Mr Wilson was my geography school teacher and for perhaps half of my secondary education I was I am sure the bane of his teaching existence.
Since a very young age I have had a fascination with
physical geography and in particular with meteorology (the weather), geology
(the rocks) and natural hazards. In fact, this fascination was so much so that
I for many years as a child operated my own weather station and taught myself the
subject equivalent to what you might expect to read whilst studying at
University...
...Now as you might expect, this enthusiasm was always
encouraged and whilst Mr Wilson was an obvious supporter, he did too find it
somewhat frustrating - for from the back of the class I sat there under the impression I knew everything and not therefore needing to listen, my attention was freed up to
aid the distraction of those around me.
This unhelpful behaviour though was not limited to geography
and come parents’ evening, Mum and Dad were often told of how:
“Ben is achieving very well and clearly a bright child. However, he rarely applies himself 100% and instead can be found distracting others around him. I am sure his behaviour is now having an adverse impact on other students’ performance and wish he would concentrate more fully in class.”
Anyway, I digress.
There are two things I remember about my time with Mr Wilson,
both of which I remember well and wanted to share with you today.
So the first experience was following a lesson in which I
had been particularly obstructive and as frustrated as ever Mr Wilson had made
me stay behind. He explained to me what I had done and with no other students
around to play up to I reverted to my more mature being and responded both
sensibly and positively.
Having apologised, I remember asking Mr Wilson what he had
done before becoming a teacher and he told me how in his early twenties he had
gone backpacking to South America and up through the Andes. He told me many
details of this trip that live with me to this very day and I remember for the
first time recognising him not as a teacher but as a normal human being; something
I feel few teachers rarely achieve with their students. Moreover, I remember
thinking just how cool his adventure sounded and whilst it would not be for another
ten years before I actually considered going anywhere myself, the recognition I
made in that moment was I feel an important milestone.
Secondly, having always had this relentless interest in nature’s power to be destructive, my attitude swung quite favourably when in year 9 we finally got round to looking in detail at both earthquakes and volcanoes. Perhaps becoming my favourite lesson of secondary school, I remember how over two weeks we watched a documentary on Mount St Helens, a volcano up in the north west of the States.
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Secondly, having always had this relentless interest in nature’s power to be destructive, my attitude swung quite favourably when in year 9 we finally got round to looking in detail at both earthquakes and volcanoes. Perhaps becoming my favourite lesson of secondary school, I remember how over two weeks we watched a documentary on Mount St Helens, a volcano up in the north west of the States.
Throughout I sat there captivated.
We heard the story of how in 1980 this previously quiet
volcano had awoken and over the course of just a few months had led to an epic
eruption. It began on the 20th March with an earthquake and days later
steam began venting from the top of the crater. This though was just a sign of
things to come and over the 12 weeks that followed the North side of the
volcano bulged out an incredible 450ft (up to 6ft/day) as magma beneath the volcano grew in
both volume and pressure.
Then, three months later on the 18th of May a
second large earthquake triggered what would become the largest ever recorded
landslide:
All in all, 23 square miles of the north face slid away, in the process burying 14 miles of North Fork Toutle river valley to an average depth of 150ft!
This though was just the very start of things to come for this landslide was like popping the cork on a heavily shaken bottle of champagne and with the underlying magma now exposed, the volcano erupted violently. Erupting sideways, this lateral blast produced a column of ash that rose more than 15 miles up in to atmosphere - all in just 15 minutes. An hour later and a second eruption took place before a third thereafter which produced avalanches (pyroclastic flows) of hot ash, pumice and gas which at around 65mph raced down the mountain, spreading volcanic debris 5 miles in to the surrounding valleys.
This though was just the very start of things to come for this landslide was like popping the cork on a heavily shaken bottle of champagne and with the underlying magma now exposed, the volcano erupted violently. Erupting sideways, this lateral blast produced a column of ash that rose more than 15 miles up in to atmosphere - all in just 15 minutes. An hour later and a second eruption took place before a third thereafter which produced avalanches (pyroclastic flows) of hot ash, pumice and gas which at around 65mph raced down the mountain, spreading volcanic debris 5 miles in to the surrounding valleys.
