Caves at NSS 2006: Cypress Island

Windy Creek Cave is the longest know limestone cave in Washington with about a kilometer of mapped passage. The entrance is hidden by the limbs of a cedar tree that sway in the cool breeze that will feel good after the hike to get there. The cave entrance overlooks a beautiful glacier-carved valley with views to another karst area around Dock Butte on the opposite side.

History:

In about 1880, the original government land surveyor in the area noted “craters” and speculated (wrongly) that they were volcanic in origin. According to his notes he passed quite close to the entrance, but did not record finding any caves.

A small cave directly above Windy Creek Cave was discovered in 1957 by Geologist W. R. Danner. He was not a caver and did not enter caves. He did report cave entrances to the Cascade Grotto who began exploring the area in 1969.

According to the March 1980 Cascade Grotto newsletter, the key people who explored the Washington Monument area were Jan Roberts, Dave and Kathy Mischke, Maurice Magee, Bob Brown, Ron Pflum, and Dave Walker. Windy Creek Cave was discovered on July 20, 1975 by Dave Walker and Jan Roberts. The first expedition to the cave was made three weeks later by Dave Walker, Chuck Coughlin, John Torkelson, Rod Crawford and a poodle named Tuffy.

The first survey trip into the cave was on September 27, 1975 consisting of Jerry Broadus, Bob Brown, Chuck Coughlin and Bill Capron who mapped over 550 feet of cave. Kevin and Carlene Allred, and John Hart, Rod Crawford, Wally Bosshart, Eckart and Wolfie Schmidt all pushed and mapped additional passage bringing the total length of WCC to 3,057 feet by the end of 1979. Bill Halliday and Stan Pugh are also referenced.

Getting There:

Visiting this cave takes a bit of walking, 1.75 miles on an overgrown, brushy logging road and then another 3/5 of a mile though an old growth forest with some nice karst features. You need to be in good physical shape to visit this cave, although most of the walk is on gently sloping roads at an altitude between 3,700 to 4,100 feet. Once we leave the logging road there is no trail to the cave, and the undergrowth is thick in places. The last few hundred yards to the cave entrance traverses across a very steep hillside. The cave temperature is in the low 40’s and there is a wet constriction near the entrance. Bring appropriate clothing.

Maximum trip size: 10 people.
Minimum trip size: 4 people including the guide.
Trip time (including travel time): about 10 hours
Travel time from the convention site: about 2 hours by car, the last half hour on primitive logging road. The hike will take about 1 hour to the cave.
Necessary equipment: Hiking boots, rucksack, extra cloths, rain jacket, drinking water, lunch, caving gear.
Trip sign-up sheets will be available in the trips area near registration.