Oregon Caves

July 18

Our morning started out in the most unfortunate way: with oatmeal.  No matter how many health benefits it claims, I can’t bring myself to enjoy it.  It is palatable if I eat the super sugary kind because then it at least doesn’t look AND taste like oatmeal.  It tastes like candy instead.  The already-chewed texture always gets to me.  Granola and I get along just fine, but oatmeal and I will always have a love-hate relationship on camping trips.

The next stop on our week adventure was Oregon Caves National Monument.  The cave tour quickly plunged us into nearly total darkness.  It was damp and cold and very narrow.  

I’m mildly claustrophobic and planned to bail at the halfway point of the tour through their escape side door if it got to be too much.  The pictures on the brochure showed people on all fours crawling through the openings.  Today, that person would NOT be me.  My nose was still doing funny things from the sinus infection and was running like crazy.  As we walked from one cave room to another, I whispered to Matt, “Would it be inappropriate to snot rocket in here?”  He replied with a scolding stare.  Okay, I guess not.

The only other cave I have toured was man-made.  A retired iron ore mine near my hometown offers tours down into the carved out tunnels.  These things are always pretty cool.  My least favorite part is when they turn the lights out and show us how the explorers got around: by light of a single candle.  They also did this on the Oregon Caves tour.  

Stalactites and stalagmites grew from the floor and ceiling.  Every surface was wet and covered in a white calcium carbonate paste.  Since the stalactites grow at a rate of centimeter per 1,000 years, it was easy to see the damage people had done to this cave by collecting their own souvenirs.  In the 1800s, conservation was the last thing on anyone’s mind.  Many names were written on the rock and then covered in layers of calcium carbonate glaze, preserving them forever. 

 

Wandering through a naturally hollow area of the mountain, I imagined the hikers on trails above ground, some 1,000 ft. above us.  What would lead early settlers into a cave like this?  There was no evidence of mining inside the caves.  Maybe I’m too big of a wimp, but the idea of wandering into a cave and not being sure I’d find my way out sounds absolutely terrifying.  That’s not even mentioning encounters with animals that may also call this cave home.  That mostly comes from my childhood.  “Don’t stick your hands in holes unless you want them to get bitten off!”  I’m glad they’ve got gates at the ends, lights, and guides to give me tours now. 

 

We reached the halfway point and I felt calm enough to continue on.  We reached the largest room in the cave and stopped to explore.  Our guide pointed out a fault line over our heads.  I’ve never lived in a place with as many as they have here on the West Coast.  The guide also speculated the room was created when rocks in the tunnel fell from above.  Luckily, there were no earthquakes when we were inside.  I climbed up several tall ladders to the best room of all.  An entire wall of formations appeared.  These had been growing for millenniums!  Wow.

After the tour, we took a quick hike to the top of the hill that the caves rested in.  The views were just like they are often at home: foggy.  The week’s activities caught up with me that morning and I tried to convince Matt of a mountaintop nap.  “I think we should stay here and wait for the fog to break up,” I suggested.  The only thing that matched our fatigue that week was our appetites.  

 Lured back to the car for lunch, skies darkened as we hunted through the cooler.  Others dashed off to their cars during the light rain.  Matt and I enjoyed our lunch from the shelter of our rain coats and hardly noticed it.  When the thunder and lightning began, we decided to finally pack up. 

We drove to the nearest campground and set up our tent.  I caught a quick snooze and the rain stopped so Matt convinced me to go out for one more hike.  I also convinced him that a sundae would be the best reward for our hike, so we split a really delicious hot fudge one.

Bedtime came early.  I think I was in bed by 8pm.  Sleeping rocks.

oh, and so does Jiffy Pop.