Lake Cave near Mount Saint Helens

I met a few members of the Cascade Grotto while climbing Del Campo Peak off the Mountain Loop Highway last Fall. Having peaked my interest after recently stumbling upon a large signed cave entrance near Snoqualmie Pass, this chance meeting was all the extra motivation I needed to join the grotto. My friend Ben and I attended the next meeting in October where we gained a wealth of information that is otherwise very difficult to find, including the dates of the bat hibernation season which had just begun on October 1st. This and rising snow levels meant it would be close to a 6 month wait before we could go on our first caving adventure.
Flash forward 6 months and Ben, James, and I were on our way to the South side of Mount Saint Helens. We parked at the Trail of Two Forests Trailhead began to weave through meandering footprints in patchy snow, searching for a big hole in the ground. Even with GPS issues we quickly found the entrance about 1000 feet from the parking lot, and began to gear up. It was at least 65 degrees out and my thick layers made me eager to get underground into the cooler air. Our first stop was the "Red Lava Flows" just inside the entrance. My camera is pretty crappy, so hopefully i will upload some pictures James took with his superior equiptment. I really enjoyed the contrast between red rock and sand and polished metallic splatters.


Lake Cave was formed by a volcanic event that flowed South of Mount Saint Helens about 1500-1900 years ago. As the flow began to cool and harden, hot channels of lava burrowed through the cooling mass, creating a hollow tubes below the new land surface of cooled magma. Years of erosion and gravity eventually created an entrance to some of these lava tubes.


The consistent 42 degree temperature is ideal for regulating body heat while scrambling and crawling around. There are several optional over-under sections with short squeezes. Part of the goal of this trip was to assure James that he could trust us not to freak out in tight, dark spaces so I took advantage of nearly every opportunity to dive into a hole and see where it lead. Along the way James pointed out lava splatters near the walls and where huge ledges of rock have collapsed into crumbling piles. In a some places trapped gases had caused the ceiling to expand into massive domes over 40 feet above us. Near the end of the tube the water flowing under our feet widened as we approached the namesake of this cave - a small lake that slowly drains into the sand floor below it. James noted that during the dry season you can walk all the way back to where the ceiling dives into a dry sandy floor.


My favorite part was on the way back up when we stopped to explore some tight passages closer to the surface caused by surface erosion. The lava flows engulfed forests leaving hollow casts of the trees and trunks where the lava had cooled around them. Most of the wood was long-burnt up and/or decomposed but the texture of the bark was frozen into the rock in places and there were even a few chunks of charcoal left buried in the walls. These small tunnels were created over the next 1500 years by surface water erosion.


We did some fun scrambling and a few more crawls on the way back and found some more polished splatters and drips. Before daylight was visible we all noticed the heat and I was sweating before I could get out into the sunshine and remove a very dirty layer of clothing. It took us just over 3 hours to thoroughly explore Lake Cave. I'm looking forward to a long day in  a bigger hole next weekend.

Thanks again James for being our guide!

Cleveland Mountain 3-30-2013

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I have been trying to get to this one since spotting it on a recent trip up Philadelphia Mountain, so when I saw that a few other NWHikers had made it up recently I jumped on the opportunity to poach their trench in some good weather. 68 degree temps were in the forecast and while I don't think it quite got there surrounded by snow a few thousand feet up, this was no doubt the warmest hike I can remember since last October.

I parked at the small makeshift campsite less then 100 feet up the spur road just before the bridge over Money Creek. On a side note, signs indicate that Miller River road is closed after Money Creek, and detours lead further East on Highway 2. I planned on taking the spur road to it's end but within 1/2 mile I noticed some red and orange flagging near a bootpath heading directly East, and could not help but check it out. Heading off trail is always a risk but this one came with a reward: a few hundred feet up the path seemed to come to and end at an old mine. I ventured no more than 20 feet in with a headlamp, and could see no sign of an end. As exciting as it would be to explore further, my best judgement prevailed and I chose to return on a later date with some company.

I bushwhacked to climbers right of the mine and the exposed rock surrounding it trying to pick up the path. Eventually I worked my way climbers left (Northeast) where I ran into a bootpath near the crux of the North ridge around 2400 ft. This may or may not be a completely separate path from the one I started up. Snow patches soon began to appear and it was mostly solid above 3200 ft as I crested over a small bump labeled "Temple Mountain" on my green trails map.

