Slogging
in knee-deep mud, the consistency of wet concrete, I
found myself guiding a group of 23 people who had just
been trapped by a jokulhlaup, an Icelandic term for
a glacial outburst flood. It was August, 1986, and I
was the Assistant Chief Park Naturalist, hosting visiting
dignitaries on a tour of the Westside Road. At the place
where the Westside Road and the Tahoma Creek Picnic
Area used to be, a mass of mud and rocks several meters
thick battered and splintered huge trees and carried
the logs along in its flow. Large chunks of ice and
truck-sized boulders floated along like marshmallows
in the chocolate-colored muddy mass. Moments earlier,
the noisy churning flood of mud and rocks had pelted
two hikers on the Wonderland Trail bridge over Tahoma
Creek, about two miles upstream. Now, as we clambered
over the moss-covered logs, I realized that we were
travelling on the remains of much older debris flows.
Since 1986, at least 15 debris flows triggered by glacial
outburst floods from South Tahoma Glacier have dramatically
altered the landscape of this valley...
Where
else do they speak of THE Mountain? No matter what we
call it—Tahoma, Tacobud, Tacobet, Tacoma, Mount
Rainier—there is no mistaking which one is The
Mountain. It stands menacingly beautiful above all others
in its realm. To some, it could be a god. Maybe so—it
makes its own weather. Its shining crown provides a
constant source of water for local streams and wraps
it in an emerald cloak of old-growth forest. Most of
the time it is a benevolent, beautiful provider of food
for the soul. But occasionally, it unleashes awesome
power beyond our imaginings and reminds us that living
with a god demands respect and vigilance, lest we be
swallowed up in one of its geologic tantrums...
—From
“A Perilous Paradise” by Ron Warfield
A
Perilous Paradise
Ron Warfield
32 pages with 30 color images. 9”x9”
ISBN 0-939365-66-9
$5.95 
- OTHER TITLES THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST
 Mount Rainier by Ron Warfield
-
Mount Rainier Postcard Book
- Parks of Washington by Nicky Leach
- Mount St. Helens: The Rebirth of Mount St. Helens by Barbara Decker
-
Mount St. Helens National Volcanic
Monument by Robert & Barbara Decker
- Olympic: A Timeless Refuge by Nicky Leach
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