Fern Cave (Lava Beds National Monument, California)

***PLEASE NOTE: All photos of Fern Cave displayed here are borrowed from Google Images and were not taken by me, as photos are no longer allowed inside the cave at the request of the Modoc People

Looking at my calendar a few weeks ago, I realized that I had a free weekend at the end of July and began brainstorming for some day trips. I had been to Lava Beds National Monument a couple of years ago, but it was really more of a pass through than a real exploration of the park. Looking at the NPS site, I saw there were a couple of caves (lava tubes) that could only be accessed via ranger-guided tours, and from the schedule, it looked as though these tours were challenging to reserve, but as luck would have it, there was a single spot available for the day I had in mind. So, I booked it.

The drive from Reno to Lava Beds is about four hours long and traverses a combination of high desert and sub-alpine forest, along with the obvious volcanic activity in the area. As my tour wasn't until 2 PM, I didn't get a super early start, but I did arrive in plenty of time to get checked in, go through the mandatory white-nosed bat syndrome screening, and make it back to the meeting area at Hospital Rock with time to spare. 

Emily, our ranger guide, arrived just a couple of minutes after I did and we began talking about the tour and the park in general. The other participants all arrived shortly thereafter and we loaded into the Park Service's mini-van to escape the high-90 degree temperatures and to be shuttled to the entrance to the cave, which is a short distance down a gated and locked gravel road just off of the main road and west of Hospital Rock. After exiting the van and hiking a tenth of a mile or so through the open desert and lava fields, we arrived at the 'sky light' to the cave, which is essentially a section of the lava tube's ceiling that had collapsed in the distant past, revealing the cave below.

As this cave is sacred to the Modoc people, it has a locked grate completely covering the skylight and preventing any trespassers from entering. The Park Service has special, all-be-it limited permission to enter the cave with visitors, while tribal members have full access at any time. Emily performs a short ritual of burning sage to honor the Modoc tradition and tells us a bit about the known history of the cave. Even from up here and before the grate has been opened, it's obvious there is something special about the cave, as a collage of lush green ferns reaches for the sun from the cave floor below, thus giving the cave its name. The ferns are a stark contrast to the vegetation on the surface, which is covered with the dull green and brown sea of sage brush and other desert flora. Its no wonder the ancient Modoc saw this place as an oasis.

Unlocking and opening the grate, I help Emily lower the ladder down into the cave through a mechanism designed into the grate, presumably to keep the ladder secure. She goes down first, I follow, and then the remaining members of our tour make their way down into the cool dampness of this holy place. Emily marks the boundaries of where we are allowed to explore with her flashlight and we make away around the cave.

Just below the skylight, a green tower of ferns rises, presumably on top of the rubble that collapsed from above long ago. The more central to the sunlight peaking through, the larger the ferns grow. From leaves more than a foot long at the center to the tiniest fern leaves you can imagine, easily mistaken for a blade of grass, carpeting the area around the center in a micro-green field - truly magnificent to behold.

Searching the walls of the cave, I'm amazed by the number and density of the pictographs here in shades of black and white and everything in between. Figures possibly representing families, maps, spirals, and all sorts of other designs. Presumably, the Modoc visited this cave as part of a spiritual journey and perhaps preserved their visions on the walls for future generations to see. I very much would have liked to record some of these images with my camera, but I respect the Modoc's wishes and save them only to my memory. 

We spend 30ish minutes exploring the cave, as Emily explains that the Modoc may actually go further back into the cool lava tube than we are allowed to, but that their heritage and their right as the ancient owners and discoverers of this wondrous place. After exploring a bit and pondering on the spirituality of this ancient and holy place, we make our way back up the ladder, re-secure the grate, and drive back to Hospital Rock. Emily had warned us that visiting Fern Cave could be a religious experience and she wasn't far off. It is truly an amazing place and I would highly recommend visiting it given the opportunity.