Officially, the first hike of Hike-a-thon (please feel free to donate to WTA)
Decided to check out Ape Cave(s) as RedPandu and I was in the area to hike Mount St. Helens on Saturday. Had to get a permit in advance online which was pretty quick and easy. One thing that is not really documented is that there are now operating hours for the cave. Officially they are open from 9am - 5pm. They start locking down the little shop and stop people from entering at 5pm. So if you get a late pass you may be limited in what you can see and do. So I recommend if you want to see both the lower and upper cave, grab the 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM time slot. As a disclaimer, the pass is technically good for a 2-hour timeslot.
Due to getting there a bit late because of traffic, we were only able to go through the upper cave (no Meatball for us). Right as we entered there was already someone who fell that needed assistance, so be sure to be very careful as the rocks and stairs are very slippery.
We made good time through the upper cave. We are avid hikers and we have visited a lot of caves, so this one was pretty straightforward for us. There are a few areas that are a bit tricky so if you are not comfortable scrambling the route may not be for you.
You start out climbing over a lot of boulders, then it smooths out a bit until the lava fall. Properly placed footing made short work of the scramble up the lava fall even with wet rocks. Next up was an area where you can crawl under a rock but it also looked like you like might be able to squeeze by on the left but decided to go under. After a bit longer you reach the skylight which is the first light seen for about a mile of cave walking. Shortly after the skylight you exit out the top of the cave and walk back along a well-maintained trail. Overall, just about 3 miles round trip, 1.5 hours, and about 500ish feet of vertical.
Pro Tips:
- Rocks are hard and people are squishy.
- If doing the upper cave, I recommend wearing gloves (garden variety). Makes grabbing rocks to pull you up and over a lot easier.
- If you are not comfortable with scrambling but want to see the skylight, you can go backward and hike to the upper opening and enter the cave that way. It is still not easy but you skip the lava fall and tight spaces.
- Recommend watching the movie "The Descent" (not safe for children and really most adults) before going so you are prepared.
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