The Wood Between the Worlds: a tale of two visits

10/30/2011 | Author: kate

South Slope, Mt. St. Helens, Ape Cave, Trail of two Forests, and Lava Canyon:

8/10 and 8/31:

We found a new favorite little day trip in southern Washington. It's one of those neat places that we will take out of town visitors to when they come to stay with us. ;-)

Starting on 8/10, we set off for Ape Cave, on a whim, after our chiropractor visit, since his office is in southern Washington. This has been on our "to visit" list for a few years.

Here we are at the cave entrance, getting ready for the descent:

One thing about this trip was that we didn't think about how cold it was going to be inside the cave. Down at sea level, it was a hot August day. Then up in the mountains the temperatures were a bit brisk. But inside the cave it is always 40 degrees! Brrrrr....we didn't think to wear long pants and sturdy shoes, let alone wear jackets! It was a cold ~2 mile underground trek, made possible by our dim lights which we DID think to bring. This cave is a marvel! It is a long lava tube on the south slope of Mt. St. Helens. The cave is thousands of years old, not from the more recent 1980 eruption because there was no lava flow in 1980. We learned it is rare for a volcanic eruption to have lava flow...the conditions need to be just right! We had to keep reassuring our kids that this cave is perfectly safe to hike through. The other interesting thing about this trip was that they were in the process of filming a movie in the cave, so there was movie making equipment and props everywhere. We asked the ranger about it and found out that the movie is a thriller, called Mine Games {which I don't think we'll be seeing...not into thrillers}. But it was kind of cool to see that process.

This picture was on our way out. Since we didn't have jackets, Brent brought this blanket for Toby to wrap up in, and that pretty much did the trick. Don't call CPS on me, the baby was bundled up, I promise! Everyone was fine. The only thing is we could've enjoyed it more with better gear.

On the way from the cave to the main road there is a picnic wayside called A Trail of two Forests, with a little trail that leads to some pretty awesome lava casts of trees!

inside a lava cast of a tree is a series of tunnels that you can crawl through!

Our last stop on this day was a little hike into gorgeous lava canyon. Calling it an amazing hike would be an understatement. We were very disappointed to find that our camera stopped working only a little way into this hike(!). Our new little pocket-sized Sony Cybershoot. {Thankfully it was under warrenty.} We were understandable upset about not being able to document this amazing hike, so we set our minds on coming back VERY soon with a working camera...and better equipment for cave exploration!

On 8/31 we decided to go back. We had returned from a quick trip to Utah, and my mom rode back with us to visit for a week. On this occasion we met up with my oldest sister and her family, and we showed them all this amazing little place.

This time we were wearing jackets and sturdy shoes, AND Brent brought our propane lantern which totally made the hike more enjoyable.

there's our gang underneath "the meatball"

when we reached the point where you could not go on without ducking, Brent kindly took the kids who wanted to crawl to the point where you could go no further.

Next we stopped and had lunch at the Trail of two Forests

And then...the very exciting part of the trip: Lava Canyon!!

these boys were so happy to go on an adventure with their cousin

One of the many views of Lava Canyon...it was formed by the ancient lava flows, which were again uncovered by the mud flows in the 1980 eruption.

a raging torrent at the bottom of the canyon

this is the first bridge that crosses the canyon

THIS is the second bridge that spans the chasm

about to set out

SCARY!

wobbly wire bridge, BIG drop, raging torrent at the bottom

SERIOUSLY! Even though I knew we were perfectly safe, I was still very scared!

everyone plucked up their courage and we all crossed that suspension bridge! It is the best bridge I have ever walked across.

on the other side

two little Yodas

Mt. St. Helens

These very tall Northwest volcanoes always seem to be shrouded by clouds

Aren't we cute?

you can *almost* see the whole mountain now

New favorite.
I think our camera was on the wrong setting again.
I guess we'll just call it good for now.

adventures, family, hiking, summer, washington |

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