Taking Kids Caving

 A few weekends ago we joined two other families for a kids' caving trip. We had five adults and six kids, ages 2 to 8. All of the adults have been in multiple caves before, so we knew what to expect, even though it was a new cave for over half the group. We had helmets and lights for everyone, plus kneepads for most.

As we went into the cave, we kept an eye out for wildlife. We spotted these fox tracks on some flowstone. We saw a lot of fox scat too.

As we got back to the more delicate parts of the cave, we reminded the kids to be very careful what they touched, as one misstep could damage a formation that had taken many thousands of years to form. The kids were great about caving softly. They also loved it when we told them they could lead the way through the mazy section.

Caving with kids is so much fun because they have such a sense of wonderment. It makes us adults slow down and smell the roses cave.

Kids also make caving look really easy, as they don't have to crawl and stoop walk as much as adults.

We spent longer in the cave than we were expecting because we were having so much fun checking it all out. We didn't even get to see the whole thing, so we will have to go back again.

Here's our group of happy kids after the cave trip (plus one dog who patiently waited for us at the top).

If you'd like to learn more about how to cave safely and softly, here's a link to the National Speleological Society techniques page.

A Muddy Little Cave

 We went with some friends into a little cave. It's been awhile since the kids have gone caving, so they were excited to venture into the unknown.

The first part of the cave was walking, but then Desert Boy found a little crawlway. The next thing I knew, he was charging down it and wanted me to follow.

 It was big for him, but not for me!

 To my surprise, Desert Girl followed. She may be a princess, but she doesn't mind getting dirty

 Our wallowing in mud was rewarded with sights of several small pools of water, something I hadn't seen before in this cave.

 Desert Girl checking out one of the pools.

 One of our friends came part way into the crawl too. Do you like Desert Girl's caving outfit? She picked it out herself.

 Soon we were out in the natural light, where we could see just how dirty we had gotten. It was a fun cave!

A Surprising Cave

I've been doing cave-related things this way, so I thought it would be a good time to share a family trip to a cave from last month.

I had heard about this particular cave years ago, but was told that it was fairly small and a long hike, so not necessarily worth the trip. But for some reason I decided we should go check it out, especially since we would already be in the vicinity (meaning within 15 miles by high clearance two-track road).

This particular canyon has lots of caves, including the one above. We couldn't see the one we were aiming at, so we weren't totally sure if we would make it or not. But I thought we would (cavers are often optimistic, but I will admit that I've had to turn back from more than one caving trip because we couldn't find the cave entrance).

 

Desert Boy and I went ahead and located the entrance, which really wasn't that hard to find. Desert Boy really enjoyed climbing at the entrance!

While we waited for my husband and Desert Girl to catch up, I had fun taking some photos.

Soon we were heading into the cave. (Like Desert Girl's hiking attire? She really likes to wear dresses!)

We found lots of packrat middens and their oozy goo running over cave formations. Fortunately we didn't find a lot of dust, which made this cave rate high in my book. So many Great Basin caves are dusty with a putrid packrat smell that it really makes an impression when you find one that's not!

 It turned out that the cave passage kept going, so the kids had fun leading the way.

 I couldn't help but look for cave biota, and here the kids take a closer look at a tiny beetle.

 Not only was the cave quite a bit larger than I had expected, it also had a second entrance!

 The cave formations weren't super spectacular, and some had been broken off, but we still appreciated those that were left.

 We found another cave passage that led to some formations.

 Butterscotch flowstone!

 On the way back we tried for a family photo.

 After checking out a few more features, we could see light from the main entrance.

 We probably spent about an hour in the cave, going quite slowly. It was perfect for the kids, not too hard, but not too easy. I'm hoping that they will want to continue to go caving with me as they get older (perhaps a fun way to spend quality time with them when they're teenagers?), so going to a cave is a special treat. Fortunately this time it worked out well as a treat for us all.

After leaving the cave we still had the steep hike down to the vehicle. Fortunately Desert Girl was in a marvelous attitude and sang most of the way down.

Here's to fun outdoor (or underground!) adventures!

Small Party Cave Rescue Class

 I like caves. I like ropes. And over the years, I've been fortunate to go to some really cool places that involve ropes and the underground. I've also come to understand how if something goes wrong, you need some really specialized training to get you back to the highway. So I've taken National Cave Rescue Commission training and enjoyed that so much I eventually became an instructor. I've been an instructor for a number of years now, and when a fellow instructor asked if I'd be willing to help out with a Small Party Cave Rescue Class, I said sure. This is a newer class that's offered and the first time for all three of the main instructors to try out this new curriculum.

We held the class in Logan, Utah, at the Cache County Search and Rescue building. It's a great facility, with a climbing wall corner and nice anchors.


There's even a door in the classroom that opens to the bay below, which makes for a difficult edge problem.

 But the best place to learn skills is where you have some real rock, so we went out to nearby cliffs the first afternoon and reviewed and learned some basic hauling and lowering techniques using minimal gear. I like using minimal gear, as that means my pack is lighter. The key is knowing your gear forwards and backwards so that you can use it in several different ways.

 We rotated students through stations, and I became the patient for a group. Above was my view as they pulled me up the cliff.

 Ah, such friendly rescuers!

Well, since this was a cave class, we spent the next couple of days going to a cave.

 Before we went in we had a great demonstration about placing anchors.

 Then we split into groups and practiced a variety of counterbalances, one of my favorite techniques for small parties. (If you want to learn more, sign up for some NCRC training--there's a national event coming up in July!)

 This cave had a pit entrance that was large enough for us to have several groups working at the same time.

