Pullallup

Splendid Desolation

The eruption of Mt. Rainier in 2017 devastated much of what is now the Puyallup district of the Seattle Metroplex; lava flows and heavy ashfall from the volcano changed the course of the Puyallup River, wiped out real estate, and created the vast lava plains that now cover the area. Even today, Puyallup is subject to occasional tremors, geysers, and ashfalls from the still-active volcano and “Smokin’ Rainier” looms large over the horizon.

Hiking and even camping is permitted on the lava flats of Puyallup, but visitors must sign a special waiver due to the dangers associated with geysers, boiling mud, and similar hazards. For the less adventurous of us, businesses like Hell’s Kitchen Tours and Ashland Air offer spectacular aerial tours of the lava fields and geysers, with a view (on clear days) of Rainier and Salish-Shidhe territory to the south. 

> “Splendid desolation” is a pretty apt description for Puyallup, although the Guide makes it sound like nothing but endless lava plains and mud flats. In fact, the district is some thousand square kilometers and home to half a million people, most of them SINless, many of them metahumans displaced by the Night of Rage, all living in the shadow of an active volcano that could erupt again any day, spilling tons of ash and rivers of molten fire across the area. But, of course, none of those harsh realities are “reasons to visit,” so who cares?
> Riser