by Bobby Akart
Ashby provided Jake a visual of how this related to the eruption of a volcano. “That’s what volcanic eruptions do to anything in their path. Flows of mud, ash, and sand create a river of muck, which replaces all organic material with the silica found in the sediments. Sadly, even as it relates to humans caught up in the pyroclastic flow, a lifelike fossil is the end result of the carnage.”
“It boggles the mind,” added Dusty.
“So, check this out,” Rita began as she pointed across the horizon. “You want mind-boggling? This will blow your mind. This entire open, flat space is the Yellowstone Caldera. Look all the way across to the south. The Red Mountains are just beyond Hayden Valley. See the tall peak? That’s Mount Sheridan. The caldera wall lies at the base of Mount Sheridan.”
Jake pulled out his GPS and punched in Mount Sheridan to give them an idea of the distance away from their position. “Thirty-three miles from here to there.”
“Jake, where are we in relation to Mount Washburn?” asked Ashby.
“Ten miles due east, give or take.”
“Okay, that’s about right,” continued Ashby. “We’re on the other end of the caldera, which explains the formation of these ridges. When the last major eruption occurred six hundred forty thousand years ago, the vast lake of magma underneath where we are standing all the way to Mount Sheridan erupted. After the eruption, all of the mountain ranges and hills, similar to what you see around us, lifted upward into the sky and then plunged downward for several hundred yards belowground. More explosions, eruptions, and concussive atmospheric shocks took place like nuclear detonations.”
“Wow,” exclaimed Jake. “All of that created this thirty-some mile span of flatland.”
“Exactly,” Ashby said. “Where we are standing gives you a perfect vantage point to see the magnitude of the beast below us. It’s massive.”
“I see why you guys are so concerned about this thing. Kilauea and others like it pale in comparison to the destructive potential. People have no idea.”
“That’s why we do what we do, Jake,” said Rita. “Sure, we’re geeks who thrive on conducting the research and investigating leads like the lava flow you saw. But in reality, we want to be able to warn people so they have a chance to survive. Am I right, guys?”
Dusty agreed, but Ashby became awkwardly quiet. Finally, after a long moment of silence, she said, “Come on, break’s over.”
Chapter 32
Norris Area
Yellowstone
By midday, they crossed into a stretch where the trees and underbrush were burned. Any grasses were charred wisps, and tall pine trees stood like blackened statues. Jake marked their coordinates once again and advised everyone to drop their gear. It was going to become more treacherous, and the group needed to watch every step they made.
Ashby dropped to one knee to tighten up the laces on her right boot. Jake knelt down next to her. “Hey, are you doin’ okay? You’ve been quiet the last hour or so.”
Ashby looked up and managed a smile. “Yeah, I’m fine. Let’s talk later, okay? I really need to remain focused.”
“Sure, okay.” Jake stood and shrugged. “All right, let’s locate this mystery, and then you guys can take it from there. If we need any equipment, Dusty and I can come back for it. This is not gonna be an easy trip down through these rocks, so everyone please watch your footing. A rolled ankle up here can be a pain in the ass.”
Jake guided them down through the fallen granite caused by years of earthquakes and ground deformation. As he led them, he periodically checked on their progress and gave Ashby a reassuring look with each glance. She seemed to be recovering from whatever it was that had upset her earlier. Jake felt bad for her, because she was clearly troubled. But it wasn’t his place to press, and he just hoped he hadn’t said something to upset her.
Thirty minutes later they reached the crunchy, burnt ground of the forest floor. Nothing was alive, and many of the pine trees had been uprooted by the recent rains. Water runoff was apparent, as gullies had emerged, creating a series of wrinkles in the earth as the rains found their way to the bottom of the mountain.
Jake studied the landscape and spotted the firebreak he’d helped build with the firemen. He considered continuing down to the trail so he could get his bearings, but decided against it. The lava flow had come out of the rocks. If they traversed the mountainside just below the rock outcroppings, they’d come across it at some point. He marked their location once again on his GPS so he knew where to climb back up the cliff.
Ashby caught up with him and she gave him a soft pat on the shoulder. “Jake, sorry about that. It’s a long story that could possibly empty your beer supply. In fact, a keg might be in order.”
Jake laughed. “It’s been a while since I’ve pulled an all-night kegger. I’m game when you are.”
Ashby’s demeanor seemed to be improving. “Let me tell you something, ranger. If you’re right about this, I’ll buy.”
“Deal. Let’s get started.”
They slowly made their way along the rocks as Jake continued to check his watch. The sun didn’t set until around nine in the evening this time of year, but he didn’t want to push his luck and run out of daylight. So far, they were in good shape.
Dusty ran up next to Jake and Ashby and shouted excitedly, “Doc! Look up to your left, under the rocks that are jutting out to form a shelf. Do you see it?”
Ashby started running in that direction, followed by Rita and Dusty, who gently shoved Jake out of their way. He was left standing alone as the trio scrambled up the slope toward the rocks.
Rita arrived first. “I think it’s basaltic.”
