We spent a week at a lovely county park in Randle WA to visit Mt. Ranier NP and Mt. St. Helen’s. Our campground had large shaded sites and had a boat launch on the Cowlitz River. The river was a milky blue shade that wasn’t very clear, so it didn’t really invite us to dive in or kayak it. The name of the park was Cowlitz Falls, but this was another site that was dammed for a hydroelectric project, so the falls are long gone – and have to be viewed underwater, if one could don scuba gear and didn’t mind the poor visibility.

As much as we hoped to thoroughly explore both Mountains, we found that the 2 hour drive to each was prohibitive. So one day we headed out to Mt St Helen’s only to find the route Apple Maps suggested was closed. Instead we ventured north to Mt. Ranier and enjoyed the scenic drive to the Sunrise area, the highest road in the park. A short trail showed beautiful views of Emmons Glacier and we enjoyed a lovely picnic in their secluded picnic table area. Not bad for a less-than-perfectly planned day! I had been to this park for a day trip from Seattle a few years ago, and did an epic hike from the Paradise area of the park. That would have been fun to do again, but the direct road to Paradise was closed on this trip. Guess I missed my ticket to paradise this time.

Ray’s getting a bit burned out at this point by all the to and fro driving, and how difficult it is to get to the parks when we camp outside of them. Also the sheer magnitude of the driving within these parks can be overwhelming since one just can’t easily get through them. Here in the Pacific Northwest (or PNW as I see the locals abbreviate it) the mountains present substantial challenges for any hope of direct routes.

So for this week we stayed at Cowlitz Falls campground, we decided not to go crazy with daily 4 hour drives. But one thing Ray found online that looked super interesting was Mt. St. Helen’s Ape Cave. Discovered in the 1950’s and mapped by a Boy Scout troop, these long lava tubes run under the mountain. One can take an easy 1 mile trail in the lower cave or a more challenging 2 mile trail. The temp is 40 year round and it’s completely dark so redundant flashlights are a must. As we were there midweek, it was possible for us to get our entrance tickets online the day before. What a very cool experience this was! I’m so glad to have had this as a part of our adventure.