My night vision is crystal clear without halos or other distortions. I haven’t had any other complications like dry eye or floaters. Overall the results are better than I could have imagined. Strangely, I still have intense pain when I get an eyelash stuck on the ablated area of the cornea. My surgeon explained that this is due to the epithelium and it may take up to a year to heal thoroughly. Its a minor issue and I’d say the surgery was worth it.

I have another appointment in 6-months to mark the 1-year check-up. My vision has been stable for three months, and I don’t expect that to change.

Formation

Flow Ledges

The Ape Cave is a lava tube, a type of cave commonly found throughout the Pacific Northwest. Lava tubes result from flows of low-viscosity basaltic lava, called “pahoehoe” flows, which are drastically different than the explosive pyroclastic flow resulting from the Plinian eruption of Mt. Saint Helens in 1980.  As the lava is expelled from the volcano, its surface hardens and forms a crust enclosing a conduit of smooth flowing lava. Eventually the conduit drains leaving a hollow tube and step marks on the walls, called flow ledges, denoting the depth of the flow.  After the tube forms and drains, the ceiling of the tube may fracture and create rock-piles that cover the floor. This, along with natural erosion, eventually creates sinkholes and skylights allowing access to the tube.

Lavacicles

When most people think of caves, they envision limestone caverns created by water slowly acting on soluble limestone over thousands of years. Features such as flowstone, stalactites and columns are common to such caves and they are very non-linear with many unique rooms and chambers connected with crawlspaces. Many have active rivers running through them and hold underground lakes. Lava tubes are completely different. Their formation does not involve water and happens relatively quickly. They tend to be very linear, sloping down (with the lava flow) and retain a mostly uniform tube shape. Their features may include stalactites (called lavacicles), lava columns and even lava balls. The Ape Cave is one of the few known tubes to contain a lava ball, a large circular piece of hardened lava wedged between two flow ledges. Where limestone caves have waterfalls, lava tubes have lava falls that have since hardened, creating an abrupt drop-off to a lower section of the tube. Because they exist near the surface, lava tubes are damp and feature dripping water that moistens the cave walls nourishing a type of fungal and bacterial life called “cave slime”.

The Ape Cave was formed approximately 2000 years ago in the aftermath of a pahoehoe flow from a relatively benign eruption. In a geological time frame this is equivalent to “yesterday”. The volcano is active, with frequent eruptions over the last 2000 years. In fact, I remember flying over Mount St. Helens during its most recent eruptive phase in 2006 as it was expelling a cloud of steam that probably reached an altitude of one thousand feet above the vent.

History

The entrance to the upper cave is a giant sinkhole

The Ape Cave itself was discovered in the late 40s and possibly the early 50s. Stories of how it was found vary on the Internet but the general consensus is that a logger discovered the cave when his truck fell into a sinkhole. The cave was later explored by a Boy Scout troop who named it after their sponsor, a group of foresters known as the Mt. St. Helens Apes. Since its discovery the cave has been a tourist attraction and offers a gentle hike in the lower cave and an adventurous spelunking tour in the upper cave. The cave is known for being one of the longest intact tubes in existence.

Our Trip

The surface is dotted with sinkholes that lead to small cavities beneath the hardened flow

Prior to departing, we did a bit of reading about the cave and prepared with three flashlights, warm clothes, food and good shoes. The forest road to the cave was well marked and paved. After our arrival we visited the lower cave entrance, a short walk from the parking lot. At the info board there, we learned there are two entrances and two sections of the cave presenting two different levels of difficulty:

• The upper cave, about 1.2 miles in length, is the more adventurous segment and features a skylight, a natural opening in the ceiling formed by erosion. This segment also features obstacles such as more than 20 large rock piles, drop-offs, sharp uneroded rock and several lava falls, including an 8-foot fall. The entrance to the upper cave is also about 1.4 miles away following the Ape Cave Trail with approximately a 500-foot elevation gain.
• The lower cave by contrast is a gentle 3/4 mile stroll with a smooth floor and walls, the result of more erosion. It features a lava ball, a relatively rare speleothem formed by hardened breakdown rolling in the lava flow, accumulating mass resulting in a roughly spherical shape.

We were craving adventure and didn’t have a kid to watch so naturally we chose the upper cave. As we were new the area we didn’t realize that most visitors just walk the lower passage and call it a day. We also didn’t realize that those who do attempt the upper cave do so by entering at the lower cave entrance and simply walk the upper passage instead. This allows them to scale the lava falls rather than attempting to climb down them. In fact, once we returned home we read many comments about cavers who had to turn back because they feared trying to climb down the 8-foot lava fall. Fortunately, we didn’t have a problem with the lava fall and found that a downhill walk inside the cave made it more enjoyable.

Our time in the cave was incredibly fun and we would highly recommend it, but do plan for an entire day. We arrived late in the day and spent three hours on the Ape Cave Trail and the upper passage combined. We didn’t have an opportunity to fully explore the lower cave so we will be going back.

