Caves

[Nighthiker]

Anyone visit caves ? Some times the valley parks and rec depts will have programs and visits to caves. If anyone has any info,please advise.

[Canyon Dweller]

I visited Lava River Cave in the Flagstaff area a few years ago. It was a really neet cave. I did it about 9:00 at night when the bats were out. They were flying inches from our heads. It was really cool. It's strange comming out of a cave at night; you dont know when you are about to get to the opening of it. The sun is not there to tell you that you are almost there. This cave goes back for about 3/4 of a mile.
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Mountains are there to be climbed!

"Meaningless! Meaningless," says the teacher, "Utterly Meaningless, Everything is meaningless."-Ecclesiastes 1:2

[Canyon Dweller]

Another really cool cave that I almost forgot about is Cave of the Dome in the Grand Canyon. To get to it you have to hike down the Grand View trail to Horseshoe Mesa. The Cave is on the west side of the mesa. The entrance is only about 2 1/2 feet tall and it opens to a 20 foot tall cavern with stalagtites and stalagmites(sp). At the back end of it there is another passage to another 15 foot cavern. There are all sorts of caverns in there. There is one that I had to crawl through and it opened up to about a 10 foot cavern. It's a really neet cave. It's the most increadible cave I've been in.
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Mountains are there to be climbed!

"Meaningless! Meaningless," says the teacher, "Utterly Meaningless, Everything is meaningless."-Ecclesiastes 1:2

[desertgirl]

I am wanting to do this one at Grandview some day....This should be a good winter hike for camping or a day trip in summer ?

Somehow it never gets prioritized over the othe GC hikes I want to do
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[Canyon Dweller]

I've done the Grandview trail twice, once in January and once in March. Both times the trail was covered in snow. We hiked it in a foot of snow. We had to use or crampons for this. The trail is very steep in spots. Our second time in march we camped two nights at horseshoe mesa. Our second day we did the 9 mile hike around horseshoe mesa. There are all sorts of mines in the area. This is my favorite area of the Canyon I have been in.
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Mountains are there to be climbed!

"Meaningless! Meaningless," says the teacher, "Utterly Meaningless, Everything is meaningless."-Ecclesiastes 1:2

[Daddee]

If you are really interested in doing some caving then you need to hook up with one of the spelunking clubs around the valley. Arizona has some of the best caves in the world, and the cavers here know most of them. There are quite a few that are VERY difficult to track down if you don't know the way - but are still well worth the trek. You will get to see some caves that very few people ever get to see - and if you really dig it, one day you will go so far back into a cave, you'll see things probably only a few hundred people have ever seen. Very impressive stuff, but not for the weak of heart.

The caves that the Forrest Service does guided tours through are the easy caves that don't require much effort and are relatively non-delicate caves (Kartchner cavers being a semi-notable exception). But - hook up with some of the better cavers, and you'll see some truly spectacular things that are all the more rewarding because of the effort in getting to them. Just like hiking rewards you with a view at the top - spelunking rewards you with a view at the bottm.

Another thing most people don't know - most of the really good caves in AZ are gated - that is, they have a locked entrance of some sort (the type of gate varies). But the Forrest Service has the keys, and you just have to pay $5 to get the key for a 3 day pass. If you know the name and location of a good cave, simply contact the branch office of the Forrest Service for the park/area in question and they will give you a key. There are restrictions, but usually not too bad. Also, every key will come with a brief but accurate cave description talking about the major points of the cave and how to get to them.

Spelunking is a total blast - and it will work you to the bone. One of the best full body workouts I have ever endured - and one of the most rewarding.
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[cactuscat]

Sounds like a blast - definitely something I'm interested in!