Sierra Mountain Times

Winter Beneath the Surface Spelunkers below the stalactite-lined roof of Grapevine Gulch Cave in Calaveras County.

By next week winter will have officially arrived and storms, snow and cold will be on the menu for the next several months. This means it’s time to start planning for those beloved outdoor winter recreation activities. Like most people, my winter recreation itinerary consists of snow sports such as skiing/snowboarding, snowshoeing, ice-skating, sledding and snowball-making. However, as much as I love the winter season and all that it has to offer, I can only take so much snow. Too much of the white stuff results in what I like to call “snow crazy” syndrome, and the only cure is to find another outlet for my adventure-seeking soul. Thankfully, snow sports aren’t the only outdoor winter activity, and for the past several years I have added another activity to my winter list that allows me to escape the cold and snow. It is called caving, or “spelunking.” 

As winter’s constant cold and snow takes its affect on me I often find myself switching to my “spelunking” mode, transporting me to a different world beneath the frozen surface. In nature this is a common practice for many animals, but unlike the bats, snakes and rodents who seek out the shelter of the soil for hibernation, I burrow underground for much different reasons. In fact, quite the opposite. While these animals slow down their heart rates and conserve energy, I find myself becoming more alive as my heart rate increases due to the thrill of adventure and the dark unknown, and I find myself exerting all of my energy as I struggle through the corridors of this secret world. 

Spelunking, which is basically the recreational sport of exploring caves, has become one of my favorite winter pastimes. As much as I love hitting the slopes and snowboarding down a wide open bowl of powder, this underground activity offers a completely different sensation. Instead of the bright white, wide open spaces I experience on the mountain, while caving I find myself squirming through dark, muddy narrow passageways in the belly of the earth. Yet surprisingly, these drastically different environments do share some similarities. While the surface of the high country landscape is coated in crystals of frozen white and water-sculpted icicles hang from branches like crystal daggers, the underworld offers scenery and formations just as dazzling. Scenes of the season can be seen in a different light below the surface and many of the Mother Lode’s caves display ceilings dripping with icicle-shaped stalactites and sparkling crystalline flowstones that look like frozen avalanches of snow spilling down the walls. However, unlike the winter world above, the subterranean scenery never changes, and although also formed by water, the spectacular dripping creations are never melting, only growing – slowly adding to the cavern’s beauty.

Dagger-like stalactites hang from the ceiling of Grapevine Gulch Cavern.

There is also a beauty to be found in silence, which is difficult to come by in our modern world. Yet caves are a silent world, where one can escape to find complete darkness and complete silence. If sounds are to be heard, it is often only the sound of dripping water or the fluttering wings of a bat overhead.

While one can seek the same silence and darkness and see the same formations during anytime of the year, I prefer visiting caves in the winter for several reasons. One: because caves are nice and warm inside; Two: because some of the caves are more accessible; Three: It’s an activity you can do when it’s raining; and Four: because it’s fun to get muddy!

Caves offer a unique environment that is unlike anywhere else on earth. In fact the daily and seasonal fluctuations that we experience on the earth’s surface are not seen inside a cave. This is because any change in temperature on the surface fades as heat passes through the bedrock and into the caves. As a result, cave temperatures are approximately equal to the average annual temperature at the surface. Because of this, during the summer months caves are cooler than the outside temperature and warmer than the outside temperature during the winter months. This is always a nice treat after hiking through the cold. In fact one local cave was even named Heater Cave due to this natural phenomenon.

 A dazzling snow-like flowstone spils down a chamber wall in Calaveras County’s Heater Cave.

In fact most local caves are named after their characteristics – namely their beauty – and many caves share the name of Crystal Cave or Crystal Palace due to the sparkling treasures found within. After spending countless hours exploring these inner chambers of the earth, I would have to agree with names like “Crystal Palace” for I have observed that the scenery beneath the surface can be just as breathtaking as above. Amazingly there is much more than dirt, mud, roots and rocks as one would assume, and intricate creations await any who venture into the subterranean world. Those who know where to look will find chambers filled with crystal-polished pillars, glistening flowstones, delicate draperies, dripping stalactites, stalagmites, popcorn patterns, helictites, soda straws and other intricate and fragile crystalline formations. This concealed world is accessible through dozens of openings that dot the landscape of Tuolumne and Calaveras County’s. These openings, or caves, are the portals to what lies beneath and invite all to take a peek into the soul of the earth. 

My first peek took place when I was 13-years-old (when I was small enough to fit through any opening), and what I saw that day sparked a spirit of adventure and wonder for the underworld that still burns bright today. I am sure some of it had to do with the tales of the Hardy Boys, Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn I had read growing up, because when I first looked into the dark chasm, the pages seemed to come alive…except now I was the main character. It was my mystery to solve; my adventure. What was down there? Questions like these have been in the minds of man since the beginning of time. The unknown is always fascinating and we are always searching for answers. Although some would say that they don’t care or they don’t want to find out, I was always taught that the more you search, the more you find – and to me, this motto has always proved rewarding. So it made sense for me to seek the answers I sought and find out the secrets of the cave.

Local caver (Nathan Milnik) works his way through a tube-like room in Calaveras County’s Music Hall Cave.

Located on the outskirts of Tuolumne, this cave was known as Crystal Cave, which my friends and I had finally discovered after several attempts of scouring the area. It had a large gaping mouth that spoke of nothing but danger, mystery and adventure – creating the perfect combination for what teenage boys wanted to hear. It was a good 30 foot drop into the cave, but we accepted the challenge and carefully began to climb down the knotted rope leading into the darkness. As we began shining our lights and exposing the caverns hidden hollows, it was then and there that I realized that caves were much more than just holes in the ground. There was so much to see and explore!

