Ape Caves — Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024

Yesterday was only the second time I had visited Ape Cave. 20 years ago, I did the lower cave, and yesterday I returned with 3 teenagers and one 9-year-old.
The lower cave was so easy and interesting that we decided to do the upper cave. The upper cave is harder than "moderate" but doable. Some spots were pretty scary for my 9-year-old, but the teenagers helped guide him through some difficult places. We were a pretty slow group, so we let some groups go ahead of us and some places. I got claustrophobic at some of the tight spots but made it through knowing the groups ahead of us must have made it through. I'm glad we did it but probably wouldn't do the upper again.
The one complaint I have is someone in the upper cave took at least 2 explosive craps in the cave right near the most accessible pathways. At first we smelled it then we saw it twice! It was pretty fresh and disgusting. I know you can't dig a hole in a lava tube or pack it out, but whoever did this is disgusting and ruined a great memory for me and my kids.