COUGAR, Wash. (AP)
Paul Karr of Bend, Ore., lives in the epicenter of Northwest mountain bike riding.
Yet, during a one-day break in the constant low clouds and showers of late June, Karr hustled up to Mount St. Helens to ride Ape Canyon Trail No. 234.
“It’s just a cool environment to get to ride on such a big mountain,” said Karr. “It’s so deceiving, the terrain. It’s hard to judge the distance, it’s so big.”
The trail climbs steadily for 1,300 vertical feet and 4.8 miles from the trailhead at the end of Gifford Pinchot National Forest Road No. 83 to the junction with Loowit Trail No. 216.
“It’s a grunt,” Karr said. “It’s a hard climb and a super-sketchy downhill. You grab too much brake, and you’re going right off the edge.”
Tony Sanchez of Portland, Ore., paused at the Plains of Abraham on the Loowit Trail, waiting to head back down the Ape Canyon route.
Asked to rate the trail, Sanchez said: “There are several components. For scenery, it’s a 10. For technicality, it’s a 10. Going down is going to be amazing. The descent will be awesome – five miles of down.”
“Ape Canyon Trail is the favorite route of mountain bike riders in the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, no doubt about it,” said Peter Frenzen, monument scientist.
The hike or ride up Ape Canyon Trail is a steady climb. The elevation is 2,895 feet at the trailhead and 4,202 feet at the junction with Loowit Trail. That’s a bit more than 1,300 feet spread out over 4.8 miles, so the grade is not excessive.
Dominating the views are the Muddy River lahar just to the west. Lahar is an Indonesian word for mudflow.
The southeast side of Mount St. Helens has had many lahars throughout geologic time, including a huge one as part of the massive May 18, 1980, eruption.
Just before the junction with Loowit Trail, Ape Canyon Trail reaches the head of Ape Canyon.
The canyon received its name in 1924 when a pack of miners claimed they had shot a giant ape creature, then were attacked by a group of them during the night. The slain Sasquatch allegedly fell into an abyss, known since as Ape Canyon. Supposedly, the 7-foot apes tossed big rocks onto the cabin roof. The next day, the men escaped to their car and back to Kelso. They led a posse back in search of the apes. None were seen.
Once at the junction with Loowit Trail, hikers and riders should take a right and visit the Plains of Abraham.
It takes less than an additional mile to visit the almost-flat plains and is well worth the effort.
