Woods Creek Loop & Layser Cave

Today 4 of us headed out to hike at Goat Creek in the northern most part of the Mt. St. Helens National Monument. Unfortunately, the road to the trail head was closed due to extreme fire danger.  Needless to say, we were quite disappointed after driving all the way there.  So, we headed to the ranger station in Randle & got some recommendations for a couple of hikes in the Cispus area. 

We hiked a very short 1 mile through spiderweb infested trails at Woods Creep Loop.  There wasn't much to see other than a bunch of slugs and some frogs.  We would have hiked further, but there were stinging nettles and 3 of us were in shorts.  So, after that we headed to Layser Cave, which was interesting, but definitely not a destination.  The hike to the cave was extremely short.  We did see amazing views of Mt. Adams & Tower Rock.  Everyone was a good sport about today's lackluster adventure.  I'm hoping our next Yoh! adventure will be a bit more successful!

Gabby taking a picture as we made our way to Randle.



We encountered Smokey the Bear at the Ranger Station.

Victoria checking out the map...

On our way to our first destination.





Woods Creek as seen from the bridge.

We don't look too happy in this picture. 

 Banana slug

Can you spot the frog? He's pretty well camouflaged...he is brown and just right of that yellow leaf.

A group photo. It was hard to find a spot for the camera.  Pictured: Kassia, Susan, Gabby & Victoria.

Gabby's excited face ;)

On our way to Layser Cave we crossed over the Iron Creek bridge and decided to stop & take a look.

Iron Creek a little further down. I love the color of the water.

Finally...the trail to Layser Cave.  It was a bit of a drive down a very winding and narrow gravel road.

Trail to the cave.

Information on Layser Cave:  In 1982 Tim Layser, a Forest Service worker,  discovered this cave.  Archeologists were amazed because it appeared untouched since its abandonment about 3,500 years earlier after Mount St. Helens blanketed the area with a deep layer of ash.  They found animal bone & stone fragments more than 7,000 years old.  It was possibly the ancestors of the Tainapam, or Upper Cowlitz Indians, who used this case seasonally for 3,500 years.

Kassia heading into the cave.

Looking outwards...

Victoria and I are just sitting around the campfire.

Peekaboo view of Mt. Adams

This is the view of Tower Rock as we were driving to Layser Cave...

This was the view of Tower Rock from the Layser Cave trail.

After viewing the cave we stopped by the Cowlitz River to eat our lunch before heading home.

Lower South Fork Skokomish River Hike

This morning 5 people & 2 dogs hiked the beautiful Lower South Fork Skokomish River trail.  In all we covered about 5 miles.  The trail description said that at mile 3 there is a bridge over the river, but we never did find it.  We must have turned around too soon. 

  There were hardly any people on the trail.  We saw a couple of mountain bikers, tons of slugs & no snakes which was awesome!  We did have a daring water rescue after Winston slipped off a log & fell into the river.  Luckily he wasn't hurt, just a little surprised.  Corey's quick thinking saved him!!  He made it back to the car a bit tired, a lot muddy, and alive! 

Winston so excited to get going!  He's waiting impatiently for folks to arrive.

Finally! We made it to the trail head.

Brenda and her buddy Pace.

Corey & Clarissa

We had to sign in and state our intent.  Luckily we made it back and they didn't have to come looking for us!

One of many slugs we encountered.  We saw some gray & black spotted ones, but the photo I took was blurry :(

Corey pointing out some berries.  Brenda did a bit of foraging on the trail.  There were several different berry varieties to choose from.

Pam caught foraging, too!

The Skokomish River in the background.

Susan, Brenda and Clarissa

The trees were beautiful.  I believe that is lichen that is hanging from the branches.

The trail was in good shape, but hilly.  We only encountered a few muddy spots. 

Corey tying her shoes while Pace checks out the moss.

Winston wanted to be in the picture, too!

Creek crossing.

Small waterfall.

Peekaboo view of the river.  We could not go down to it from here.

Winston got so muddy.  You can see his back paws are black.  He decided to jump on poor Clarissa.

A souvenir- his muddy prints on her pants.

Another precarious creek crossing.

We finally made it to the river!  This is where we stopped & ate our lunch.

Pam soaking her feet.

Winston loved walking around in the river.

Where Corey goes, Winston goes.  This is when he slipped off the log and into the water.

Help!

Saved!

Group photo: Clarissa, Pam, Brenda w/Pace, Susan and Corey in front with Winston.  Why does he never look into the camera?  Must have seen a squirrel.

Corey & Pam on this really long fallen tree.  It was probably over 150 feet in length.

View of the tree toward the roots at the end.  It was hard to capture how truly long it was.