Cavers enjoy the view from the entrance of Stanislaus Crystal Cave above New Melones. 

We discovered that every room was different. In some sections the floor stalagmites looked like one of One-Eyed Willy’s booby-trap’s, while other rooms had ceilings that were like looking into the mouth of a shark as rows of dripping stalactites hung like teeth ready to devour. Yet more than anything we were in awe of the beauty, for it was a beauty we had never seen before. While the beauty seemed to take our breath away, we discovered that some of the tight squeezes could take our breath away as well as we wriggled our way to the bottom of the cave. Some holes were so tight that it was like watching the cavern give birth as we squirmed and struggled through the tiny openings to emerge into larger chambers. Each opening offered a reward and at the bottom of the cave was a small pool of crystal clear water that lined with dazzling white formations like a porcelain tub. 

The inside of Coral Cave on the Stanislaus River, which is only accessible when the water in New Melones Reservoir lowers.

Emerging from the earth hours later we were different people. We felt like conquerors, but at the same time felt a oneness with the earth. We also looked different. We now had mud-streaked skin and dirt stained clothes which our mothers would rather throw away than run through the washing machine. But it was a good feeling. We had found answers to questions and had gone into darkness and returned to light. That is the beauty of caving – going into the cave is just as exciting as coming out! I realized that nothing I could ever read would compare to that experience, and ever since I have been seeking to explore and conquer these underground kingdoms. Of course, entrances to these unique environments are not always easy to find. Wild cave’s whereabouts are not advertised on billboards along the highway like the big commercial show caves and because cave environments are very fragile, their locations are kept secret by people in the caving community to keep them from being vandalized. Sadly, most of the caves I have experienced have names carved into the walls and many of the delicate formations have been broken off – which is why cave locations are hard to pry from those who cherish this beautiful underworld. 

Cavers make their way through a small room in Stanislaus Crystal Cave 

However, if you really want to find a wild cave, all you really have to do is look. My friends and I have discovered numerous caves by combing areas prone to having caves and sinkholes. Although each cave we come across is a new experience to us, so far they have all been explored by others before us, and often have visitor sign in booklets stored in special water-tight canisters at the bottom of the caves so the local cave group (The Columbia Grotto) can see how often the cave is frequented and by how many people. Some receive heavy traffic while some are well off the beaten path. The further from civilization you explore the better your odds are of discovering a virgin cave. Virgin cave systems comprise some of the last unexplored regions on earth and I have always wanted to be the first to enter one of these untouched worlds. In well-explored regions the most accessible caves have already been explored, and gaining access to new caves often requires digging, which many cave groups do by moving away piles of loose rock to uncover buried entrances.

Cavers make their way down a passageway in Tuolumne County’s Crystal Palace. 

The caves of Tuolumne and Calaveras County’s are found in karst landscapes, which are characterized as being formed in limestone, gypsum, and other types of rocks that dissolve in natural acid. Besides a few karst regions that I have seen in the Turnback Creek canyon and the North Fork of the Tuolumne River Canyon (where Tuolumne’s Crystal Cave is located), most of Tuolumne County’s caves are closer to Columbia and the limestone-lined Stanislaus River.

This river canyon is home to some of the Mother Lode’s finest caves, but sadly, most of these were flooded with the creation of New Melones Dam and Reservoir. However, during the winter months when the water levels lower, some of these, such as Coral Cave, can be accessed (by boat) once again. 

The jagged limestone canyon of the Stanislaus River canyon, home to dozens of wild caves including the Stanislaus Crystal Cave (If you look close you can see the small opening.)

Once crossing over the Stanislaus River into the limestone abundant Calaveras County, one truly enters into cave country, with dozens of wild caves stretching from the rivers edge to the outskirts of Murphys. A few of these include Stanislaus Crystal Cave, Grapevine Gulch Cave, Bobcat Cave, Music Hall Cave, and Bone Cave. Calaveras County is also home to four commercial caves: Moaning Cavern, Mercer Cavern, California Caverns and Black Chasm. These caves, which are easily the biggest and best in the area, offer safe, clean, well lit, guided tours allowing people of all ages to have the opportunity of experiencing the thrill of entering a cave and see its hidden natural beauty preserved and protected. These caverns are open year round and each offer a unique caving experience. For those interested in testing the waters of caving, be sure to visit one of these spectacular caves first. 

Moaning Cavern: located of Parrots Ferry Road outside of Vallecito, is a limestone miracle and contains the largest single cave room on the West Coast. The colossal cavern, which is large enough to hold the Statue of Liberty, also contains the oldest human remains to be found in North America. There are two ways to enter this chamber. The main avenue of descent for visitors is a 100-foot spiral metal staircase made up of 234 stairs, while the more adventurous can rope rappel 180- feet into its depths. 

Mercer Caverns: located off of Sheep Ranch Road outside of Murphys and has been operating since its discovery in 1885, making it the longest continually operating commercial caverns in the state.

Black Chasm Cavern:, located at Cave City near Sheep Ranch was designated a National Natural Landmark by the National Park Service in 1976 after being recommended by local members of the National Speleological Society, and as such is considered a “nationally significant natural area.”

A caver squirms his way through a tight opening in Grapevine Gulch Cave.

California Cavern:, also located at Cave City, has been open to the public for much longer. Opening in 1850 it was California’s first show cave and early visitors included Bret Harte, Mark Twain and John Muir. This extensive cavern takes one over an hour to cover the lighted trails. 

So this winter, if you need a break from the snow – remember, there is another world waiting for you. Shine a light into the darkness and discover the beauty below the surface. And remember, be careful and always follow the caving motto: “leave nothing but footprints and take nothing but pictures.”