Mammoth Cave Lava Tube

Last weekend there was a campout for Utah grottoes (caving clubs), and it wasn't too far away, so we decided to go. We all managed to catch a cold and didn't think that camping out at 9,500 feet would be that much fun (with nights getting to about 28 F), but fortunately we were able to rent a cabin nearby. We met the other cavers in the morning and decided that we were going to do a couple easy caves with the kids.

Our first stop was Mammoth Cave, which had multiple signs pointing it out.

At the parking area there was even a pit toilet and kiosk with information.

Mammoth Cave lava tube has nearly half-mile of passages that are in four main tunnels.

We descended down the main entrance.

Desert Boy was very excited to go caving. He had been talking about it for a couple of days. We don't let him go too often so that it's a special treat to go.

We decided to go in the mostly walking section of the lava tube, but to get into it, we had to crawl through the gate. That was a little challenging while wearing Emma in a sling, but doable.

The gate is to protect hibernating bats during the winter. During the summer, the gate is open for folks to go exploring.

Before long, Emma went with Daddy. I was busy looking for cave invertebrates to help the Forest Service, and Emma didn't like me bending over so much.

Desert Boy was a great size to go exploring all the little alcoves. I'm always surprised when I go in lava tubes how many irregular nooks and crannies they can have. In my mind I always imagine lava just flowing straight and regular, but the reality is that it can be very curvy and irregular. We really realized that when we found out that the passage had curved and we ended up going nearly under where we parked.

Kent, a caver from Utah, came with us. He has six kids and many grandkids, so he had no problem hanging out with us.

Desert Boy was happy that we kept moving. He loves having little challenges like climbs.

Meanwhile, I kept checking for cave critters, finding some flies and mites. The little white mites were probably the most common biota in that tunnel.

Here's the closeup. Ha, not very close, is it? They were tiny, only about 2-3 mm long.

The ceiling got lower as we went further back in the tunnel. My husband didn't really want to retrace our steps over all the slippery rocks. He looks a bit worried, doesn't he?

Fortunately there was another way out, and although it was small, we all made it (even with Emma attached).

Here's a view from the outside, with caver Peter exiting. He was with another group that had joined with ours at the end of the tunnel.

We took a little break, and then Desert Boy, Kent, and I decided to go into another tunnel.

Kent and I went in first and watched Desert Boy climb into the cave.

Climbing over the big boulders wasn't the easiest for him.

But he's certainly the right height for easy movement in the cave!

This tunnel had some fun creatures, including this orange centipede.

Cave crickets were abundant. We counted 21, and we weren't even looking that hard.

The cave crickets were all over the floor, walls, and even ceiling. There's one in a pocket above Desert Boy's head.

This tunnel was like the others, squeezing down into a smaller and smaller size, but it also had an exit at the end.

It was a really fun lava tube, and we'll be back some day to explore the other tunnels. We also enjoyed watching the array of folks coming to the cave. It's a huge attraction, due to the signs and many ATV trails in the area. We didn't see anyone else besides our caver group have helmets, and most folks only had one or two lights per group. We even saw some people take their little poodle down into the cave entrance. The Forest Service has a real opportunity to do some outreach about caving safely and cave conservation.

Although we had finished at Mammoth Cave lava tube for the day, we still had one more cave to visit. We finished our lunch and headed off for the next adventure...