We've wanted to put a cache here for years, though a physical one
isn't allowed.
To find this unique location you need to go to the Lava Beds
National Monument. It is open all year around and accessible via
highway 139. The park fee is $10 per car and worth it! If you don't
plan on exploring the caves, you can drive through for free (but
then you can't grab this virtual cache!).
This entire area is riddled with lava caves, many of which you
can explore. You will need a hard hat and flashlight for each
explorer (available at the visitor's center for a small fee, or
bring your own). This cave, the Skull cave, also requires warm
clothes at all times of year, due to it being an ice cave. These
difficulties caused us to raise the cache difficulty to 2.5, since
you need some basic equipment to claim this virtual.
There are also many nature trails and other activities for those
of you wishing to stay above ground. Camping is available here all
year round on a first come first serve basis.
The caves we highly recommend visiting are: Mushpot (the
beginner cave), Skull Cave, Catacombs, Valentine Cave, and the
Merrill Ice Cave. We may add to this list later. All these caves we
did with 6 and 8 year old nieces.
To prove that you visited this location, please e-mail us the
answer to the following question. You may post your log at the same
time, but we reserve the right to delete any logs with spoilers or
who did not e-mail us the answers within a week.
Go down the steps to the bottom of the cave. Tell us the
different types of stair steps that exist. We made the Terrain a
2.5, but it's not that hard or steep, as our young nieces handled
the cave quite easily. If you have trouble walking up stairs, you
might want to avoid this cache. Wheelchairs and strollers cannot
navigate the terrain.
Please share your experiences so that future cachers know what
to look forward to. To learn more about this fascinating but
little-known place, please visit the official website at http://www.nps.gov/labe/index.htm.
Enjoy!
