Day 1 - Monday

The 9th Oil Leak commenced at 7:30am at the Best Western Hotel in Hood River, Oregon. The full Cast of Characters was there with the exception of Mark and Rhonda Hull, who were delayed in Portland with a major oil leak, and Michael and Denise Jenkins who were working on replacing a failed water pump in Portland. Fortunately, both were able to join us at the end of the day in the Paradise Inn, in the Mt. Rainer National Park. 

The shaft of Michael's water pump had sheared off - presumably when it seized

After crossing the very narrow bridge across the Columbia River we headed west on WA-14 alongside the river. It didn't take long for the rain to start, which persisted on and off for most of the day. None of the OTS drivers braved the weather with top down. The route then took us north towards the Windy Ridge viewing point where we hoped to see Mount St Helens, and witness the devastation that the 1980 eruption caused, as well as the renewal that has taken place since the volcano exploded sideways. Early on the twisty road made for enjoyable drive through dense lush forest. Later, the route used National Forest roads NF-25 and NF-99 which became more and more rough as we ascended. 

Driving on the National Forest roads through the dense forest

It was often necessary to drive on the wrong side of the road to avoid major ruptures of the road surface, and we all experienced multiple groundings of exhaust systems on the rough road. As we ascended we entered the clouds which did not bode well for any chance of seeing much from the view points. At the first view point it became clear to many of us that proceeding any further would be fruitless and the turned around. One wit commented "it looks just like the Grand Canyon", a reference to the fact that on the 2018 GCOL few of us were lucky enough to see anything but cloud on our visit to the North Rim.

Some of the Es at the first "view point". Not a lot to view though....

The eternal optimists among us, and those attracted by the prospect of restrooms at the Windy Ridge Viewpoint continued the remaining 9 miles to the view point. As we feared, there was nothing to see, so no one climbed the 400+ staircase to the ultimate viewing point above the parking lot.

Nothing but E-Types at the Windy Ridge View Point

What we should have seen. The entire side of the volcano blown sideways devastating the area between us and the summit

On the following descent a few us of us were lucky enough to pass a viewing point when a small clearing opened up in the clouds to give us a view of Spirit Lake. The lake was filled by debris from the 1980 eruption, and huge numbers of tree logs were deposited in the lake by the blast. Many of these have been recovered for commercial use, but a a large number remain as a mat blanketing the surface of the lake.

Spirit Lake with Mt St Helens lost in the cloud behind

The far end of the lake - note the blanket of logs like matchsticks floating on the surface on the right

During the descent on NF-99 Carolyn and Cam experienced a nasty brake failure on the 65 E-Type OTS. One of the front brake calipers broke free from the mounting bracket. The damage to the caliper was not repairable but, as on past Oil Leaks, many folks helped perform a repair that would allow the Carolyn and Cam to return to Portland. Terry Sturgeon kindly accompanied them on the return drive to help out if necessary. Both were able to rejoin the group in time for a late dinner at the end of the day. Carolyn and Cam brought their Jaguar XK.

E-Types as far as the eye can see while "the team" worked on the brake problem

The descent into the small town of Randle took the rest of us over another stretch of NF-25, which was in even worse condition than we had experienced up to this point. Another 20 miles of driving down a miniature version of the grand canyon! Exhausts took a beating with multiple groundings, and we were all very glad when we finally reached a decent road surface. At Randle, several folks stopped for lunch while other proceeded to the Grove of the Patriarchs just inside the Mt Rainier National Park. A 1.2 mile loop trail leads through 1000 year old huge growth Cedar and Douglas Fir trees.

One person at a time on the suspension bridge - right....

Rick and Christine at the Grove of the Patriarchs

Dianne and Greg measuring the trunk diameter?

Greg just had to go paddle in the water...

From there, with rain showers continuing, we drove the 15 mile ascent to the Paradise Inn high in the Mt Rainier National Park, where we were to spend the night. This old lodge-style building together with it's visitor's center is the center for a large number of hiking trails in the park. Some us us hiked that afternoon despite the cloud cover, whilst others left that until tomorrow in the hope that conditions would improve. Heavy rain fell that evening as we all dined in the restaurant.

The Paradise Inn in the Mt Rainier National Park

The end of a wet day. The weather forecast for tomorrow is for thunderstorms, so we may not see as much as we had hoped. The good news is that everyone is now together at the hotel with hopefully their mechanical problems behind them.