An eruption of the Yellowstone Caldera would produce lava flows of either basalt or rhyolite. The type of flow would be significant because of the way it was forced from below the surface. Rhyolite, which was lighter in color and was more than seventy percent silica, typically resulted from an explosive eruption. There was substantial evidence of rhyolite magma eruptions, which had produced abundant levels of ash and pumice, throughout the park.
Basalt, on the other hand, was much darker in color and contained about fifty percent silica. Basalt was the most common rock type in Earth’s crust and was abundant everywhere, including the ocean floor. Basaltic magma was commonly produced by direct melting of Earth’s mantle, the region just below the outer crust. The shield volcanoes of Hawaii are composed almost entirely of basalt, which accounted for their slow-moving lava flows after an eruption.
“That would make sense,” Ashby said. “But how old is it?”
Rita inched closer and then immediately recoiled. “Old won’t be applicable here. It’s still very hot, in fact.”
Ashby and Dusty caught up to her. The three stood in odd silence for a moment, before Ashby carefully approached the flood basalt that had begun to solidify due to its exposure to the cool air and recent rains.
She walked toward the source of the flow underneath the granite outcropping. She gently raised her hand to the old granite to feel it. Hesitating at first, Ashby then tapped it to feel the heat, which had transferred from the lava flow to the surrounding exposed rock.
Jake walked toward her, wanting to get a better look at the glowing mass of molten rock that had likely caused the enormous wildfire. Slowly, Ashby turned toward him, and tears were streaming down her face. She raced to hug him, causing them to lose their balance slightly.
Ashby whispered in his ear, “Jake, thank you. You have no idea what this means to me.”
“You’re welcome, Ashby,” he said in response although the heartfelt thanks was much more than he expected.
She broke their embrace and Ashby turned to her team. “Listen to me,” she began, suddenly serious. “Document everything. Photographs. Distances. Measurements. No shortcuts, okay?”
“We’re on it, Doc!” yelled Dusty. “Jake and I’ll get the gear. You guys start filming. This is incredible.”
Ashby put her hands on her hips and wiped off he
r wet cheeks. She took a deep breath and exhaled as she looked around the charred mountainside. Then reality hit her.
“Incredible and devastating at the same time. This means I was right.”
Chapter 33
Jake’s Cabin
Yellowstone
Jake attempted to apologize for another night of serving hot dogs and beer to his guests, but he doubted they heard him, much less cared. He’d never experienced this kind of energy and excitement before. Computers were set up throughout his living area. Several antennas were attached to his deck railing, all pointing in different directions. He didn’t even bother building a fire. Between the electronics and the scurrying about of Ashby and her team, Jake found it necessary to open a few windows to let some heat escape.
“How are we gonna get samples?” asked Dusty. “I never imagined we’d have this opportunity at Yellowstone.”
“What do you need?” asked Jake before adding, “Maybe I can help?”
Ashby finished her beer and set it in the center of Jake’s table with the other empties. “The technique is simple, actually. You dip a steel hammer or pickax into the lava flow with a stainless bucket attached, filled with water. The water will quickly cool the sample, preventing the growth of any crystals, thus preserving the composition of the lava.”
“We’ll need to send it for a more in-depth analysis of its chemical composition,” added Rita. “We’ll need VIPER to charter a plane or a chopper to come and get it.”
Jake was curious. “What exactly will you learn from the composition testing?”
“One of the most important aspects will be the silica level,” replied Ashby. “If the silica level is high, approaching the content of rhyolitic lavas, then an eruption could be brewing.”
“I have a galvanized bucket,” Jake said as he wandered off to the kitchen. He rustled around through a lower cabinet and returned with a five-gallon beer bucket with the Corona Beer logo emblazoned across the side. The handle had a hook at the top in the shape of a bottle opener. “It’s one of my prized possessions, but you can have it.”
Dusty took the bucket and showed it to Ashby and smiled.
“Hey, it matches my messenger bag. Are you sure, Jake?” Ashby said.
“Yeah, there’s another one around here somewhere.”
Ashby studied the handle. “This will work perfectly. Now, we could use two more things. We need some type of headgear that can act like a heat shield, together with some heavy insulated gloves that will protect us from the heat.”
“No problem,” replied Jake. “We have a welding shop down at headquarters. I can get both of those for you.”
Ashby turned to Dusty and Rita. “Tomorrow we’ll get our samples, and I’ll make the arrangements for VIPER to pick them up.”
“Doc, you know what else this means?” asked Dusty.
“What?”
“The magma chamber beneath Yellowstone is much larger than everyone previously thought.”
Accurately mapping the volcanic hot spot that sits beneath Yellowstone has challenged scientists for decades. From geysers to hot springs, the most famous aboveground features of Yellowstone owe their existence to the melted rock in the shallow magma reservoir below the Earth’s surface. Scientists have studied the caldera’s plumbing continuously, hoping to accurately define the magma chamber’s size, but nobody has been entirely successful.
“I’ve studied the research for years, including the most recent study from the geologists at Idaho and Washington State. Nobody has mapped the magma chamber to our location and height.”
Rita interrupted. “That means it’s building under Norris.”
Dusty agreed. “Just like Doc has said all along.”
