I’ve traipsed through Ape Cave, on the southern flank of the mountain, a few times, but I’d never in my thirtyish years living in Portland viewed Mt Saint Helens from the north. The dramatic crater*, almost 10 years younger than me but much more impressive, is on the north side of the mountain.
Heather’s car had itchy feet, so Sunday I got a chance to tag along™ and witness the geological phenomenon** first hand. Heather has posted a fantastic summary of a fantastic day on her blog, Mile73. (Any photos you see on that post that appear to have been taken from the passenger side of a car were taken by yours truly. Also any photo of Heather pointing at a mountain whilst obscuring said mountain by standing in front of it is likely taken by me. Credit Heather and Google for the map, reproduced below. Credit Heather with everything else, especially any superfluous photos of a cute red car.)
Mile 73 – An Afternoon, A Full Tank of Gas, Chapter Four
* I wanted to use the phrase ‘gaping maw’ here but Heather uses that in her post and I don’t want her to think I’m copying her.
**Disambiguation: by ‘geological phenomenon’ I mean the crater, not Heather or her car’s feet, though both of the latter are most impressive too.
My co-worker says “gaping maw”. I LOVE it! Helens so truly fantastic. I worked with a geologist up there for a weekend once. It was a fantastic experience!
I think Heather appreciates all feet that are not flat, not to take away from your feet, I’m sure they’re very nice.