Part II.... Looking across part of Coldwater Ridge, you can see the stumps of trees blown down in the blast--- The Toutle valley is about 1000 feet below. The river has created great canyons in the ash and debris from that third of the mountain that blew off. The spot below is about as far as we got by car in 1981. There was nothing green left-- no trees, no signs of life. But 40 years later the animals and fish are back, and the deciduous trees have grown quite thick. This creates an environment for the native fir, hemlock, and cedars to grow in their shade eventually crowding the deciduous trees out. In the foreground, the wildflowers are beginning their summertime bloom.