11:30 AM, 9 of us met at Gateway. I was the first one who arrived, and only 3 were on time. We gathered at Trail of Two Forests Interpretive Site, where the first party of 2 were scouting. This is a 5 minute walk to Lake Cave, which has a ladder to get down. I got in the group of 6 to explorer Little Red River Cave (limited access to 6 person per day) a couple of miles further. Using some USFS map, we looked for it for some time. Stumbled over this hole. You'd better be careful walking around here, so not to fall into something like this. We found another cave (marked on the map). But no entrance. 
By the time Chris found LRR, it was past 3pm already. The small door has 3 locks. 1 not locked. You can check out the keys from FS ranger station. The access is limited due to all-year-round water in the cave, which hosts some probably interesting organisms. The first, and the main obstacle, just steps from the gate, requires a rope to rappel down. There're 2 fixed anchors. David setup the rope, he's the only climber in the group.
3 of us who didn't bring a harness shared Chris'. It took awhile to get everyone down and later up. We used another rope in a second drop, but it was easier, and only a nail on the rock for anchoring. The wall is moist, but no water in the beginning. Then some drips seep through the ceiling. Eventually a stream is forming. 
. We were instructed not to walk into the water. So had to return at this point, where the narrow channel is filled with water. I took the group photo. Most of the cave is a lava tube. We did see some shrimp like worm towards the end, by the water. I should have worn hiking boots. I was wearing some water shoes (not good for slippery rocks), could feel sharp edges of the rocks, and no ankle support. Thanks to Chris' helmet. I did bump my head to the ceiling multiple times. He also brought 3 pairs of knee pad. So, 6 of us each has one! That was a good idea too. The cave is pleasantly cool.
After the cave adventure, around 7pm, 8 of us hiked to June Lake for the night. It's an easy walk, less than 2 miles. Jerry and Chris carried a huge backpack. Chris had 2 tents, 2 chairs and 1 umbrella! I pitched my tent a short distance away. Some of us found logs and set a camp fire. A warm night. Thick clouds. Could see one star (maybe Jupiter?), no meteor shower even though Perseid is supposed to peak tonight. I escaped to my tent, when the rain started. Almost 11pm already.
8/13, Sunday. Rained all night, not heavy, nor windy. A warm night. Their 7 tents were cramped together, like a village. A creek to the left, but a bit brown. After breakfast, I walked to June Lake, misty. We packed up, and got back to our cars ~10am.
Drove almost an hour to Lower Lewis River area. Stopped by Eagle Cliff campground for bathroom and coffee. Of course it was sunny now. They have a very old gas pump, which I've never seen alike. 20 minutes later, we parked at an unmarked pullout, met up Wade and Mike. Wade had explored this creek before. Now, the 10 of us walked on some trail for a few minutes, met a lady from Seattle who was running Bigfood 200 race. It's the 3rd day, she's done about half. 189.4 miles this year, nonstop. She said she slept 1 hour last night. She looked quite tired. The fastest this year finished in a 2 days 8 hours.
We soon reached a creek. My guess is Crab Creek, but not certain. Here we got down to the creek bed and walked upstream. Some of us brought felt soled wading shoes to help tracking. Some brought dry bags. They are all better prepared than I was. We hit our first waterfall fairly quickly. At this waterfall, we had to go up the steep hill and come down on the other side. 
Once we reach the other side, we back tracked to the waterfall just to see it from above. 
The creek bed has some very green and red rocks. Water is clear. Plenty cascades. Quite pretty. The drizzle started again, but it doesn't matter, since we were all wet. Sometimes we walked on very wide and flat surface, which made me think of a road. 
Most of the time, we were scaling one boulder or another. Again, my water shoes performed badly over slippery moss and log. 
We turned around at this 2nd waterfall. Scaled the steep slope (not as bad as previously) to the top, and eventually hiked onto a trail. By then, my pants were cut, a lot of scratches from oregon grapes, and wild raspberry. Surprisingly no one got hurt other than scratches and bruises.Back at the Eagle Cliff campground. Wade and Mike took off. Jun bought two pizzas to share. I bought a 6-pack. Only 5 of the 8 of us drink alcohol, another surprise.
I got home around 8pm. This concludes a fun and action packed weekend. What's an adventurous group of strangers.
REI garage sale:. Local REI stores sell returned merchandise at ~50% MSLP or lower (if reported defected) about once a quarter on a Saturday. Stores open 9-4 for this member only event (normal business hour starts at 10am). Bargain hunters often line up hours before the stores open. The next day (Sunday at 10am), all the unsold junk will be at the downtown Portland REI store at 50% of Saturday price. The downtown store (the only one in PDX REI that rents gears) may also sell their rental equipment. All items are sold as is, not return accepted. This Saturday, one organizer of this event bought 2 kayaks. He was the 2nd person in line at 4:45am. The person before him bought 7 kayaks! Many shoppers resell their junk on eBay. So watch what you buy on eBay. If it's marked with an X, that's probably from one of these REI garage sales. I bought a day pack and a tent. I shall try the tent in the shower first to make sure it doesn't leak. The return tag said "nothing wrong, just too small" - hope it's correct. Obviously used, because it wasn't cleaned. Some people are pigs. They abuse any courtesy.
