Ape Caves and Lava Canyon

Crawling over boulders 100 feet below the earth’s surface, I was consumed by excitement and pitch black. A damp chill clung to the walls of the lava tube and any exposed skin. The only light, the one I carried. Behind the shadow of the south rim of Mt. St. Helens, ancient lava tubes known as

A Snowy Hike up Granite Mountain

With the year’s first snow accumulation crunching under our feet and melting quickly in the October sun, I climbed, slipped and shimmied to the top of Granite Mountain for amazing views of Mt. Rainier and the Cascade Mountains with my Everest Base Camp hiking buddies. Taking advantage of the sunny weather this fall in the