Update from Base Camp
Saying hello, wondering how you all are, and updating you on the latest happenings at Base Camp during social distancing. Copyright © 2020 Volcano Hopper. All rights reserved. **Disclaimer: Please use extreme caution when hiking on any volcano, particularly near active lava, or eruption sites. Volcanoes are extremely unpredictable and…
10 Volcanic Activities and Boredom Busters
Coronavirus (COVID-19) has hit the world hard over the last several months. Social distancing, quarantines, and lack of food and supplies has suddenly become a real thing for all of us. And it’s something that we are all in together.
Many of us, including myself, have been working from home for well over a week now. (Shout out to all the medical teams, law enforcement, grocers, and delivery drivers who are on the front lines trying to keep us safe, healthy, and supplied!) Kids are home from school and all activities are cancelled. It’s been creating a lot of time together in close quarters and the cabin fever is just starting.
With spring here and warm weather just around the corner, I am definitely itching to get outside and explore a volcano. With travel restrictions and many closures in place, most volcanoes in the world are currently out of reach. So how do people like you and me get our volcano fix while we’re all hanging out at home?
Here is a list of 10 volcanic boredom busters that you (and your kids!) can do to get your volcano fix and stave off the cabin fever:
Should Active Volcanoes Be Banned?
Every few years, there is a volcanic eruption that takes the lives of innocent bystanders. The loss of human life is heartbreaking. While most volcanoes show us warning signs before they erupt, it is impossible to predict the exact date and time that an eruption will occur. The results can be tragic. The loss of life has caused for some people to call for a ban on public access to all active volcanoes worldwide.
After the Whakaari (White Island) eruption claimed 21 lives in December 2019, the cry to ban active volcanoes from the public became louder than ever. Advocates for the ban claim that if no one can approach an active volcano, then the death toll will be zero. Is it possible to ban the public from all active volcanoes? Should active volcanoes be banned at all?
Merry Christmas from Base Camp
It’s Christmas time at Base Camp! The tree is glittering with a hundred sparkling lights, and ornaments that we’ve collected over the years dangle from the branches. It’s been re-decorated, of course, by two kitties who love to tug on the gold garland and bat the ornaments around like toys. …
A Volcano’s Plea
Listen when I speak to you!
I wish to do you no harm.
Your bodies are small and fragile.
Pay attention when I sound the alarm.
I do not mind you exploring my slopes;
I even enjoy your laughs.
Humans are so fascinating
When they tread my lava paths.
A volcano must do as we are created for;
To follow our calling, you might say.
When the time comes for us to erupt,
You must stay far away.
Haystack Rock
The Pacific Ocean is absolutely magical. One never knows what they’ll discover on its shores or in its rich blue depths. There is something about the steady crash of the waves against the shore that relaxes and envigorates the soul. Our Base Camp is nowhere near the ocean, or any significant source of water, so we made tracks for the beach while we were in Oregon this summer. We didn’t choose just any beach, however. We chose Cannon Beach, Oregon for sentimental reasons and ended up finding a volcanic treasure: Haystack Rock.
The Not-so-Boring Volcanic Field
Put that yawn away! The Boring Volcanic Field is far more exciting than it sounds! Where and what is this Boring Volcanic Field, and who gave it such an unexciting name? Buckle up – let’s go investigate!
Heading eastbound out of Portland, your eyes will either be fixed on traffic or on magnificent Mount Hood. Standing at 11,250’ above sea level, the stratovolcano certainly dominates the landscape. If you’re kicking back in the passenger seat, you’ll notice the enormous hills that just out of the landscape like molehills.
As you turn up Highway 26 toward Mount Hood, you’ll soon find yourself driving through the tiny town of Boring, Oregon.
Mount St. Helens: Scaling the Volcano
Monitor Ridge – Part 1
Mount St. Helens is 8,366’ of badass stratovolcano. She may not be the tallest volcano out there, but her slopes are steep and slippery. And did I mention that she’s active? At any moment, the volcano could hiccup and cause an ash explosion, pyroclastic flow, rockfall, or landslide. So, naturally, I wanted to climb to the very top!
If you’d have told me as a kid, watching the eruption footage, that I’d ever have the opportunity to climb to Mount St. Helens’ summit, I never would have believed it. But on a sunny Tuesday in August, that was exactly what I was planning to do.
Thursday Thoughts – Mount St. Helens: No Words
Sometimes there just are no words to describe the beauty of a place. There are not enough words in the English (or any) language to describe how it felt to be standing in front of Mount St. Helens, finally face to face with a volcano I’d longed to see in person since childhood. Feeling the raw power of the volcano still present, and acknowledging the changed landscape around me from the 1980 (and subsequent) eruptions was moving.
So I leave you with today’s Thursday Thoughts. I am not offering commentary in the video – I want you to observe the blast zone from where I stood and form your own observations. The first part of the video is taken from Johnston Ridge just above the observatory. You can see down into the Pumice Plain. The second portion is from Devil’s Elbow, nearly 3 miles to the east down the Boundary Trail. You’ll spot Spirit Lake (with downed logs still floating) and are right in the heart of the ash and pyroclastic deposits from the 1980 eruption.