Candlelight Cave

Monday, December 26th 2005 - Tamie Jensen

On Trip: Duane McCully, Ralph Powers, Robert Cranney, Tamie Jensen We seem to be getting better and better at the process of getting every one together and into the cave before 11am. I had heard a rumor of mischief-in-the-making by a member of the group the night before. However, everything went swimmingly. We parked at the entrance and got to work. I think a little WD40 would not go amiss on the locking mechanism. It proved to be a challenge to just figure out why the gate mechanisms would not disengage once the lock was removed. I’m sure it was only stuck due to some oxidation rather than some one trying to break in. We rigged up 2 ropes for the ride in. I really felt like the guys were making every effort to watch out for me. Ralph was already in the cave entrance tunnel and Robert repelled in right next to me then Duane came down last. We dropped our gear and headed down the trail. I got to find out why it was called Candlelight. History of the cave says that the miners tried to give tours and lit the passages with candles that are still there today. The candles and flash bulbs from that era are now a protected part of the archeology. Next will be the trail marking tape. Go figure. I saw quite a bit of the cave on the main trail. But I think it goes without saying, Ooh Ahh Canyon was my favorite part. I spent about 10 minutes taking photos there while the others hung out. We went through Candy Cane Maze. The red and white stripes glittered in the LED light. I really liked the Blowhole Loop area. I love the colors of the strata and the gorgeous domes in the ceilings. I realized that Ralph and I couldn’t take all the time in the world as we usually do. We made it to where the webbing ends in Post Nasal Drop then headed back. There is still plenty more to see on the next visit. Rob led the group on a loop trail back to the main passage. I got an amazing picture of some flowery looking aragonite crystals (I think.) So many delicate formations that I need to get a pocket reference. At least I have a good start on my own. I will just need help on the captioning for my photos. Any volunteers? We took a group photo near the Welcome sign and geared up for the ascent. Duane used both ropes for his ascent. A safety was attached to an ascender device that traveled with him as he frogged up. Then it was my turn. I was less worried about falling than swinging wildly and getting tangled and then pulling the closely hovering Ralph and Robert to their deaths. Two words here: Anchor bolt. Thanks. This was Robert’s first ascent on a frog system. We laughed and talked with each other the whole way up. Both of us frogging our way up seemed a slow process. At least we didn’t have to do it alone. Duane was hanging out on the surface when we emerged. Ralph was soon to follow us out. We were derigging when Jon Jasper pulled up. I guess he was out in the area and stopped by to see if we had all plummeted to our deaths. He seemed happy that we were alive until Robert told him that his secret cave was formed by Ford. It is my belief that our presence saved Robert from an assisted air repel back into Candlelight that afternoon. The rest of the afternoon was spent on a Jeep tour of the nearby train tunnel and mines. We enjoyed yet another visit to the Family Tree Restaurant for dinner. It was marvelous day.