.jpg "Mt St Helens Gifford Pinchot NF WA")
Mount Saint Helens
February weather gave everything possible leading to the 1996 Washington flood. Starting with several feet of snow in the mountains around Mount Saint Helens where I lived as a volunteer for the Forest Service. Next it was ice storms mixed with high winds. Then it warmed up and rained, and rained, and rained.
.jpg "Ivan and Shannon at Lewis R bridge washout Gifford Pinchot NF WA")
Ivan and Shannon at nearest wash out
One night we could hear boulders rolling in the reservoir below the house. The next morning Ivan left in his car but returned moments later because the road was washed out. In fact all three roads into our remote area were washed out and we were left on an island in the middle of a forest at the foot of a volcano.
.jpg "Spillway from Swift Reservoir into Lewis R Gifford Pinchot NF WA")
Evacuation flight over the spillway
Along with four other volunteers, two dogs, a cat, and two birds, I was helicoptered out of the compound where we lived. The Forest Service couldn’t leave us there as the generator went down so no well pump. We were all for staying.
.jpg "Shannon and Gaelyn suited up with helicopter Cougar WA")
Shannon & Gaelyn
A couple days later, Shannon and I were flown back in to gather 200 pounds of our stuff to be lifted out below the helicopter in two large canvas bags. We carefully weighed everything only to discover we’d have needed gold bars to fill the relatively small bags.
The pilots kidded with us through the helmet headphones about dropping one of the bags in the flooded reservoir as they flew us out.
But that part of the rescue didn’t happen until the following day as they radioed to tell us there was no chopper until then. So we shimmied across a board covering the hole and hanging on to the remaining guardrail to spend the night with the security couple from North Woods.
.jpg "Lewis R bridge repairs Gifford Pinchot NF WA")
Road repair
I waited 2.5 months for one of the washouts to be repaired so I could drive my truck out filled with my few belongings. Of course many suffered worse loss during the 1996 Washington flood.
.jpg "Driving on newly repaired Lewis R bridge Gifford Pinchot NF WA")
Second one to drive out
While waiting I looked or a job and was hired by US Fish and Wildlife so moved to the Columbia River Gorge.
Holy Cow Gaelyn, that must have been quite a storm. Certainly quite an adventure for you!
Wow… so long… where did you live for all that time?
Wow..that was an adventure. The cold weather plays havoc on roads. Good thing you were able to get out…
What a storm! That must have been strange to hear boulders rolling at night. I imagine you could see some cool views from up in the helicopter.
Such great adventures and memories Gaelyn. Thank you for sharing them with us.
Smiles
Wow, that's quite a story Gaelyn! Glad you made it out safely!
Thank you so much for leaving a comment on my blog for now I have found a new blog that I think I will visit often and enjoy. I love hiking in the wild, but due to some health issues of my husband that is no longer possible. Now I can enjoy the wild (and the American wild at that) through your blog.
Great adventure, Gaelyn. It's amazing the power of Mother Nature and the impact it can have on our lives. Thanks for sharing this week.
Oh this is an incredibe post. The situation shows that you are an island to your self. You can consolidate your center as the roads to the outside world crumble around you. You are always safe when living from the Heart of any situation.
The picture of the washed out road is impressive. Must've been scary to be cut off from the rest of the world… Hope the helicopter pilots were good-looking, at least! Nice to have handsome rescuers.
Whoa! Now THAT'S a story to remember. What an adventure. Thanks for sharing. How long have you been full-timing?
Wow, that's something unimaginable to experience for me.
What an experience Gaelyn and one I am sure you will never forget. Things like this can be dreadful. At least you came out of it safe and sound.
That was a great remembrance. I bet that was a bit scary–not a good feeling being trapped.
DF
I wanted to say WOW, but a lot of other comments start like that. So I will say Eish (an African version of wow, but normally used to exclaim something bad). That was some storm. I'm trying to imagine hearing the bolders rolling around.
Wooo, I remember this, but was not so close. That's one big 'crack' in the road.
Some storm!–in the US you do everything much bigger and better than us here in UK.
What a memory …and great photographs!..makes other stories seem very tame!
Gaelyn: What a great story of remembrance, I enjoyed reading it probably more then you and that sad happening.
Great adventure! Surprising it took so long to get the roads fixed – and then I suppose it was time to move on to somewhere else?
I've seen what the water van do in Washington, it's is amazing.
Secretia
Wow Gaelyn there's always something going on when you are around. LOL MB
Wow! You sure have a lot of good stories. I doubt everyone in this situation would have weathered it as well as you did.
Wow! Gaelyn. Exciting experience and makes a great blog post! Not sure if I’m jealous this time or not, though!
It was a wild ride that’s for sure. And once was enough.