop too. I've been wondering if it's still there.

1

velezaraptor t1_isvucj1 wrote

I was given ash in a jar from this eruption.

I remember it well as we had friends who lived near Seattle, WA.

I remember watching footage of a videographer filming it close to the action. It became darker and darker, harder to breathe. The person died from what I remember, I can’t find the video of it now. I think it was just a small part of a documentary, so it may be difficult to find. It was surreal and emotional to watch someone go from filming to panic for their life, so sad.

5

porcelainvacation t1_isvvluq wrote

I drove by the dredge piles where they cleared the Cowlitz and Toutle river channels a couple of days ago.

2

chemicalxv t1_isw8e7v wrote

Replying to FyudoMyo (#136,099)

Trees in general take a very long time to decompose, it's not actually out of the ordinary that they're still there, especially factoring in that they would have been pyrolized by the actual eruption, and I believe the water temperatures generally being cooler also slow down decomposition. For the most part they're all just slowly sinking to the bottom of the lake.

Old Man of the Lake is still floating around Crater Lake and has been there since at least 1896.

21

PDeXplore OP t1_iswaj13 wrote

Replying to chemicalxv (#139,520)

Yeah it seems strange, but I also watched an episode of This Old House a few weeks ago where they were pulling up centuries old trees from a river in order to make tables. So I guess with the right conditions, things don't decompose much.

When I go back to this spot, I'd love to do a better job of getting a composition with all the dead trees still "standing". It's really fascinating how many are still there, and in good shape other than the top halves were obliterated lol

9

XuX24 t1_iswdvs6 wrote

This year I saw a National Geographic documentary on Mount St Helen, it's still baffles me how recent this was and many people didn't even know about it.

3

chemicalxv t1_iswfl8p wrote

Replying to slimejumper (#139,834)

Yes it's the remaining stump of an old tree that's been floating vertically in the lake for a very, very long time.

I don't know if there's any real guesses as to how long its been in the water (1896 is just the oldest recorded observation) but I believe the tree has been dated to being like 450ish years old.

8

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1

Jmz67 t1_iswjeqm wrote

I remember the dust on my dads car here in Calgary, it was a real event.

3

Glum_Can1264 t1_iswto09 wrote

Replying to Tamwulf (#138,493)

Yeah looks incredible, I’m sure I recognise the view from photos before it erupted. It’s interesting how you can see lots of ravines where it looks like water has carved out the newer settled earth.

3

JadziaDayne t1_isxsqab wrote

What am I looking at besides the top of the volcano missing?

1

ardent_wolf t1_isxsxi3 wrote

Replying to PDeXplore (#139,633)

It’s in salt water so it’s a bit different, but the city of Venice is built upon timber that they sunk into the clay sea bed. Always thought that was pretty cool.

3

1K_Games t1_isy4nvx wrote

Replying to HighOnGoofballs (#135,255)

Wait, that was over 40 years ago... I know trees last in water, but that long? How long is it estimated they will remain before decomposing? Looking at pictures it looks like they aren't decomposing at all some how.

2

AnalysisOfVariance t1_isy7fyd wrote

I hiked mt st Helens just this last weekend!!! Super cool to see it on Reddit now!

2

OrangeCosmic t1_isye84c wrote

Is this where there used to be a forest?

2