Vanson Peak via Goat Mountain, Goat Mountain and Deadman's Lake & Vanson Ridge — Saturday, Jul. 22, 2000

South Cascades > White Pass/Cowlitz River Valley

Well we made the trip back up to Deadmans Lake, Goat Mtn, Vanson Peak area, which are now located in the Mt St Helens Monument, 20 years after my brother and myself had just left our camp at Deadmans Lake at 8:32 am Sunday morn May 18th 1980. This time the trip was a little less eventfull but a wonderful trip just the same. We tried to find the tree that we sat under for an hour with pumice, ash and lightening stricking all around us but the 20 year growth of the trees made it difficult. We came close just by judging how far we ran from lake trying to outrun the ash cloud coming behind us. We remembered how still and quiet the air was just before the eruption, not a bird was chirpping, not a wind was blowing. Then a 100' from leaving the camp our ears started feeling tremendous pressure just like you had shot up in the air about a mile. It was like the feeling you get when you take off in a big plane and start climbing only 10 fold. It was of course the large amount of air the landslide was pushing as it slide down the mountain. At that time we still had no idea what was going on. We had the shoulder of Goat Ridge between us and Mt St Helens. 10 seconds later we heard what sounded like a jet plane flying overhead. The sound then got more intense and my brother, who was ahead of me, turned around to comment on the situation and looked up behind me over Goat Mtn Ridge and saw the huge billowing ash cloud coming over the ridge. We both said a couple of choice words and started running up the trail heading north, full packs, cameras packed in our packs. Within 3 minutes ash and pumice began to fall on us and we realized that we couldn't outrun it so we found a tree to crouch under. At that same time the lightening began so we decided it would be a good thing to take our aluminum frame packs off of us and set them away from us. Just then a bolt hit real close and I found my brother laying on top of me. I said what are you doing, get off of me. He said he didn't know how he got there but thinks he just got hit by that last bolt. We pulled out an extra t-shirt we had with us, poured some water on it and started breathing thru it. Within minutes there was so much ash falling the it completely blocked out any sunlight. If you put your hand right in front of your face, I mean centimeters, you couldn't see it. That lasted for about 50 minutes. Then it finally got light enough to see the trail so we decided this was time to start hiking again --- rapidly. 4 1/2 miles later we were back at the truck, which by then was filled with about 4 inches of ash. We finally made it back to Morton and made a phone call home to let the family members know we were all right. You see at that time we still had no idea what really happended other than there was an eruption, but we had no idea the people we had seen down in the Green River valley from our vantage point on Goat Mtn the day before had been killed. A month later I was able to fly over Deadmans Lake and the area and found out that not more than a quarter mile from where we were sitting under that tree by Deadmans Lake trees where blown down from the blast. We were glad that the Lake didn't live up to its name. Well thanks for listening. I will send a few pics to the gallery of past and present. Not sure if they will get posted but we'll see. Oh and by the way, the trail is in great shape. Thanks to all.