Entrance to Ape Cave
Ape Cave is a lava tube formed during an eruption of Mount Saint Helens about 1900 years ago. Lava at the surface of a flow cooled while the insulated lava underneath continued to flow out, leaving the tunnel behind. It is around four kilometres in length. The main entrance is about two-thirds of the way along the tube. We walked through only the lower portion until it came to a dead-end. While the lower section is an easy walk, the longer upper section involves climbing over many piles of boulders from past cave-ins, which we weren't ambitious enough to tackle on this day. By the way, it's named Ape Cave after the hiking club whose members discovered it. There were no apes inside except me.
Entrance to Ape Cave
 The "Meatball" A lava ball that got wedged between the sides of the cave |
 The Meatball |
 Section of the tunnel resembling train tracks |
 Formerly part of the cave ceiling, this rock probably solidified then remelted again, creating the interesting pattern |
 Upper Ape Cave: maybe another day |
 Debris in Upper Ape Cave |
During the 1980 eruption, lahars (mud & debris flows) scoured away sediment, exposing lava rock from previous eruptions.
 Start of Trail down Lava Canyon |  Looking down Lava Canyon |
 It's called the Muddy River but it didn't look that way |  Suspension bridge over canyon with lava rock columns in background |
 Good thing I brought along a ladder! |  View up canyon with rock formation called "The Ship" on right |
Heading back up the trail (upper right)
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