A helicopter ride can give you a close view of the whole mountain. In spots on many of the trails, you can see the fickle nature of disaster. As the force of the eruption abated, some trees outside the blast zone were blown down, some were left standing but scorched, while others were unharmed, protected in the shadow of overhanging ridges. Scientists say a century will pass before Mount St. Helens has the forests, plants, and animal life it had before the eruption. In the spring and fall, respectively, purple thistle and bright-red fireweed once again work their way up the slopes.
Huckleberries poke through the ruins of the forest.
In Meta Lake, at the end of a short hiking trail, a trout might flash its silvery scales, or tadpoles might wiggle past. Above-ground bulges provide evidence of moles and gophers digging tunnels underground, their efforts mixing pumice with soil and so encouraging regrowth. Hummingbirds and mountain bluebirds are venturing in, and visiting elk and deer nibble the buds on emerging bushes and trees. With these optimistic images in mind, I headed south to the New Age community of Breitenbush Hot Springs in the shadow of Oregon's Mount Jefferson, likely an extinct volcano, which last erupted more than 50,000 years ago. But extinct doesn't mean there isn't plenty of hot lava beneath the mountain, enough to heat the underground mineral springs.