Apes in the Canyon, a Skier Who Disappeared, and the Sound of Splitting Timber
In 1924, near Ape Canyon on the slopes of Mount St. Helens, a group of gold prospectors claimed they were attacked through the night by towering, ape-like figures that hurled rocks and battered their remote cabin, an incident that became one of the Pacific Northwest’s most enduring wilderness legends. Decades later in 1950, experienced skier Jim Carter vanished on the same mountain after leaving his climbing party to take a photograph; rescuers found only a film box and a set of frantic ski tracks plunging toward the canyon before disappearing without a trace. Could these incidents be connected?Side quest - In 2018, another mystery unfolded when more than 100 massive trees were suddenly snapped and toppled near Lake Quinault in Olympic National Park, with no immediate clear cause. Was it a weather event, aliens, trolls? You tell us!
References
Cliff Mass. (2018, February 6). The mystery tree fall near Lake Quinault. Cliff Mass Weather Blog. https://cliffmass.blogspot.com/2018/02/the-mystery-tree-fall-near-lake.html
Cliff Mass. (2018, February 7). The strange case of the Quinault blow down. Cliff Mass Weather Blog. https://cliffmass.blogspot.com/2018/02/the-strange-case-of-quinault-blow-down.html
Halliday, W. R. (1983). Ape Cave and the Mount Saint Helens apes. Western Speleological Survey.
KIRO 7 News. (2018, February 7). What knocked over 100 giant trees in Olympic National Park? https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/what-knocked-over-100-giant-trees-in-olympic-national-park/700497904/
Longview Daily News. (1963, August). Ape Canyon holds unsolved mystery.
Madera Tribune. (1950, May 23). Search organized for lost skiier (Vol. 59, No. 46). https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=MT19500523.2.32&srpos=248&e=-------en--20--241-byDA-txt-txIN-%22joe+carter%22-------1
San Bernardino Sun. (1950, May 25). Searchers fail to find diabetic skier who had only one day's insulin supply. https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=SBS19500525.1.1&srpos=2&e=-------en--20--1-byDA-txt-txIN-%22ape+canyon%22-------1
Slate. (2015, June 16). Washington’s Ape Canyon got its name from an encounter with extradimensional apes. http://www.slate.com/blogs/atlas_obscura/2015/06/16/washington_s_ape_canyon_got_its_name_from_an_encounter_with_extradimensional.html
Strange Outdoors. (n.d.). Jim Carter in Ape Canyon. https://www.strangeoutdoors.com/historical-strangeness/jim-carter-in-ape-canyon?rq=washington%20state
The Oregonian. (1924, July 16). Reports of ape-men attack near Spirit Lake.
The Weather Channel. (2018, February 8). Mystery after more than 100 trees fall in Washington state. https://weather.com/news/news/2018-02-08-mystery-100-trees-fall-northwest-washington
Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). Ape Canyon—Disappearance of skier Jim Carter. In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ape_Canyon#Disappearance_of_skier_Jim_Carter
