Getting There
It's 28 miles from Woodland to the Cougar. There are a couple of gas stations here. Continue east on SR-503 which becomes Rd 90 for 9.5 miles to Ape Cave. Looks for the sign to Ape Caves, June Lake, Climber's Bivouac, Ape Canyon & Lava Canyon which is Rd 83. It's 0.3 miles to Trail of Two Forests and 0.7 miles to Ape Cave.
I was here for an MSHI shift and normally I would just spend the day at the cave entrance, but I kinda wanted to explore the cave when fewer people were coming up. Last time I went through the upper passage was back in June. The more times I have first hand knowledge of the cave, the better I feel about giving info & advice.
Additionally, when I was driving past the Cougar RV Park & Campground, I saw a banner for a Spelunking meeting and noticed some people climbing & lowering on ropes from a tree visible from SR-503. It was the 2024 NSS Western Regional of the National Speleological Society, from Sept. 19th to 22nd!
The Hike
Elevation Gain: 377 feet
Maximum Elevation: 2,444 feet
In the afternoon when the crowds began to wane, I decided to take a spin through the upper passage. I left my visual aids tacked up to the kiosk.
I stowed my grocery bag behind the kiosk and donned my headlamp. I met some folks that weren't prepared: of the four people, only one had a flashlight and it was a cellphone light. They asked if I'd been in the cave before and I told them yes and that I was an MSHI volunteer. I recommended renting some lanterns from the Ape Cave store.
I didn't want to follow any one, so hung back while another group started their trek. When I couldn't see any lights ahead of me, I started cruising along. I could still hear some voice but at least they were getting the "full experience". I stopped a few times to take photos and the first rock pile after the "Big Room" took a while to get up and over.
I have a bunch of photos of the cave itself so I wanted to snap a few of the cave features including this "blowout". I heard another group approaching so I figured I'd wait and introduce myself. I explained how the "blowout" is formed. After chatting, they continued on and I said something sort of cringy. "I'll wait a minute but I'll be back here in the dark." Ugh.. why did I phrase it that way!! "I didn't mean it in creepy way". They laughed but maybe ironically. Durr!
I wanted to be out of the cave before 4:30p so I could still make my "out of service" call to Columbia on time. I took my time to be careful but didn't lollygag for too long at any one spot.
Eventually, I reached the first skylight. I thought about the story I heard from EMT Joe about having to rescue a woman that was stuck 1/2 way out of the hole. She couldn't get out and couldn't climb back down safely. Joe said they'd parked at the Cougar Sno-Park and accessed the skylight by traipsing through the forest.
I inspected the "route" and it looked sketchy. A slip from the first ledge would certainly result in at least an small injury.
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| The exit |
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| The exit |
