Monday, October 11, 2010

Wild Cat Cavern (Community Caves)

One of the lesser known hikes, it is also one of the closest to the entrance of the Canyon. About two and a half miles in, or just past mile marker 13 is a parking area. Look across the road the deepest curve in the creek, this is the way to go. After getting across the water (if it is spring time), head to the draw between the two cliff like hills. Finding the trail can be tricky, because it is somewhat hidden by trees and bushes. The trail is very traveled and takes about 20 minutes to hike. Near the top the trail gets pretty rocky and kind of slick.
The caves are an amazing sight. A waterfall pours down the mouth of the largest cavern, inside of which are smaller, individual caves. A hike up to the top of the cavern presents hikers with a view of another smaller waterfall, but the hike itself can be hard with slippery footing and some climbing involved.
In the winter time this hike can be a lot harder, but more than likely worth it because the whole cavern opening is covered in ice. This place is also popular for ice climbing  when it gets really cold in the canyon, cold enought for the pillars of ice to form. Also on the inside of the cave there is a climbing routes that starts in the back and wraps around to the top of the rock. This can only be done in the summer because ice will block the top of the route in winter.



3 comments:

  1. the few times iv been here i really enjoyed it. the views and hikes in the canyon are great fun.

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  2. Wild Cat Cavern is a very cool place. I have never been there in the winter, but it sounds pretty neat to see. I think it is cool that alot of these places are kindof hidden which makes them kindof special.

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  3. This sounds beautiful! You give a very good description of how to get there, also. Did you take the photos yourself?

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