Like all rangers in the service of the National Parks, we met some extremely friendly and helpful rangers at the visitor center. They provided some maps and asked us to check in at the White-nosed Bat Syndrome table outside, which we were happy to do. They asked the routine questions about other caves we had visited and I think were quite astonished at the number and diversity that we had been to in the last twelve months. We disinfected our shoes and gear and when on about our business.
Pulling out of the visitor center parking lot, we took a quick left turn to drive around Cave Loop, which contains the highest concentration of lava tube caves in the park. Not being thoroughly prepared for any difficult spelunking, we decided to stick to some of the easier caves.
My friend, Nick, recommended the first one we explored. Golden Dome cave is noteworthy for two features. First, it has a figure-8 configuration and secondly, the bacteria for which the cave gets its name. We parked the jeep and walked a few yards to an ominous steel ladder reaching out of a large hole in the ground. After making the decent into the darkness, we turned on our flashlights and began to explore this subterranean mystery. Remnants of cooled lava abound in this underground cavern, which as I understand it, was formed when the outer surface of the lava flow begins to form a crust as it cools. Later, the still molten lava at the core of the flow drains away leaving the negative space behind in the form of a tubular cave. We continue exploring the walls and ceiling, and eventually begin to see the golden coloration of the bacteria on the surface of the rock. It looks almost like gold dust and was very beautiful.
Moving on, we visited Sunshine Cave, which is named for two openings in the cave ceiling that act much like skylights illuminating the darkness. This one was a bit more challenging to make our way into due to some moisture on the surface and some steepness to the cave floor, but we persevered and enjoyed the cavern’s beauty.
Having a keen interest in Native American petroglyphs and pictographs, I couldn’t resist hiking out to Big Painted Cave and Symbol Bridge. Cass elected to stay in the jeep while I walked the almost two mile trail through the desert to the caves. Along the way, I was greeted with numerous collapsed lava tubes and a small cinder cone volcano in the distance, which served as a stark contrast to Cinder Cone in Lassen with the amount of vegetation growing on it. Obviously, this volcano had been formed somewhat earlier than the one I had visited only a few weeks ago. Upon reaching Big Painted Cave, I was surprised to find that it was much less of a cave than the others we had explored. While the entrance was much larger and required a little climbing to get to, there really wasn’t much more to the cave than this large room at the entrance, fully illuminated by the sun. I searched, but failed to find any pictographs here, though the coloration of the rock formations was magnificent.
Only half a mile further, I found the entrance to Symbol Bridge Cave. Much like its neighbor, the cave is little more than one large room at the entrance. However unlike it’s twin, the pictographs here are numerous and obvious. I hiked a rugged little trail through the rocks to approach the pictograph panels, which were some of the most visually stunning I have seen in my travels.
I returned to the jeep and we continued on our journey across the Oregon border to our next stop. Perhaps, I will return to Lava Beds someday with proper gear and explore some of the more difficult caves.
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