Over the course of the day, prevailing winds blew 50 million tonnes of ash eastward across the USA and caused complete darkness in Spokane, WA, 250 miles from the volcano
It was incredible. To this day I remain fascinated and in complete awe - so much so in fact that when I began plotting where I wanted to go
on this big adventure, Mt St Helens was the very first pin to be put in
the map and one of the few places I promised myself that I would visit.
So fast forward twelve months and I find myself heading down
the Interstate-5 highway driving a rental car I had just picked up for this
most special of occasions.
Driving down the highway with the Sun shining and window rolled down, I was happy
Given that I was already spending $150 on renting this vehicle, I had
decided beforehand that to balance things out I would spend the night sleeping on the back seats, though upon rolling in to the
nearby mountain town of Cougar, I spontaneously decided to change my mind.
So off I went off to buy some beer and booking myself in to the cheapest motel I could find, I did just like they do in the movies… I drank beer, watched TV and listened to the couple next door screw each other’s brains out. Positively horrendous, yet wonderfully poetic.
So off I went off to buy some beer and booking myself in to the cheapest motel I could find, I did just like they do in the movies… I drank beer, watched TV and listened to the couple next door screw each other’s brains out. Positively horrendous, yet wonderfully poetic.
The SUV I hired for this most special of occasions |
Thinking back, I don’t know what I really expected from this hike and
perhaps quite foolishly I never gave it much thought. Now don’t get me wrong, I
didn't expect there to be a nicely paved route up to the summit, but what
I came across was far more difficult than I envisaged and without doubt the most physically challenging thing I think I have
ever taken on.
At 10.5 miles in length, this hike takes you up 4,450ft / 1,350m and takes the average hiker between 7-12hr to get up and back down
So the first hour was a pleasant and guided walk through the
woods where with music playing I was passed by main hikers who apparently taking this more seriously than I, did so armed with thick gloves and walking poles.
The photo does not do the incline or difficulty justice but this is what I faced for perhaps three miles of the hike |
An hour more and it became even more difficult. Where it began with just small pumice rocks, I was now faced having to scramble and climb over large boulders that went onwards and upwards for as far as the eye could see.
Most difficult was knowing that just one bad footing could lead to a serious injury that would see me within days
back in the UK; for up here where my travel insurance is void, the cost of
getting me down and seen by a Doctor would be nothing short of bankrupting.
Failing to help too were the increasing number of fitter, more professional hikers that passed me on by, feeling the apparent need it seemed to constantly inform me of just how much harder it becomes.
Stopping for some water and a snack, I questioned whether it be more sensible to quit and head back
Hiking up this terrain was beautiful but damn difficult |
But sat there all in a fickle, I was approached by another man who like me was hiking alone and he started by asking if this were my first time up the mountain. Standing up, I told him how it was indeed my first time and how it had long been a dream of mine to come here, though admitted it was much more difficult than I had expected. Responding merely with a sympathetic smile he said quite simply that this then was a "once in a lifetime chance!"
And this it most certainly was... so refuelled and remotivated I went onwards and with the summit now in sight there was no turning back. Best of all, the large blocky lava flows I had spent two hours climbing over were now behind me and instead the remaining distance was to be traversed across a sandy volcanic ash that with an ever growing incline had you often taking two steps forward, three steps back.
The last 300m or so was truly painful. My calves felt like they were alight and whilst it seemed so close, it felt so far
Reaching the summit was like nothing else.
Just as breathtaking as I had hoped the view was simply astonishing and with just a light warm wind I took off my backpack and tried to take it all in. At 2,550m you could see for many hundreds of square miles where out in the distance, Mt Hood and Mt Adams were clearly visible along with a vast array of other mountainous peaks.
Full panoramic from the summit of Mount St Helens, WA |
Whilst the majority of us live in what appears to be a stationery environment, the World beneath our feet is very much alive and never for me at least has that felt more apparent from the top of a volcanoMost incredible though was thinking back to what happened at this exact spot 32 years ago and as I did so I felt that same level of awe and astonishment that had me fall in love with this place back when I was in school and I guess in many ways I owe this experience to Mr Wilson. Yes, I may have been an arsehole to teach, but I hope he would agree that it was well worth it.
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