Tips for Exploring the Ape Cave’s Upper Passage

• Light: you need it! The cave is pitch black, as in your eyes will never adjust to the darkness. Take a strong flashlight (I used a 5-cell Maglite) and take a back-up. You don’t want to get stuck in the upper cave without light.
• Clothing: we were overdressed and that added an unnecessary burden. You should wear long pants and at least two layers (a shirt and a winter coat worked for me). My wife found having rain pants over her jeans helped keep her warm and dry (the cave is very damp). Also, a hat is great to keep your head warm and dry from the constant dripping. The cave maintains a temperature of 42 deg Fahrenheit year round and can get breezy, so warm clothes are a very good idea, but don’t overdo it.
• Shoes: good shoes are a must. I wore a pair of Danner hunting boots, waterproof with thick soles and good tread. The jagged rocks tore my boots up, but they kept me on my feet and kept my feet dry. My wife forgot her hiking boots and wore a pair of Danskos instead. She managed but she did twist her ankle a few times and she was very uncomfortable after stepping in a puddle on the cave floor. A shoe with good ankle support is a must.
• Food: we had some beef jerky with us and that kept us going for the 2.5 hours we spent underground. Also bring some water!
• First Aid: We had some bandages with us and did end up using them. To be fully prepared, you should carry an ankle brace and possibly splint. There are many opportunities to severely sprain an ankle or break a bone, so be prepared for these possibilities.
• Camera: we brought a “disposable” 8 year old digital rebel SLR camera and a tripod. The lens quickly fogged up due to the dampness of the cave so we ended up using our iPhones which took better pictures anyway. Don’t bother with photography equipment in the upper cave, it will slow you down and probably get damaged.
• We didn’t have but still recommend a hardhat and a pair of fingerless gloves. The ceiling is low in a few spots and we both walked into it in a few times. While we didn’t fall, a pair of gloves would protect your hands since the floor of the upper cave is less eroded and sharp

She also commented when the guy with the Mauser took three shots to bring down the block. He was using AP rounds so they punched little holes in the ice that she couldn’t see. Her remark was, “he can’t do it Momma, Daddy do it!” Just priceless.

I had another check-up Monday and it went well. I’m currently -0.25 diopters (20/20) in my left eye and somewhere between -0.25 and -0.5 diopters (20/25) in my right eye. Visual acuity is mostly stable with some (almost imperceptible) fluctuations in my right eye. Both eyes continue to appear healthy with no signs of haze or other complications. While I’m disappointed that my right eye is not 20/20, I understand that I  really need to reevaluate at the 6-month mark, because these subtle changes will continue until then. I’ve also completely discontinued using eyedrops (including steroid drops) and its possible that my right eye is asymptomatically dry, reducing visual acuity.

Still, 20/20 and 20/25 is nothing to complain about. I find myself starting at signs in the distance and expecting to read them no matter how small the text is. When I can’t read the text I start to worry that my vision is deteriorating – fortunately its all in my head.

The 444 is an intimidating cartridge that produces plenty of recoil. There was a small group of guys at the range and only two of them were willing to shoot that rifle. My wife walks up, chambers 4 rounds and proceeds to dismantle a block of wood at 50 yards. After she was done, her first comment was “that didn’t kick much.” Any woman who can handle a large-bore rifle is hot. Add red hair to the mix and you’ve got mega-hot so I count myself blessed!

We also brought some clays and put them on the hill at 100 yards. We had a Mini-30, Mini-14, 30-30 and a brand new absolutely badass Ruger Sr-556. Those clay zombies didn’t last long. I’m going back in a few weeks with more ice blocks and a real video camera (not that worthless thing in my iPhone). Stay tuned.

Me: “Siena, if you let me change your clothes, I’ll give you a piece of yummy beef jerky.”
Siena: “No daddy, I candy”

Needless to say, my bribe quickly turned into a negotiation. This kid never ceases to amaze me.

The process is fairly straightforward provided you have solo access to an indoor range or can find a safe place outside to shoot with low lighting conditions. You’ll need a good SLR camera with support for bulb exposure, a solid tripod and some patience. Follow the tips below:

1. Choose a location where you have control of the light. Ideally this would be access to a private indoor range. In order to get a good exposure, the shutter of the camera must be depressed with ambient light at a minimum. Obviously it would be unwise to shoot in complete darkness, so dim the light just enough that you won’t overexpose but are still able to see the target. Always observe the four rules of gun safety, especially rule number 4: “be sure of your target and what lies behind it.”
2. Set up the tripod and camera near but slightly behind the shooter. Adjust the focal length to frame the photograph how you want. If you instruct the shooter to keep the firearm in an invisible box, you can try zooming in to fill the frame with more of the blast.
3. With the lights on, instruct the shooter to take position and take aim, but not fire. Set the focus to manual and adjust until the firearm is in focus. In cameras that have a live-view mode, this is a simple task since the LCD display can be zoomed in while the focus ring is tweaked appropriately. Mark the position of the shooter’s feet, so he can return to that position for subsequent shots.
4. Set the camera to the lowest ISO speed to reduce grain and light sensitivity.
5. Set the camera for manual bulb exposure and adjust the aperture to an fstop that darkens the background without reducing the muzzle flash. I found that f/5.6 to f/8 works the best in very dim light.
6. With the shooter in position, turn down the lights and instruct the shooter to fire after depressing the shutter button. A bulb exposure holds the shutter open as long as the button is pressed, so when the shooter is done firing the button may be released and the muzzle flash will be captured.
7. Adjust aperture as needed to brighten or darken the blast.

Here are the results:

Just a quick update on my right eye. Its going much like the left eye did – the worst day being yesterday accompanied by lots of pain, blurriness, and ghosting. Today its been mostly pain free, but the blurriness still remains. Hopefully if my eye is healed enough, I’ll get the bandage contact lens removed tomorrow and I should be seeing very clearly by the end of this week. I also get to reduce the application of Pred Forte in my left eye to two drops per day tomorrow.

It will be interesting to see if my right eye reaches 20/20. My surgeon had to make a decision on how to treat my right eye because my optical perscription determined with the phoropter differed from wavescan data by 0.34 diopters. He decided to under correct by 0.25 diopters, opting to trust the wavescan machine. Either way, its better to be under corrected than overcorrected and I should know where I stand by the end of the week.

Siena loves plaing the piano and I think she’s quite good at it already. In a few years, hopefully she’ll still be interested and actively taking piano lessons.