“With this discovery,” Ashby began, “the magma chamber is probably double what previous studies have shown. As you said, Rita, it’s rising as well to an incredible altitude compared to the current top of the caldera. If the silica levels are higher than normal, then we might be looking at an imminent eruption.”
Jake cleared the beer bottles and offered another round to everyone. Unlike Ashby’s original concern, he was nowhere near running out although he was almost out of food, unless they wanted a steady diet of venison. After he got them the equipment from the weld shop, he needed to make a run into West Yellowstone, Montana, to restock and pick up a few things.
Jake became concerned about the ramifications of his discovery. “Are you guys saying all of these strange things I’ve observed around here lately are part of a possible eruption? If so, we need to warn people.”
Ashby took her beer and walked over to Jake. “Let’s step outside for a moment.”
“Sure,” Jake said with a puzzled look on his face. He followed her to the porch, where they took in a beautiful view of the star-filled sky.
Ashby exhaled and leaned against one of the roof supports attached to the deck. She took a long drink of beer and began. “I need to tell you something that will explain what happened up on that ridge earlier today,” she began. “When I was a little girl, I lived with my parents in the Philippines near Mount Pinatubo. They were missionaries and taught the local indigenous tribes how to read and write English. It was 1991, when the volcano erupted.
“We lived in the jungle in order to be close to the villagers. As the volcano showed signs of erupting, the government was quick to evacuate larger cities and towns, but they were too afraid of the imminent eruption to enter the remote jungles to notify the small villages. My father learned of the evacuation order and insisted upon warning the villagers that we’d come to love.”
Ashby got teary eyed but continued. “The bottom line is he waited too long to get away. I remember racing along the road, lava bombs falling around us, and then the bridge to safety washed out. We tried another route but hit a dead end. My dad looked for a way out, but we were trapped by fire. After a few minutes, a rescue chopper came over our heads and dropped a rescue basket.
“Jake, I watched them die. I lived because they sacrificed themselves for me to get in that basket and into a chopper. As I was being pulled up, I saw the fire from the lava engulf them. It’s a vision that’s been embedded in my mind forever.”
She began crying and Jake moved to comfort her. She was sobbing, and he tried to calm her down. He understood loss, but nothing like what she’d experienced. When she recovered, he allowed her to continue.
“I swore I’d devote my life to studying volcanoes with the hope of providing people adequate warning when an eruption was imminent. Unfortunately, I’ve been guilty of a couple of false alarms. As a result, I’ve gained a reputation for fearmongering that has spread throughout the scientific community. Before I can warn the proper people about this, I have to be absolutely certain; otherwise, due to my lack of credibility with some, my words will fall on deaf ears.”
Jake nodded. “I get it, Ashby. Listen, I know what I saw aboveground, and you make sure what’s happening belowground is accurate. We’ll be partners in this, okay? You take below, and I’ll take above. We’ll complement each other perfectly.”
She touched his face and nodded. “Deal.”
Chapter 34
West Yellowstone, Montana
After Jake woke and procured the gear for Ashby’s team from the weld shop, he made the forty-five-minute drive from the cabin to the small town of West Yellowstone just across the Montana state line. The town’s population was only about twelve hundred people, but its numbers swelled considerably with tourism from May through September. Many of the visitors who entered the park through the self-proclaimed Gateway to Yellowstone were from China. In fact, the Chinese tourism was so great that there were businesses that had their signage in English and Mandarin.
Initially, he’d planned on making one stop at the supermarket on Madison, but as he drove through the mountains, his mind began to wander. Jake was not an alarmist. For a third of his life, he’d lived and worked on top of the Yellowstone supervolcano, always ignoring the hyperbole and sensatio
nalism surrounding the potential catastrophe that lay underneath.
After the events of the last week, and meeting Ashby, Jake was seeing things much differently. He wasn’t interested in watching the news although he did glance at the headlines from time to time. Jake knew the world was a dangerous place with saber rattling between superpowers being part of life. He always felt cooler heads would prevail before the nukes would start flying.
If anything, natural disasters concerned him the most because they were, for the most part, out of man’s hands. Whether it be Yellowstone’s eruption or a deadly solar flare or a near-Earth object, Jake had confidence that scientific technology would provide him, and the world, adequate notice of impending doom.
Since meeting Ashby, he was beginning to doubt that assumption. To be sure, she and others in her field were brilliant minds and had the most advanced technology available to them. He could only imagine the countless billions of dollars the world’s governments spent on monitoring and predicting the catastrophic events conjured up by nature.
Jake, however, understood the earth. He’d devoted his life to studying and understanding how plants, animals, and weather interacted. It was a sixth sense. An awareness that he couldn’t explain, but it provided him an intuition that was beyond his normal perception.
The feeling he had as he arrived in West Yellowstone that morning wasn’t based upon fear or some irrational belief that the end is nigh, as some of the nutjobs on Venice Beach used to say. Jake felt a sudden sense of urgency. His intuition screamed at him to get ready. So, as he pulled into town, his mental shopping list changed from a single stop at the supermarket to include Gordon’s Gun Shop for more ammo, Eagle’s camping store, and the Silver Tip Pharmacy.