 Down at the bottom we found plenty of snow and ice, which we discussed in length. Hypothermia is always something of concern in cave rescue, but in these caves, it's critical to get your patient warmed.

We did some mock rescues, and I had the fun of being pulled out of a pit a couple of times.

 The terrain we were in was absolutely stunning, and I can't wait to go back.

As I said at the beginning, I love caves and I love working on rope. But the thing that makes me willing to volunteer my time to do cave rescue instruction is the people. We have a great cadre of instructors and staff, and meeting students and seeing them progress is really rewarding.

So if you read this blog and you like to cave, get some cave rescue training. It not only helps you help other people, it also makes you a better caver. Contact me if you need more info.

Camping in the Toquima Range

Last weekend I bundled up the kids and a mountain of camping gear and headed to the middle of Nevada to join a US Forest Service Restoration Project. I had never explored that area and was happy to have an excuse to look around more.


We met the group at the Toquima campground, which we reached after about 1.5 hour drive time after leaving the pavement of US 50. (By the way, if you're going through Eureka, check out the indoor public swimming pool, it has a climbing wall above the deep end, which makes it so much fun to climb and fall!).

I'd like to say the trip was uneventful, but we shredded a tire on the Monitor Valley road. As I was getting out the instruction manual of how to change it (it's been awhile!), a Jeep with two very helpful gentlemen from Las Vegas came along and changed the tire quickly. A nearby rancher filled up the low spare tire. Thank you, thank you!


We got to camp late enough that we just had time to set up the tent, eat, and head to bed, but the next morning we had time to play. Our friends had brought their kids, so Desert Girl and Desert Boy were delighted to have some friends to play with!


The four little ones--sort of looking at the camera!


We listened to the safety briefing and then divided up into groups. I was with the kid group, and our first order of the day was a short hike to nearby Toquima Cave.


 Actually, Desert Boy had some time to practice throwing atlatls, digging piles in the dirt, and shooting off some stomp rockets. Desert Girl and Rose repeatedly climbed the same miniature pinyon pine that was the perfect size for them. And I couldn't resist taking photos of the multitude of flowers in the area (but I limited myself to just two for this blog post).

 Shockley's buckwheat--most of the year a nondescript looking plant, but for a few weeks the bright blooms make it look so voluptuous.

 Even though it was mid-May, the spring parsley was already putting out seeds, nearly finished with its flowering phase. It, too, will rest in obscurity until late next April.

 With the kids dressed and fed, it was time to take the quarter-mile trail to Toquima Cave. On the way, the girls couldn't help but share a few secrets.

 Before long, we were in front of the huge gate that protects Toquima Cave, a well-known rock shelter in archeological circles. The gate helps protect the cave from vandals. Fortunately, you can still get good photos through the chain link.

 Propitiously, the other parent with us was a Forest Service archeologist who knew lots about the cave, so we learned a lot. If you don't happen to be there with an archeologist, check out this nice brochure about the cave.


The pictographs were made between 1,500 and 3,000 years ago. The Western Shoshone have an important relationship with the cave, and some still come to leave prayer offerings, which may be feathers tucked into cracks, packets of sticks tied to the gate, and more.

The site has lots of pictographs--more than 300, and they include four colors: red, white, black, and yellow. I found the yellow especially striking. Whenever I'm in a place with rock art, I try to feel what it was like when the art was made thousands of years ago. I still have never quite been able to capture even a small portion of that, and I'm left wondering who was there--young or old, men or women, hungry or well-fed, happy or distraught? The view from the rock shelter entrance is quite calming to me; perhaps it was also for long-ago visitors.

 Western Fence Lizard near the entrance

Then it was time to pack up and head to another cave for some restoration work. This other cave (which I won't name to help protect it) is remote, but used to be shown on maps. Over the years, many people have written their names in it. Names that are older than 50 years are considered to be historic graffiti and are protected, but any writing from the last 50 years is considered nuisance graffiti and our goal was to remove it. 

 In the middle of the photo above is the graffiti "R. Maxwell 1998." I'm guessing that R. Maxwell didn't know about the Federal Cave Resources Protection Act of 1988, which states that anyone who destroys, disturbs, defaces, mars, alters, removes, or harms any significant cave can be imprisoned for up to a year and/or fined.

We didn't have the materials to remove the etching in the calcite formation, so we used some mud to obscure the illegal writing. Here's the after photo:

What do you think?

 Volunteers were also using spray bottles, toothbrushes, and rags to remove some obnoxious spray paint from the cave. Given that you have to belly crawl through pack rat feces to get into the cave, I was surprised by the amount of graffiti in the cave.

 Desert Boy came into the cave with me, and we took a little trip to the back of the cave, which was longer than the map indicated. On the way, we saw some really interesting bedding planes.

 We also saw some impressive aragonite formations.

 Desert Boy led the way out of the cave, easily slipping through the narrow squeezes that had us adults squirming to fit through.

 Back at the spike camp, the girls had taken a break from their outside pursuits and were enjoying a video (with Desert Boy taking a peek--he looks a little worn out from all the caving!).

We next had a couple adventures at hot springs, which I will save for a separate post.

Then it was time for dinner...

...and hot chocolate! 

Soon the kids were asking to go to bed, and I bundled them into their sleeping bags (they somehow squirm out more times than not), put some extra blankets on top, put in my ear plugs (I find I sleep better!), and went to bed.

There's nothing like a good day of outside fun to make for a deep sleep!

Our brief taste of the Toquima Range has me yearning for more. We saw so many canyons, so many snow-covered peaks, and great valleys on either side. We will have to go back--but with two spare tires next time!