Let me start this post by saying, I never want to visit the
Ape Caves. I wouldn't mind going and visiting the site, but actually going under ground into these tight spaces with my children might send me into a state of panic I could never recover from. This was Ian's first Boy Scout camping trip where parents weren't required. Mark would never turn down a chance for a mountain adventure and brought Shane along as his buddy. They came home a day early so I am really looking forward to Ian getting home today.
It's a good thing Mark went too, because how could Ian possibly survive if he can't even tie his boot properly?
This was the tent that Ian shared with his friend. How the two of them fit inside that tiny tent with all their gear is a mystery. I know they had a great time talking late into the night the first night.
There are two caves: the upper cave and the lower cave. Only first
class and above could explore the upper cave, so Ian was restricted to
the lower. Since Mark and Shane weren't part of the troop, they could
do either (they did both). Ian did have a bit of a problem with the fact that his
younger brother could go where he couldn't, but Mark reminded him that
he was there as a Boy Scout and he needed to follow the Scout Master's
instructions.
The picture above shows Ian crawling out of the inner sanctum of the lower cave. You have to crawl through this tiny space to get in and out. Mark wasn't able to fit wearing his backpack, so he left it behind and picked it up on his way back out. Our boys had cheap headlamps, but this is a place where you want to have a good headlamp. You don't want to have to take it off and shake it to get it to turn back on. And you definitely don't want it to go out.
The picture above is Shane standing under the sky light in the upper cave. There were signs posted that the upper cave was not for small children. Shane kept asking if he was considered a small child, but Mark reassured him that if certain older scouts he knew could make it through the upper cave, Shane would have no problem. He later told me that he wouldn't take Evie, so Shane is on the lower end of Mark's confidence scale.
The view looking up through the ceiling. This is the only point in the hike through the tube where there is natural light. Mark said if your light goes out in the upper cave, you would be in serious trouble.
Mark and Shane under the sky light.
The pictures above and below show the exit of a lava tube on the
Two Forests trail. The link will take you to more information about the formation of the lava tubes. I think coming here would make a really cool geology field trip!
From what I gleaned off the trip itinerary, the boys are heading to the visitor's center at Mt. St. Helens today before they come home. I hope the clouds burn off for them.
