Ape Cave lava tubes, Washington

The highlight of my visit to Mount St Helens was clambering through the freezing, dripping, pitch dark and somewhat dangerous lava tubes at Ape Cave. Check out the official website for an explanation of the creation of the lava tubes, and also for pics because it was too dark for my camera to do much except get in my way down there.


There are actually two tubes. The Lower Cave is pretty easy going. The floor is uneven and, of course, it is dark and very, very cold. The signs recommend allowing 45 mins to explore. The Upper Cave threatens to be seriously difficult, involving clambering over large piles of rocks and scaling an 8 foot wall. The signs suggest allowing 2 and 1/4 hours to get out. Guess which way I decided to go?

Everyone who said "both" wins a free smug expression. I started with the lower cave. I put on my head mounted flashlight and carried my little lantern in my hand. I'm so glad I couldn't decide which one I wanted more when I was doing my preparatory shopping in Fresno.

Perhaps strangely, the walls of the lower cave are smooth.

The ground, on the other hand, is quite uneven and treacherous in places. In fact, the surface is so rough that I overheard one fellow caver suggesting to the Rangers that they should get some heavy equipment in there to smooth it out. The Ranger thought the guy was joking at first, then realised he was serious and tried to be gracious despite total disbelief. Some people shouldn't be allowed to speak in public.

In between caves I wandered around on the surface for a while trying to thaw out and going back to the car for tissues. If you decide to try this experience for yourself I strongly advise taking tissues with you the first time.

I also frightened a couple of tourists who passed me as I was coming out. "Is it really cold?" They asked. I held out my arm and let them touch my skin. The girl actually squealed, which was strangely satisfying. "We'll get our jackets." I nodded sagely, like a seasoned warrior returned from the breach.

Feeling suddenly much tougher, I readied myself for the "hard walking" of the Upper Cave. For the benefit of those who may follow in my path, let me just say that "hard walking" is a very misleading description. I don't think I did more than 10 minutes actual walking in the whole 2 and 1/4 hours. There was also a certain amount of stumbling, quite a bit of clambering and an astonishing amount of actual climbing. Remember the 8 foot wall they mentioned on the sign? It's exactly that. A remarkably smooth 8 foot wall (described as a lava fall on the map).

I stood there for a while and studied the wall. I was determined not to turn back. I was also not at all sure how I was going to get myself, my camera and my lantern up the wall without breaking anything (like my neck). Finally, I took the Nike plunge and just did it. I also removed a large patch of skin from the heel of my right hand, and two more from my kneecaps.

Feeling heroic and bleeding steadily I struggled onwards. Of course, if you take another look at the map, you will notice that there are a number of "large rock piles" between the lava fall and the exit. Rock piles of this sort (large, also jagged and abrasive) are best negotiated with the full use of both knees and the climber's dominant hand. I admit there was a point at which I became discouraged. However, I was motivated to go on by the sober realisation that there was no way to get back down the lava flow without risking serious injury.

Finally, I saw the sunlight through the skylight, crawled painfully over the last two "large rock piles" and limped back along the surface trail.

I was extremely disappointed that there wasn't a Ranger waiting at the exit to give me a medal and a bottle of champagne, or perhaps take my photograph to mount on a wall of glory somewhere. At the very least, I decided, I would go into the Ranger's Office and impress them with my wounds. Alas, when I returned, the office was locked and the Rangers were all gone. There was nothing to do but clean off the worst of the blood with a few wet wipes, roll up my pants so they wouldn't congeal to my bloodied knees and drive onwards. Thus the unrecognised conqueror of Ape Cave made an unheralded exit, preceded by my own swollen head (and rapidly swelling knees).

Upon checking (painfully) into my room for the night, I discovered a tiny lava rock lodged in one of my pockets. I note that there is a $200 fine for defacing or removing rocks from the caves. For the record I am happy, on request from the Rangers, to post back this little rock to be replaced with its kin. Unfortunately, I'm not at all sure exactly where it came from, but I'm sure the Rangers can figure out where to put it.