A few weekends ago My friend Tyler and i embarked on yet another weekend/day trip up the gorge and over into the Saint Helens area to do something i have never done; spelunking. I was very uneducated on spelunking (like most things) before i tried it. It’s essentially a cave hike/climb/possible death trap. Our cave of choice was “Ape Caves” near cougar Washington.

So that day we set out on a 3 hour drive in my trusty Chrysler 300 with the power steering going out. Starting our journey on I84 west and crossing over to the Washington side at the Dalles by way of a very scary bridge. After a few near heart attacks while trying to make it through the snow in a car that has no business driving in snow, we arrived to our spot.

While making the .5 mile hike to the actual cave we gained some pals, who were also on their way to potential death, they had been in the cave before and told us to take the harder and longer route since it was more fun. So into a giant mossy 2.5 mile long cavern we descended. Of course a large cave in the ground is dark so we donned our headlamps and coats (caves are cold in the winter, who knew). The hike itself was more so a climb, there were small hills of rocks throughout the cave you would climb over and hope not to lose your footing until you came down and walked for a bit then did it again. At a certain point there was a wall of rock you had to hoist yourself over with a rope someone else left behind. Near to the end a large break in the ceiling hosting all sorts of flora let in the only natural light we had seen in hours.

The end of the cave is another large break in the rock with a set of rickety stairs you ascend into the middle of the forest. The 2 mile hike back to the parking lot is marked by ribbons in the trees. Trees that snag your bags zipper and make you spill all the contents of it onto the ground, tampons and chapstick everywhere.

Ape caves is the longest continuous lava tube in the United States, its an unusual and beautiful formation. The hike is dark, wet and sometimes painful but absolutely worth it even for someone who isn’t exactly an experienced hiker like myself. It’s also one of the few self guided caves in the Pacific Northwest. One small mistake we made was not bringing gloves, the cave is wet and cold and you sometimes have to climb on all fours. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone with claustrophobia or a fear of cave dwelling cannibals.

Ape caves can be found on apple maps and google maps as well as many other places but depending on your carrier the cell service may be spotty so make sure you put in the coordinates before you leave. You may go through Carson Washington which is an adorable little town to stop and look around in.

Gas $45 ( roughly 6 hour drive)

Snacks $20

Headlamps $7 at Walmart

Whole excursion under $80