The mountaineers.org writes “Just outside the town of Cougar and tucked along the flanks of Mt. St. Helens is Ape Caves. If you like to mix facts about earth science with a spin of the legend of Sasquatch this is the perfect spot for a outing that adds a cool setting to both.
The visit to the cave, over 2000 years old is worthy as a stand alone geological spectacle but, as I was digging into the history of the area, a bigger fictional nugget was unearthed. I found the general area of Cougar may be where the legend of Sasquatch originated.
If you grew up here, I have a feeling others will come forward with their version of Sasquatch but Becks version, mentioned below, seems to be one of the better recounts.
Sasquatch, the “Ape Man”, Bigfoot, the Abominable, was encountered throughout the last 10 decades in the PNW. This story as retold in this version is by a man named Fred Beck in 1967. His son has scribed it here and titled it “I Fought the Ape Man of Mt. St. Helens”
As this story goes, Beck and others had actually fought the “Ape Man” when he was a part of a party of 5 miners back in 1924. He never told this story to save embarrassment of the other men involved it reads but later after other reports of a missing skier in 1950, reports of hikers having feelings of being watched, hearing whistling in the woods, and very large foot prints in the area went on for some time. Beck states, “I must tell mine” and it has all has the makings of a perfect “things that go bump in the night” story with Beck and his group fighting the Bigfoot throughout the night from the cabin they inhabited.
Back to Ape Caves. Take your family; It’s good for all ages and has great stories you can weave into the big educational benefits your kids won’t moan over. If you have a few minutes go to the interesting castings of trees you can send them on hands and knees through the boardwalk and tree cast tunnel at the Trail of Two Forests.
m99
I’ve never been. If we were to go I’d want it to be with a group, like from SC. It’s too scary to me.