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Several scouts
started the weekend with a rousing game of Boy Scout Monopoly. |
| What does a
group of scouts and their parents sitting around a campfire
have in common with Walt Disney's Pirates of the
Caribbean? |
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It was the
movie that we watched on a big screen while keeping warm by
the roaring fire. |
| Not your
typical camping activity but the boys (and parents) talked
about it all weekend. |
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It was kind of
like a drive in movie for scouts! We passed around fresh
popcorn popped in the microwave and watched the excitement on
the screen. It was a blast! |
| The entrance
of the cave. After an eruption some 2,000 years ago
subsided, the fluid lava drained from the lava tube and the
walls began to cool, shrink and crack. These cracks weakened
the ceiling and walls causing parts of them to collapse thus
forming the entrance to the lava cave. |
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Karen and
Bryan in the mouth of the cave getting ready for the 1 1/2
mile hike through the pitch darkness. |
| David and
Andy resting at one of our many rest stops along the way. |
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Rest time
over...better get a move on or we will be down here all day. |
| Not only do
you have to watch where you step because of the uneven rocky
floor and "breakdown" one must climb over, but you also have
to look up and watch for low hanging rock formations.
Ouch! I hit my head! |
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Here we had to
scale an 8 foot lava fall with very few handholds. Thankfully
someone before us tied a rope to a rock formation above to
give us something to hang on to and to help pull ourselves
over the top. |
| Near the end
of the the lava tube is a hole in the ceiling called the
"Skylight" that gave us false hope that we reached the end. By
this time we have been hiking and climbing over sharp boulders
for over 2 hours in the 42ºF cave.
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Another view
of the "Skylight" from the depths of the cave. |
| All 15
members of our cave exploring group. Thankfully there were no
serious injuries or ankle sprains from our group! |
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I see light at
the end of the tunnel! |
| Derek, the
last one from our group out of the cave. |
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Now that we've
hike for 2 1/2 hours and are exhausted, we have a 1 1/2 mile
hike above ground to get back to our cars. |
| Thankfully
the hike back was mostly downhill and wound through the
beautiful slopes and forest of Mount St. Helens. |
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Even though we
were tired from the hike in the cave and wanted to get back to
camp for a nap, we still took the time to enjoy the beauty of
the area. |
| After the hike
through the Ape Cave, some of us had lunch. Mack's
choice of lunch was a Ritz Cracker & Pepperoni sandwich. |
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