Press On Toward the Goal

[Originally published in the Monroe News on October 13, 2023]

The name Mt. St. Helens rings a bell with most of us.  Some are old enough to remember the day this volcano erupted in 1980.  It was a modern example of catastrophe. We were reminded of the power of the forces of nature and just how much the face of the earth can be changed in a short amount of time.  We’ve all been struck with awe at the pictures and stories of its aftermath.  Days turned to night.  Clouds of ash moving across our continent.

Mt. St. Helens is also an amazing story of recovery and wonder.  In the 40+ years since its eruption its site has now become a place of rejuvenation and new life.  You can visit its surrounding areas and see how “life finds a way” as a new landscape has come to life.  You can still see the mountain itself with its side blown open by the blast.  It makes for a powerful contrast to the other volcanoes in the area like the world famous Mount Rainier.

Just a couple weeks ago my brother and I were on an adventure trip in Washington and one of our objectives was to summit Mt. St. Helens.  We wanted to see what it was like on the crater rim and to get those views down into the heart of the volcano.  We wanted to see that once devastated and now reborn landscape from the heights of the mountain top.