Ape Cave Lava Tube

Ape Cave was another thing high on my list.  It's one of the longest (if not the longest) lava tubes in the United States.  12,810 feet long is the equvalent of 2.4 miles!  There's not many places you can do an underground hike that long!

 Some people think there are two caves, but actually, it's just one cave.  The entrance is in the middle, about 1/3 of the distance from the lower end and 2/3 of the distance from the upper end.  Once you are inside, you can choose to do the lower end, or the upper end (or both). 

The amazing thing was that the blueish haze in the entrance is actually there.  The temperature and humidity differential between the cave temperature (about 42*) and the outside air causes the fog to be pretty thick right at the entrance. 

You can see the water droplets in the air- it's crazy how humid it gets.

Down some metal stairs,  150 feet or so inside, you have a choice between the upper and lower portions of the cave.  The upper cave is about 1 1/2 miles, with some rockfalls to climb, then another 1 1/2 miles of hiking on the surface back the the parking lot.  The lower portion is 3/4 mile of pretty easy hiking to the end, then you have to turn around and come back.

We chose the lower section of the cave and had a great time.  It gets 30-40 feet tall in some spots, and up to 25 feet wide.  It's a really big lava tube.  Near the end there are a few lava "meatballs".  Apparently the lava balls are pretty rare. 

 It was tough taking pictures in Ape Cave, but here are a few of them for what they are worth. 

Here's another shot of the entrance on the way out.  I wish we had had time to do the whole thing instead of just the lower end!

Back at the parking lot, there are restrooms and a small gift shop.  We were there mid-week and the shop was closed.

Nearest City: Cougar, WA
Location: N° W°
Time Needed: several hours
Difficulty: Moderate
Kid Friendly: Yes
Additional Info: $5 parking fee that can be used also at the Trail of Two Forests.
Bring a jacket and headlamp/flashlights.

The Trail of Two Forests

The Trail of Two Forests is on the south side of Mt St Helens National Volcanic Monument.  You miss all of the new eruption geology on the south side, but get to experience some pretty cool volcanic remnants from an older age.  The first stop we made was at the Trail of Two Forests.

I thought this sign at the trailhead was pretty neat.  You get to hike through a forest, and look at what used to be a forest was encased in lava. 

The trail is all a boardwalk.  It's about 1/4 mile long.  They don't want you to leave the trail because of the hidden cavities in the rock. 

 You can see in this picture where a log was that got covered in lava.  The rock has collapsed, but the tree cast is still visible. 

The best part of the hike is a part called "The Crawl".  The lava covered the base of a tree and two tree trunks that were interconnected.  You climb down the ladder into the hole left when the stump decayed, then you crawl through the tubes left when the logs decayed.  This is amazingly cool! 

 This sign shows how it looks. 

Here's what it looks like inside.  Rock has hardened around the rough bark.  The trunks are probably 3' across.  Kids just absolutely love this- big kids included.  I can't remember of I crawled through two or three times. 

One last tree stump hole.  The trees died after the lava came through and hardened.  Now they are holes that are 6 feet deep.  Geology rocks! 

Nearest City: Cougar, WA
Location: N° W°
Time Needed: 45 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Kid Friendly: Yes
Additional Info: There is a $5/car fee at the trailhead.  The $5 is good for here and for the Ape Cave.

Fort Vancouver NHS

We spent a drizzly morning at Fort Vancouver NHS.  I honestly wasn't that impressed with it.  I understand that it's an important place in American history and the settlement of the American west, but as a place to visit, it's pretty generic.  Maybe if we visited on a weekend it would have been better- who knows,

 We basically gave ourselves a self tour.  About 1/3 of the buildings were closed, and inside of the buildings that were open there just wasn't much to see or do. 

 This big building is an archeological preservation and storage facility. 

 Climbing the corner tower was fun, but again, there just wasn;t much there.

 The woodworking shop was vacant, but looks really neat. 

The highlight of the tour was the blacksmith shop.  There were several blacksmiths inside telling about what life at the fort would have been like 200 years ago and doing demonstrations.  I was surprised to find out that making a beaver trap was 18-24 hours of work.  Just for one little beaver trap!  After the blacksmith shop, we visited a few more vacant buildings and got shown the door from another because a school group was coming in.  Fort Vancouver- interesting if you have a few hours to kill in Vancouver, Washington, but probably not worth going out of your way to go see. 

Nearest City: Vancouver, WA
Location: N° W°
Time Needed: 2 hours
Difficulty: Easy
Kid Friendly: Maybe- some find this stuff kinda boring
Additional Info: Fort Vancouver NHS Website