The old growth forests of Mount St. Helens were one of the striking features repainted by the 1980 eruption.  We will visit a forest similar to the one blown down and destroyed and view it both from the ground and from the vantage of the Wind River Canopy Crane.  The crane will lift us over 200 feet into the old growth canopy for a unique perspective on the Pacific rainforest.   After the crane lift we will walk in the old growth forest near the crane site to discuss what we have seen from the crane, and how it enlarges our view of the forest from the ground. 

Guide: Ken Bible, Ph.D., is the Site Director for the Wind River Canopy Crane, and a Research Scientist with the University of Washington, College of Forest Resources.  He conducts long-term research on the population dynamics of trees, and on forest ecosystem productivity. He is also interested in the development and application of embedded sensor arrays to advance environmental monitoring methods.

July 2, with Robert Michael Pyle.  Buckwheats and Blues. 

Spend a day with renowned butterfly chaser Robert Michael Pyle looking for two elusive species of butterflies linked to buckwheat plants. Last July Dr. Pyle found the beautiful Blue Copper, an "east-of-the-Cascades" buckwheat specialist, on the abundant naked buckwheat along the road to Windy Ridge.  This was a major range extension westward.  Now he hopes to find the tiny  Enoptes Dotted Blue, another buckwheat specialist, so far found in only a single location in Washington.  We'll look for both species, as well as other early butterflies, as we investigate their response to the changing blast zone, and discuss caterpillar food plant preferences, and other aspects of four-winged biology.

Guide:  Robert Michael Pyle, Ph.D., is a freelance biologist, a writer and a life-time student of northwestern butterflies.  His books include: The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Butterflies, Chasing Monarchs,  Nabokov’s Butterflies, Walking the High Ridge: life as field trip, Where Bigfoot Walks: crossing the Dark Divide, and Wintergreen: rambles in a ravaged land. 

July 7-8 with Fred Swanson.  Geological and Ecological Destruction and Rebirth at Mount St. Helens.    

This trip will offer a blend of geological, ecological, and creative writing perspectives on the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens and its place in the longer sweep of time.  We will visit a series of sites along the disturbance gradient from the most altered landscape directly in front of the volcano through the blast-toppled forest and into the living forest in the ashfall area northeast of the volcano.  Spectacular views of Mount St. Helens and Mt. Adams will greet us at the campsite.

Guide: Fred Swanson, Ph.D., is a geologist and ecosystem scientist with the US Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station.  He studies how fire, flood, landslides, and volcanic eruptions affect forest and stream ecosystems. He works throughout the Pacific Northwest, including Mount St. Helens and the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest.   He is co-editor of Ecological Responses to the Eruption of Mount St. Helens.

July 21-22 with Gary Braasch.  Photography in the eye of the volcano. 

This overnight will be dedicated to the photographer’s eye, seeing Mount St. Helens as it is and as it has been.  Gary Braasch has photographed the varied moods and changes of Mount St. Helens since before the 1980 eruption.  He will share time-series images he has created and take us to some of the places he has photographed repeatedly over the years. 

Guide:  Gary Braasch is a Portland-based professional photographer whose assignments take him to many parts of the world to create images of climate and climate change, biodiversity, cities, and global patterns.  His work is shown at the web site http://www.braaschphotography.com/index.html

July 28 with John Bishop.  Biological reassembly on the pumice plain. 

The eruption of Mount St. Helens dramatically rearranged the biological and geological landscape of southwest Washington.  Spend a day visiting the most dramatically affected area, the place that President Carter compared to a moonscape, to see how that landscape has changed in 25 years.  We will see examples of the dramatic and sometimes surprising resilience of life in response to an infrequent, yet cyclic, devastation. 

Guide: John Bishop, Ph.D., is Professor of Biology at Washington State University, Vancouver.  Dr. Bishop and his students have studied the biological response to the 1980 eruption for many years.  Dr. Bishop is also interested in the use of chemicals by plants to communicate and organize defensive activities. 

August 12 with Tom Pierson.  Geology to the crater rim.

This is your chance to climb to the south crater rim of Mount St. Helens and peer down at an actively growing lava dome on the only currently erupting volcano in continental North America with one of the people whose life work is to study volcanic processes.  As we make the 4,500 foot climb we will stop at many points to study the geological phenomena visible along the route.  This is not a technical climb, but because of the difficulty and length of the ascent, only people in excellent physical condition should sign up for this arduous adventure.  The climb requires a dawn departure, so camping at the Climbers’ Bivouac (or staying at a nearby motel) on the night before is most recommended.  Note: This seminar will depend on the absence of any explosive activity in the crater.  If conditions prohibit climbing, another geology trip will be substituted.

Guide: Tom Pierson, Ph.D., is a geologist with the Cascades Volcano Observatory in Vancouver, WA.  He specializes in volcanic mud flows (lahars), which he studies globally.  He has studied Mount St. Helens mudflows since soon after the 1980 eruption.