#040. Hike 10 new trails (1 of 10)
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
New Hiking Trail #1
Who: the extreme things crew
What: hiking, caving, climbing, scrambling
Why: It sounded like a good idea at the time
When: 01/09/10
Where: Las Flores Canyon - Pasadena, CA
So I've known there were trails in this canyon, but the caves were a new thing. Granted they are not "on" any of the trails so I likely never would have thought to look for them, let alone crawl inside to check them out, but I went with a great group and fearless outdoorsman leader (who also is part of a search and rescue crew) so I felt in good hands.
The first cave we went into required a 25-ish yard full belly crawl. I can belly crawl just fine, but entering head first into this tiny little opening requires one to have their head together. The cave is pitch black sans the headlamps we wore and we do live in coyote-skunk-mountain lion-rattlesnake territory so um, yeah, there's that. The crawl was hard on the elbows and forearms because there were a lot of little rocks on the ground. There was a cool old mining car in this cave, but as luck would have it there were also mice - some dead and some alive. They didn't bother me and I would say I steered clear of them, but really, where else was I going to go - there was a person blocking the way ahead of me and a person blocking the way behind me and no room to move on the sides so I was pretty much committed...you can use whatever definition of committed you feel best suits this situation. This is not a thing for someone with any claustrophobic tendencies!!
The cave itself was pretty cool and was better once I was able to stand. It went from belly crawl to duck walk to hunchback to standing in about 50 yards. The walls were pretty "sparkly", but I won't even attempt to play geologist as to what I was looking at.
Who: the extreme things crew
What: hiking, caving, climbing, scrambling
Why: It sounded like a good idea at the time
When: 01/09/10
Where: Las Flores Canyon - Pasadena, CA
So I've known there were trails in this canyon, but the caves were a new thing. Granted they are not "on" any of the trails so I likely never would have thought to look for them, let alone crawl inside to check them out, but I went with a great group and fearless outdoorsman leader (who also is part of a search and rescue crew) so I felt in good hands.
The first cave we went into required a 25-ish yard full belly crawl. I can belly crawl just fine, but entering head first into this tiny little opening requires one to have their head together. The cave is pitch black sans the headlamps we wore and we do live in coyote-skunk-mountain lion-rattlesnake territory so um, yeah, there's that. The crawl was hard on the elbows and forearms because there were a lot of little rocks on the ground. There was a cool old mining car in this cave, but as luck would have it there were also mice - some dead and some alive. They didn't bother me and I would say I steered clear of them, but really, where else was I going to go - there was a person blocking the way ahead of me and a person blocking the way behind me and no room to move on the sides so I was pretty much committed...you can use whatever definition of committed you feel best suits this situation. This is not a thing for someone with any claustrophobic tendencies!!
The cave itself was pretty cool and was better once I was able to stand. It went from belly crawl to duck walk to hunchback to standing in about 50 yards. The walls were pretty "sparkly", but I won't even attempt to play geologist as to what I was looking at.
Me climbing back out of the first cave covered in filth
So getting to the other 2 caves was well off any beaten path and required some free climbing. There were not a lot of places to get a good foot hold on some of the walls so the person behind would spot hold the foot of the person in front of them for a bit. If you look at the top right, you can see one of the guys holding a stick. This was used to help people pull themselves up towards the end of the steeper climbs
The opening of cave #2 - no belly crawl, but a nice duck walk for a bit
Climbing to cave #3 was more of the same as cave #2. Only one person up at a time and a bit of waiting as there was only enough room for a couple people on each new "ledge".
Inside cave #3 - this one was heavenly and required no crawling or duck walking
Me inside a cave in all my dork gear, covered in filth, and looking as nasty as can be
So the only thing worse than climbing up all those steep rock walls was knowing we had to climb right back down. This required a lot of "butt sliding", leaps of faith, and a slight bit of free fall for those of us of the shorter variety. I'm right up there in front trying to figure out my next move.
As much fun as this caving thing was for me, it doesn't hold a candle to the after-caving lunch. Let's just say the restaurant we went to had a 3 margarita limit posted at the bar...but they managed to serve us pitchers of that potent concoction. This part of the story allegedly involves lost people, lost keys, hours of sitting on a curb and shopping bench followed by some awesome Thai food. I don't think we need to talk about which role I found myself cast into...
You are my hero - this sounds like too much fun!
oh my goodness, I think I got the heebie-jeebies just thinking about crawling in there. That would be a no-go for me... I'm not terribly claustrophobic but I don't think I could be convinced to do that. You're a brave woman!
I started hyperventilating at "belly crawl". I may have done cave 2 but 3 was more my speed.
You do look like a dork, a really cool one! ; )
Did I ever tell you that since my father is a bat biologist I learned to cave and repel when I was still in grade school? Good sh!t, eh? :)
I didn't know spelunking was on your list, but it sounds like fun. A girl covered in dirt is a girl after my own heart! Now for that climbing lesson...