Thirty-one years ago today
Posted: Wed May 18, 2011 9:07 pm
Haven't seen anything in the news about this anniversary today...
One sunday morning 31 years agos on May 18, 1980, I took my usual hiking trip through Henry Coe State Park near San Jose, CA. I was taking my usual weekly Blue Ridge Loop to stay in condition for my High Sierra climbing/backpacking trips. I reached the top of Middle Ridge and I heard a deep and strange thudding sound like distant explosions. It was definitely from the north and at the time I thought that a plane might have crashed at San Jose or Moffit. I looked at my watch to note the time- 9:30am. I didn't really think much about it again until I reached the top of Mt. Sizor where I took a lunch break. I knew that Mt Saint Helens was in an eruptive state and I mused on the thought that it had maybe blown it's top and created another Crater Lake-like formation. I knew that Krakatoa had been audible from thousands of miles away... it was a fun little fantasy.
That was the last I'd thought about it until I got home late that afternoon and was shocked to see on the news that Saint Helens had indeed blown it's top! I remembered the strange booming sound I'd heard. "What time? What time?", I yelled at the TV showing film of the carnage and destruction- rivers choked with trees and debris... Finally, the newscaster said that the explosion occured at around 8:35am. Damn, I thought. I remembered the time I'd noted- 9:30am. At 8:30, I was down in a deep ravine. The only sounds I heard were from birds. But... wait a minute... How far away is Mount Saint Helens and how long would it take for the sound to travel? I did some very rough measuring and calculations and found that it would take a bit less that an hour. Wow! Did I really hear the eruption of Saint Helens from about 620 miles away? I later learned that even people living in Portland and other parts of northern Oregon didn't hear it. But, sound can behave in weird ways through reflections in the atmosphere and so forth. To this day I still wonder about this. Did I hear it?
One sunday morning 31 years agos on May 18, 1980, I took my usual hiking trip through Henry Coe State Park near San Jose, CA. I was taking my usual weekly Blue Ridge Loop to stay in condition for my High Sierra climbing/backpacking trips. I reached the top of Middle Ridge and I heard a deep and strange thudding sound like distant explosions. It was definitely from the north and at the time I thought that a plane might have crashed at San Jose or Moffit. I looked at my watch to note the time- 9:30am. I didn't really think much about it again until I reached the top of Mt. Sizor where I took a lunch break. I knew that Mt Saint Helens was in an eruptive state and I mused on the thought that it had maybe blown it's top and created another Crater Lake-like formation. I knew that Krakatoa had been audible from thousands of miles away... it was a fun little fantasy.
That was the last I'd thought about it until I got home late that afternoon and was shocked to see on the news that Saint Helens had indeed blown it's top! I remembered the strange booming sound I'd heard. "What time? What time?", I yelled at the TV showing film of the carnage and destruction- rivers choked with trees and debris... Finally, the newscaster said that the explosion occured at around 8:35am. Damn, I thought. I remembered the time I'd noted- 9:30am. At 8:30, I was down in a deep ravine. The only sounds I heard were from birds. But... wait a minute... How far away is Mount Saint Helens and how long would it take for the sound to travel? I did some very rough measuring and calculations and found that it would take a bit less that an hour. Wow! Did I really hear the eruption of Saint Helens from about 620 miles away? I later learned that even people living in Portland and other parts of northern Oregon didn't hear it. But, sound can behave in weird ways through reflections in the atmosphere and so forth. To this day I still wonder about this. Did I hear it?