"Jack Does Cars" (jackdoescars)
05/18/2016 at 21:52 • Filed to: Mt. St. Helens
1
10|
"Jack Does Cars" (jackdoescars)
05/18/2016 at 21:52 • Filed to: Mt. St. Helens | 1
| 10 |
On this day in 1980, Mt. St. Helens erupted in Washington State, causing tons of ash to explode, and with half of the mountain collapsing. The Washington State Patrol vehicles were outfitted with that get-up so they could, you know, work.
My father grew up in beautiful (read: “beautiful,” as in, “absolutely horrible.”) Yakima, WA, and remembers May 18th, 1980 like no other. He was only ten years old at the time, and describes the sky as dark as night, and ash falling from the sky like now. Schools in central Washington were closed for the week, and the sky remained black for the next day and a half. My Grandpa Al, who was quite the interesting gentleman, wasn’t at all surprised that the mountain blew because he, “could feel the tremors.” Yeah, odd dude.
I went to Mt. St. Helens in 2012, and it was surreal. It was astonishing to see flattened trees on both sides of the little road up to the observation center. We went in June, so there was no snow on the mountain, and I cannot express enough how incredibly beautiful the mountain was.If you ever have time to go to Mt. St. Helens, do it. It’s so worth it.
The first image is Reid Blackburn’s Volvo 144. Blackburn was a photojournalist, who was in the car when the ash plowed through the windshield. The second photo is of a WSP car in Moses Lake, WA outfitted with tubes, in order for the car to work in all that ash.
camaroboy68ss
> Jack Does Cars
05/18/2016 at 22:03 |
|
I find the whole eruption fascinating, my grandparents on my moms side were in Portland went it blew and the ash came all the way down and actually ruined the paint job on my grandpas fairly new chevy pickup. My grandpa on my dads side was one of the first workers that went near the mountain after the eruption to help start clearing the rivers. He was a heavy equipment operator. He kept a tub of the ash for years.
lone_liberal
> Jack Does Cars
05/18/2016 at 22:15 |
|
I was a freshman in high school when it happened. That cloud of ash looked like the biggest thunderstorm ever was heading our way, then the ash started falling. I still have a jar of it around. That’s when I first learned about oil bath air filters. The paper ones would just get clogged but the oil bath ones still worked.
|
Jack Does Cars
> camaroboy68ss
05/18/2016 at 22:20 |
|
My father has a Mason jar of ash that he keeps somewhere. The ash also damaged the paint on my grandmother’s Audi Fox.
My aunts finished exams the day before, and we’re making thier way from Pullman when it blew, which left my grandmother worried sick as she didn’t have a way to contact them until they got to Yakima.
When they did get to Yakima, they were wheezing and coughing, as they inhaled a fair amount of ash. My one aunt has trouble breathing even today. The engine on my aunt’s Datsun 260Z (which she loved) had to be replaced because of all the ash it took in.
It was a very scary time for the PNW.
wafflesnfalafel
> Jack Does Cars
05/18/2016 at 23:41 |
|
We hiked the Harry’s Ridge trail last August - it runs roughly along the first ridge that the pyroclastic flow hit as the side of the mountain collapsed. It’s the most spectacular hike I have ever done. The destruction is just so immense.
|
Jack Does Cars
> wafflesnfalafel
05/19/2016 at 06:20 |
|
I didn’t do any hiking, but next time I go I totally will.
|
Jack Does Cars
> lone_liberal
05/19/2016 at 06:21 |
|
Did you grow up in Spokane? They had ash fall as east as Helena, MT.
TheRealBicycleBuck
> Jack Does Cars
05/19/2016 at 08:40 |
|
I was about your father’s age when it happened. My great-uncle lives in the area and told us tales about shoveling over a foot of ash out of his yard. That year he sent all of his grand-kids and grand-nieces/nephews bottles of the ash for Christmas. I’m sure some of the younger kids thought he send them a lump of coal.
DasWauto
> Jack Does Cars
05/19/2016 at 20:34 |
|
A couple of friends and I hiked to the summit a year and a half or so ago. It was a solid hike and very cool to see the destruction and boulder fields below and the crater where the top of the mountain once was.
|
Jack Does Cars
> DasWauto
05/19/2016 at 21:57 |
|
It’s really cool, I wish I got closer. Is it an easy hike?
|
DasWauto
> Jack Does Cars
05/19/2016 at 22:42 |
|
It’s a full day activity if you don’t do such things regularly but it’s perfecrly doable if you’re physically active somewhat regularly. The altitude will start to slow you down a bit as you near the summit and it’s windy up there so dress for the weather but I thought it was fun.
Don’t forget to get a permit if you plan on making the hike.