Washington Cascades - Washington, Oregon and the Pacific Northwest - page 355

Ape Cave NATURAL SITE
Ape Cave is a 2-mile-long lava tube formed 2000 years ago by a lava flow that followed
a deep watercourse. It's the longest lava tube in the western hemisphere. Hikers can walk
and scramble the length of Ape Cave on either the 0.8-mile Lower Ape Cave Trail or the
1.5-mile Upper Ape Cave Trail , which requires a certain amount of scrambling over rock
piles and narrower passages.
The trail eventually exits at the upper entrance. You can bring your own light source or
rent lanterns for $5 at Apes' Headquarters (8303 Forest Rd; 10:30am-5pm Jun-Sep) , loc-
ated at the entrance to the caves, and tag along with the free ranger-led explorations
offered several times a day in the summer.
Another interesting side trail is the 0.6-mile wheelchair-accessible Trail of Two
Forests, on a boardwalk across a 1900-year-old lava flow that once buried an ancient
forest.
Activities
Due to Mt St Helens' delicate volcanic state, climbers must obtain a permit to ascend the
peak from the Mt St Helens Institute ( www.mshinstitute.org ) . Permits should be purchased
online and cost $22 April to October (a maximum of 100 permits are issued per day). Al-
though no technical climbing abilities are needed, the hike is no walk in the park; many
summit-seekers camp by the trailhead at Climbers Bivouac the night before climbing.
The bivouac is situated 14 miles northeast of Cougar at the end of USFS Rd 830 (a nar-
row gravel road that spurs off USFS Rd 83 at Cougar Sno-Park). From here, the Monitor
Ridge Trail (hike 216A) ascends 1100ft in 2.3 miles to reach the timberline, from where
you must scramble 5 miles over lava chunks and loose pumice fields to reach the summit
cliffs. Allow eight to 12 hours to make the round-trip.
The Mt St Helens Institute offers guided climbs in July and August for $175 to $300
per person depending on the route.
Information
Mt St Helens National Volcanic Monument Headquarters (42218 NE Yale Bridge Rd, Am-
boy; 8am-5pm Mon-Fri Oct-May, to 5pm Mon-Sat Jun-Sep) On Hwy 503, 16 miles southeast
of Cougar on the mountain's south side.