Rotarians go spelunking

A relatively small but brave group of 12 Rotarians from SEMR ventured deep into the Gifford Pinchot Forest at the base of the southern side of Mt. St. Helens. Setting up camp at the Lower Falls Campground on the Lewis River,  the Rotarians, family members, and their dogs spent the weekend of August 12-14 hiking, fishing, and, of course, eating.

A representative group of 5 made the 1.5 mile trek through the historic Ape Caves, a lava tube that dates back to eruptions of the mountain as long as 40,000 years ago. Climbing over piles of lava boulders somtimes as high as 10' and armed with lanterns and flashlights as the only means of illumination, the group exited at the uphill end of the caves 2.5 hours after they entered. Although the caves are not actually named after apes, but rather a youth scouting group that discovered the caves in the 1959s, the SEMR members did report running into at least one ape-like creature.

This activity was a product of the SEMR Adventure Committee and was an encore of a similar adventure event in the late 90s. Throughout the weekend, there were great culinary  achievments performed on Coleman stoves, but Adventure Chairperson Lorna Corrigan provided the highlight with her Paella cooked over an open campfire. Camp Director Jennifer Baxter arrived early Thursday to reserve and set up a camp which could have satisfied even the fussiest camper.   Mary Bruggeman was awarded with "farthest traveled" camper award, having made the round trip between Mukilteo and Cougar twice in one day. Rumor has it she made the trip home on Sunday only once.