The Ranger gave us some info on Broken Top Trail and Buffalo Cave. It was a 1.8 mile loop with the trail head starting in this parking lot.
We had left so hurriedly this morning that we forgot to bring our flashlights. We used our cell phone flashlight in the cave, which is not that great in the dark. We scooted in the hole on our butts, walked hunched over for a little bit, was able to stand for a short time, then crawled out the other side. Pretty cool for a couple of old farts.
Three youngsters that were ahead of us were swarmed by bats. I guess our weak flashlight didn't bother the bats. Kinda glad of that.
After lunch at the camper, we went to the 1 pm tour at Indian Tunnel. Ted, the Ranger was our guide. We had a group of about 12 people. He talked about the Great Rift that occurred 15,000 years ago causing lava to to well up and form this massive area of rocks. Ted said the volcanic activity is 300 years overdue for eruption, but don't worry. Hmm!!!
Indian Tunnel was a large tunnel with a lot of light filtering in. Ted said when you are in the cave it is called skylights, when you are above the cave, its called collapses. LOL
The tour ended about half way through the tunnel. We had the choice to either turn around and go back up the easy stairs or climb out the other side. We climbed out the other side and followed the trail to the caves.
We walked to Beauty Cave. This is where I realized my lantern battery was weak. Not to worry, Lauren had the powerful, Clyde flashlight. Beauty Tunnel was nice, quiet, dark, and cool. Pretty neat.
Our next cave was Boy Scout Cave. We had to scoot in a tiny hole and then we were able to stand up and look around. This is where we realized, the Clyde flashlight battery was weak. We watched the same three youngsters that were swarmed by the bats, climbing through a really tight space where they found icicles. They advised it was really hard to get through the tiny tube. We heeded their advice.
Getting in Boy Scout Cave was a challenge. Climbing out,was even more of a challenge. My back foot got stuck between rocks crawling out. Finally, I realized I had to back up to get it my foot loose. When I came out the hole with a couple of guys waiting on me, I told them, "this is fun!!" It actually was, even with the scuffs on my legs.
We climbed up the Inferno Cone, a quite challenging uphill climb with beautiful views. We stopped at Snow Cone, Splatter Cone, and Devil's Orchard then headed back to camp. We had planned to go on the North Crater Trail at the campground and look for Pica's. It turned cold and started raining. We might try it in the morning.
We spent the day in this 7 mile round trip park enjoying the unique scenery. We hiked 8 miles and climbed 63 flights.
Tomorrow is moving day.
Right here, the pictures:
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