Trip Leader: Ralph Powers
On Trip: Yifan Shi, Leon Kilgrow, Ralph Powers
I was hoping that more people would show up, but considering that the trip was a bit last minute and that originally I had other people that were planning to go that cancelled, I should be happy with what I got. This was a good trip either way.
Leon picked me up about six am at my apt. and we drove out to Heber to see if anyone from Salt Lake would show. About 20 minutes of waiting at the Sinclair station Yifan appeared. He put all his stuff in Leon�s trunk and joined us.
It was a nice drive out, ran into a couple of patches of dense fog by Strawberry but other than that the drive was uneventful. We stopped at the new Vernal Dinosaur museum to take care of business and then drove straight out to the cave. The parking lot was still snowed under of course. And we found a relatively dry spot to put the back wheels on so we�d have some momentum to get out of there when we were ready to leave.
The snow along the trail was nicely packed down and easy to walk on. Going down into the gully wasn�t as bad as I had thought it would be. Slick in a couple of places but other than that relatively nice. We made our way down and dropped our packs, I led the two up to the ice cave portion which by now is just about as tradition as having a pizza afterwards in Vernal.
Both Leon and Yifan were amazed at the beauty the cave had to offer.
I was pleasantly surprised by a few new ice formations
and some of the �hoo-doos� were back farther in than
usual. There were a lot more of them as well. Some
were just gorgeous in their form and shape.
Yifan took a lot of pictures and they turned out very nice.
They poked around for a short bit and had fun trying to avoid knocking any of the ice formations over.
Now we were ready to head on in to the main cave itself. The log jam wasn�t as difficult as I recall previous years past and at the back wall one could see straight in to the cave passage itself. I got my small pack out of my big one and into my coveralls and took the lead.
Within a short while we were at the infamous corner-pool and I brought along my 9mm hand line to rig the traverse as always. Though many do not I prefer to do it from past experiences where the line had helped a lot of people have an easier (mental) crossing and caught a couple from getting a full dunking.
What amazed me was how low the water level was compared to previous trips. You still couldn�t see the bottom but it wasn�t as deep as it could be. The effects of a long term drought I suppose. Makes me wonder just how deep this particular part of the cave really is.
I made it across without the benefit of the line and rigged it up from one jug handle to another on the far side. Yifan was the only one who needed it as he lost a hand hold and had to lean back against the rope to keep from falling. He got across without getting wet.
It was then I noticed the shoes of my companion. Not boots, shoes. Hiking shoes for Leon and running shoes for Yifan. I told them they need to prepare to get their footsies wet and cold. I also made a mental note not to take the two in as far as we could�ve gone. A comfortable pair of feet goes a long way as much as keeping your torso warm.
After a couple of false turns we got to the H-room in good time and took the customary break there. The long crawl of the glowing stream requires this I�ve learned. The two explored around and I took a nap. After a bit I woke up and continued to lead them deeper in.
I had wanted to make it at least as far as the White Stream before turning around. I made another false turn just before the humming passage to a small room with a plug that seemed to be opening up. Not being familiar with this particular by pass I decided to leave it for later this year.
The Humming Passage gave it�s usual treat of reverberating our voices. It was a crawl to the Cascade Room. There Yifan and Leon were awestruck by the soaring height above them. There were more pictures (attempted) and again I took a quick power nap standing up against a nice ledge off to one side. When they were ready we made our way to the Pillar Room and looked around there for a bit. The passage to the Grand Canyon was of course still way out of reach, hopefully someone can figure out a good lead to climb up it. Or mebbe the plugged passage I mentioned earlier might take one there. Who knows?
We walked along for a bit. Then Leon exclaimed �I can hear water!� We quickened our pace and were now at the White Stream. Water was rushing loudly here and it was as always a gorgeous sight to see.
We spent a good hour in here poking around and negotiating the various narrow runnels and ended up at a small lake that required wading to get across. Any other time I would�ve gone on ahead through it, but earlier that morning I realized that I forgot an important pair of gear. Water-proof boots. What I was wearing was a pair of pack boots that I usually have on for the hike to the cave from the parking area. Since this was the only pair that I had and it was wool/felt lined I didn�t feel like carrying an additional five or six pounds of soggy weight back up out.
A few more photo ops here and there and I asked if they were ready to go on or head out. I reminded them that it would be all up hill. Also I was not wanting to go too deep as it was just the three of us and only I knew the cave well enough to get us out. Leon definitely wanted to keep going. But Yifan didn�t and I opted out.
We had our lunch at the H-room and it was there the two realized that they were more tired than they realized. So, a good call I think. Heh. Leon said he would definitely be coming back here and Yifan also remarked about how much fun the cave was.
The corner pool wasn�t as bad except that my big pac-boots threatened to cause me to fall. I wouldn�t have minded but I would�ve hit the rock ledge before hitting the water. That would�ve hurt. I caught myself after a few shouts and made it without falling. Yifan made it across easier going out than he did going in. Leon untied the rope and took the same path Yifan did.
At the changing room I stuffed my smaller pack into my big one and left my coveralls on. We decided that it�d probably be easier to change at the car anyway.
Pizza Hut and then home. I had planned on coming back but realized later that the snow would be melting soon. Oh well wait til July or later then.
| Photography | ||||
 Beautiful Ice Formation Yifan Shi |  Leon and Ralph admire an ice stal Yifan Shi |  Corner Pool at it's lowest in years Yifan Shi | ||
 Ralph along the lower White Stream Yifan Shi |  Yifan above a waterfall in the Lower White Stream Ralph Powers | |||