I started out our first full day in Washington State with a trail run. We were in Gifford Pinchot National Forest and I ran on the Lewis River Trail. Not very technical, but I enjoyed the rolling hills – as did Bailey. The views of the Lewis River were pretty sweet, too.
After breakfast we acted on some information we’d received the night before: Lower Falls.
A guy driving past our campsite last night stopped to chat, mostly about our rig. When he found out we were new to the area he said we just had to go to Lower Falls. It was a swimming hole, he said, and sometimes people jump off the cliffs into the water. When you leave, he told us, turn left onto FR90 and go about 10 miles. Can’t miss it.
We hadn’t been to a good swimming hole since Newberry National Volcanic Monument, so this was a no-brainer. Hell, I was prepared this time and wore my swimsuit. We arrived at the Lower Falls Recreation Area around 10:30 and the parking lot was pretty empty, so we scored a spot in the shade. We left Bailey in the truck while we scoped things out.
At some point we noticed a few kayakers carrying their boats up the trail. Were they going to run the falls?
It sure looked like it. We watched on guy drag his boat out onto the rocks, then start scoping out the falls. Eventually his buddy came over and the two of them had a bit of a discussion.
I thought things would move right along, but then then the kayaker backed off the edge. And started doing yoga.
Oh, I know what you’re thinking. Maybe he was just stretching, getting ready for the falls. I thought that too. Right up to the moment the yoga guy ripped off his shirt and had his buddy take pictures of him striking poses.
I was so distracted by yoga guy that I wasn’t ready when the first kayak appeared at the top of the falls. I got the rest of them, though.
Even yoga guy went. Eventually.
After the kayaking excitement I put my camera away. We let Bailey out and hiked down to the water. This is National Forest land, so we didn’t have to keep him leashed up. Once we got to the river, we had to wade up to the swimming hole. The water was only ankle deep.
There were lots of people and lots of dogs. Bailey loved it. Once again, we had to stop throwing the ball once he started shivering. That water was cold.
Michael and I went swimming too. See, while the water was mostly shallow, there was something I’ll call a shelf in the water. You can see it in my earlier picture. The water went from ankle deep… to at least fifteen feet. It was hard to tell, even though the water was so clear, because it was so deep.
Some people were jumping from that shelf, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it, so I just kind of fell into the deep water. And you know what? It was refreshing. It was. For about five seconds. Once my head went under, that water was so cold that it gave me a headache. I scrambled out as quickly as I could.
Around 4 pm the shadows had taken over our spot and it was getting a little cool to hang out in cold water. We headed back to the truck and along the way we saw a sign that said “Middle Falls 1.5.”
Middle Falls, huh? We put Bailey in the truck, I grabbed my camera, and we set out walking. There was a bit of a detour so the hike was more like 2 miles, but it was totally worth it.
The next day we got a little closer to our goal of Mount Saint Helens. At least we were inside the National Monument border when we visited a place called Ape Cave.
This is a lava tube, similar to the one we visited in Newberry National Volcanic Monument outside of Bend. But there was no guidance at Ape Cave, no lectures from forest rangers. Just a couple of signs suggesting that you bring adequate lights. You were on your own.
There are two options at Ape Cave: the easier lower cave, and the more difficult upper cave. Armed with headlamps and flashlights, we chose the upper cave. We did the whole thing in about 90 minutes and loved it. (It helped that this time, in addition to a jacket, I wore pants, a hat, and my running gloves.) We crawled over multiple rockfalls. There were rope-assisted ascents. It was awesome.
One thing that was not awesome? All the poop.
I’m not kidding. We passed multiple piles of human waste while walking along the upper cave. Some of it was right out there in the open, so to speak. (It’s a cave and even though you’re only about 30 feet or so below ground it’s 100% dark in there.) I began to wonder if it was some kind of badge of honor, taking a dump in Ape Cave. And in case you’re not grossed out enough, consider this: Not everyone bothered with toilet paper.
One more reason I was really glad we each brought two sets of lights.
Moving on.
We camped that night just north of Mount Saint Helens, just off a super bumpy dirt road. It was a very established campsite. As in, there were nails in all the trees. Hell, some of those nails were actually tent stakes. And way off in the back, somebody left their 5-gallon shitter.
I don’t know what says redneck louder than a pool noodle toilet seat.
I guess I should have titled this one “Poop in Washington” or something…