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day 9. mt rainier and mt st
helens.
we plow along hw 12 past mt rainier. now the 'flashbacks' come quicker:
twice l 'knew' what was coming up the road, maybe one one or two corners
away, map recce aside: white pass village ski resort and later riffe
lake/mossrock dam....damn, l have been here before.
we stop at mt rainier....the beemer locks
up the front brake in the gravel pullover 'just for the heck of it'...
then it is the turnoff for mt st helens
and another memory....a gas station we stopped at 20 years ago. it is here
we 'discover' the mortal wound on jimmie's beemer...main seal leak. we
dump some radiator anti-leak into it and continue to press.
25 miles of endless switchbacks...100
metres, turn, accelerate, then turn. this goes on for over a hour. it is
dark in the rain forest...and then, we turn a corner, and the light and
desolation is staggering. and mt st helens is still miles away.
click on a picture to see a larger
image. hit arrows at either end of the slideshow for more pictures.
mt rainier on hw 12. at 14410 ft, it is the highest point in washington. it is hot. blackhartt in repose. one hour of nothing but solid, unpenetrable triple canopy rain forest....think green, green, green. then you round a corner and there is nothing... spirit lake. or what is left of it. moving closer to 'ground zero'. ubiquitous fireweed. mt st helens. parking lot...about as much vegetation on it as the rest of the area. james and msh. signs everywhere inform us it is illegal to remove volcanic material from the volcano. blackhartt with pockets full of stolen volanic rocks.
mt rainier on hw 12. at 14410 ft, it is the highest point in washington. it is hot. blackhartt in repose.
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• Up • mackenzie river • alberta mountains • m and d and long weekend • yakima, washington • mt st helens • ft stevens • port angeles, wa • victoria • ft rodd hill • tofino/long beach • comox • |
