Day 30 - 8/14/2004 - And on to Mount St. Helens

We have not been logging the miles we had been during the first few weeks of the trip - that is nice.  Today we just drove a little south to Cougar, WA.  Cougar is the closest town to the trailhead for the hike up the mountain.  We hit major traffic heading out of Lacey, but eventually it thinned out and we made it to the mountain.

Given the number of folks that want to hike the mountain, they have employed a "lottery" system, combined with a limit of 50 hikers per day.  This requires you to take a number at "Jacks" (a local convenience store), and be back at 6pm to vie for a climbing spot the next day.  We took a number and headed off to visit Ape Cave.

Ape Cave is one of our favorite spots near the mountain.  It is a series of lava tubes that stretch for about 2 1/2 miles underground away from Mount St. Helens.  We hiked that entire length last year, but since we had to be back at Jack's by 6pm, we only hiked the lower half.  Some pictures below, but given the lack of light only a few reallt came out good.

After the short hike at Ape cave, we headed back to Jack's.  Luck was with us - only about 20 people were planning to climb, so we were able to get our climbing permits.  We picked up some groceries and supplies and headed off to find a place for the night.  Our search was soon ended at a small campground in Cougar ($15 a night).

Tomorrow we plan to get up at 5am and head up to the climber's bivouac.  The hike is about 10 miles and covers an elevation gain of 4600 feet in 5 miles! This will test out condition and our mental fortitude. If all goes well, we hope to make the top by 12pm-1pm.  That should put us back at the car by 6 pm.  I've told Hunter that it won't be the end of the world if we don't make it.  Still, I am really hoping we can make it happen!