mirror mirror

this is a photo of meta lake, a stop in the blast zone on the way to the mt. saint helen’s viewpoint.

on the last day of my trip south, we took a long drive up to the protected area surrounding the mount st. helen’s blast site. from deep rich forest of fir and cedar, to land that at first glance looks like a moonscape, the road winds through a varied and striking environment.

it has been 20 years since the volcano blew (an event i remember vividly from childhood), and there is rebirth in the land where the lava and fire knocked down and burned up the forest. small trees and plants dot the landscape, pushing their way out of pumice and ash.

the lakes in the area were scoured clean by the event (at spirit lake the water was all pushed out and then dropped back in by the force of the moving earth) – but are coming back with teeming micro and macro-life as witnessed at this small lake. algae, mayflys, pollywogs and small fish were all evident here – a testament to clean and viable water for aquatic life.

this place made me realize that volcanoes, like forest fires, help to flush the earth and create a base for new life to spring from – and give me some small hope that life can re-emerge anywhere given enough time (though i suspect human-made disasters take a lot longer for the earth to recover from).

this place, which initially appears desolate, is actually newborn and full of future.