Just above 4400 ft I encountered a few pairs of snowshoe tracks from NWHikers EastKing, flatsqerl, and R3H - Thanks fellas! I followed the tracks up a small knife-edge and stopped for lunch above a small pond hidden under several feet of snow. From where I rested, I could see the snow-draped summit bathing in warm sunshine. It was clear I would need to approach from the south, which motivated me to hurry up before it got too soft and sticky up there.


The last push to the top took a lot out of me, and the dogs were both panting harder than usual. I'm not sure if I am just a bit out of shape from  a lack of regular hiking recently, or if the higher temps today were really taking such a toll on us all. The summit views greatly surpassed my expectations. Lennox Mountain looked stunning from this perspective, as did Baring and Index.



On the descent we followed the NWHiker tracks until the snow thinned enough on the road to remove snowshoes. With one more summit down and both dogs exhausted, I went home satisfied!

Mount Saint Helens Second Attempt

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This weekend had a perfect weather forecast in the Cougar, Wa area so my friend Joel and I quickly cancelled other plans for what might be the last opportunity to make it up Mount Saint Helens before the Forest Service begins limiting visitors and charging for passes above 4800'. We left Renton at 2:30am and arrived at the Lone Fir Resort at 6, only to find every last pass gone from the box. I knew most folks usually stop here first in case the register at the trailhead is empty, meaning that the one at the TH would likely have some left. More concerning was a laminated note dated for the day before which read

Attention climbers:

Be advised that snow plowing

on road 83 stops 3 miles from 

Marble Mountain SnoPark

My tires were solid, but i was a little worried about clearance if the snowy road was too deeply rutted. We had little trouble navigating to the lot with minimal scraping, and we were on the trail by 6:40.



Unlike our last attempt, there was only one route broken through the powder which happened to follow the standard winter route up "Worm Flows", so named for the huge lines of lava rock snaking across the trail. I could tell that Al-Rashid was as stoked as I was to be able to see Saint Helens the other mountains around us. Mount Hood was clear as day and we could just make out Mount Jefferson behind it to the West. Despite the still cold temperature, I stayed comfortable in a single layer due to the warm sun and light wind.



Traction devices were helpful, but our snowshoes stayed on our backs for the entire trip. At a clearing less than a mile from the trailhead we were treated with a peek at Mount Adams in the sunrise glow. There was not a cloud in the sky when we emerged from the tree line. The weather was dramatically different than what we had experienced just a few weeks prior. This made the hike far less challenging and in no time we were passing the sign at 4800' and ready for a short break.




About half-way to the top we experienced a rapid rise in wind speed. Spin-drifts rolled down from above spitting powder in our faces and at times forcing us to brace ourselves or be knocked down the mountain. Around 6000' we passed the first few summiteers of the day on their descent. They confirmed our suspicions that the wind intensity would continue to increase as we climbed. Reaching the crater rim, we began the traverse to the summit but quickly turned back after finding a man-sized hole and the massive void within. If there were recent tracks to follow we may have continued on, but without rope and belay gear the potential risks greatly outweighed the prospect of another summit. We will return for this one, hopefully this year.




After a few minutes of taking pictures the wind died down considerably, and we enjoyed the near-solitude while it lasted as we watched at least 1 hundred others on their way up. The lava dome smoked from several holes in the snow that otherwise covered it. The perspective on Mount Adams and Tahoma made them seem near-identical in size. The lowlands to the North were so hazy that all we could see of civilization were 3 plumes of industrial emissions near the Olympia.




We used collapsible snow shovels to glissade down most of the first 3000' or so. Half of the crowds had snowboards or skis and occasionally one or a few would cruise past, inciting a bit of jealousy in the rest of us. We noticed a solo skier breaking trail as they ascended the heavily corniced ridge to our West along the summer route, then Several small groups following behind. We stopped for a long lunch break and some solar bowls on a big exposed lava rock and tried to ignore the constant buzzing of distant snowmobiles. When we returned to the crowded parking lot I could not help but overhear an irate snowmobiler screaming at the folks parked next to us, apparently upset that he could not load his machines into his trailer without first pulling out of the spot. I held my tongue as he proclaimed that only vehicles with trailers were allowed to park in the lot, and motioned to an imaginary sign. We had a good laugh on the way out and reminded ourselves that one massive douche should not warrant judgement on an entire cross-section of society, simply because they share a hobby:)