点评:I came to Washington to see the National Parks and all 3 were amazing but if I honest, our last afternoon visit to Mount St. Helens was probably the thing I most look forward to. My wife and I flew back east on the red eye so we could have the day to visit this park. There are not many places you can visit an active volcano in the US or the world, much less one that has erupted in your lifetime.
I remember the eruption in 1980 and seeing the pictures of both the explosion as well as the damage. The opportunity to come here simply to see the volcano much less walk on it was a highlight. Our trip to Washington had been amazing and we had seen Mount St. Helens from Mount Rainier. The other thing was every hike was in deep, old growth forest that were simply amazing. This seemed so odd; almost like desert hiking surrounded by lush forest.
Of course that this the first thing you notice is the immediate transformation from thick woods to nothing like the most intense clear cut you have ever seen. While there are signs of recovery all around, the zone within 7 miles of the volcano is to this day 43 years later very barren. It simply seems so odd and out of place even as you hike and see the lush forest surrounding Mt. Adams.
We visited Windy Ridge out of necessity as the normal visiting area on Johnson Ridge is closed for a rockslide. While Windy Ridge appears to have been abandoned by the NPS with closed and deteriorating amenities and the worst road I have ever driven as sections are fallen apart, it is the closest point that you can get to the volcano, and it has an 8 mile trail that can put you on the volcano base. The views of the volcano, Spirit Lake and Johnson Ridge from the overlook are impressive, especially on a sunny day like we got.
Once you reach Windy Ridge you have a couple of hiking options, the first being a short hike straight up the ridge for amazing views of Spirit Lake and the damage of the debris field and the second being a two mile hike one way to the base of the volcano. Again, while Johnson Ridge when open appears to have great overlooking views, you are nowhere near as close to the volcano as you will be here. The hike to Lowits Falls continues another 2 miles one way on the volcano debris field. We hiked about a half mile on the volcano before turning around but it was incredible to be on the actual eruption and that close to the volcano.
Again, Windy Ridge is isolated and an adventure to reach and once you get here, all amenities have been abandoned. However, the views and the experience here cannot be replicated anywhere else in the park. It is an awesome place to see this American natural disaster and worth the red eye flight home.
翻译:我来华盛顿参观国家公园,这三个国家公园都很棒,但老实说,我们最后一个下午参观圣海伦斯山可能是我最期待的事情。我和我的妻子乘红眼航班飞回东部,这样我们就可以有一天参观这个公园。在美国或世界范围内,您可以参观活火山的地方并不多,更不用说在您有生之年爆发过的火山了。
我记得 1980 年的火山喷发,还看过爆炸和破坏的照片。有机会来这里只是为了看看火山,更不用说在火山上行走了,这是一个亮点。我们的华盛顿之旅非常棒,我们从雷尼尔山看到了圣海伦斯火山。另一件事是每次徒步旅行都是在古老的森林深处,这真是太棒了。这看起来很奇怪。几乎就像被茂密森林包围的沙漠徒步旅行。
当然,您注意到的第一件事是从茂密的树林立即转变为您所见过的最强烈的清晰砍伐。虽然周围都有恢复的迹象,但 43 年后的今天,火山 7 英里范围内的区域仍然非常贫瘠。即使当您徒步旅行并看到亚当斯山周围茂密的森林时,它也显得如此奇怪和不合时宜。
我们出于必要而参观了风岭,因为约翰逊岭的正常参观区因岩崩而关闭。虽然 Windy Ridge 似乎已被 NPS 废弃,设施封闭且日益恶化,路段也已支离破碎,是我驾驶过的最糟糕的道路,但它是距离火山最近的地点,并且有 8 英里的小径这可以让你到达火山基地。从观景台上可以看到火山、斯皮里特湖和约翰逊岭的景色令人印象深刻,尤其是在像我们这样阳光明媚的日子里。
到达 Windy Ridge 后,您有多种徒步选择,第一个是短途徒步,直接爬上山脊,欣赏 Spirit Lake 的壮丽景色和废墟场的破坏,第二个是单程两英里徒步到达山脚。火山。再次强调,虽然约翰逊山脊开放时似乎可以俯瞰美景,但您与火山的距离却远不如这里那么近。前往洛威茨瀑布 (Lowits Falls) 的徒步旅行继续单程 2 英里,途经火山碎片场。我们在火山上徒步了大约半英里,然后掉头,但看到真正的火山喷发,而且距离火山如此之近,真是令人难以置信。
再说一次,风岭是一个孤立的地方,到达这里是一次冒险,一旦你到达这里,所有的设施都被放弃了。然而,这里的景色和体验是公园其他地方无法复制的。这是观看这场美国自然灾害的绝佳地点,值得乘坐红眼航班回家。