I'm out exploring again today, while on my way to short overnight backpacking trip in Cloudland Canyon. My first stop is to the entrance to Pettyjohn Cave, which is within the boundaries of the Pigeon Mountain Wildlife Management Area. The cave is said to be a popular destination for spelunkers and is generally rated easy to moderate experience. I don't have the appropriate gear with me and so, I won't be entering the cave, but only visiting the entrance.
After parking my jeep on this cold morning, I follow a well-worn trail just a few meters into the woods to a natural collection of boulders. At the center of this group, is a deep hole. Someone has spray-painted an "X" on one of the vertical surfaces to mark the spot. This would seem to be the entrance. I gaze down into the hole, but can only see a meter or two into the darkness. I suspect one simply ties off and lowers down through this entrance to the horizontal surfaces below. While I won't be doing that today, I wouldn't mind checking this out at some point in the future when I'm not alone and have proper gear along with me. For now, I'll end my exploration of the cave right here and move on to my next stop.
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