Big Brush Creek Ice Cave EarthCache
Hidden : 11/9/2007
Difficulty:
2 out of 5
Terrain:
4.5 out of 5

Size: Size: other (other)

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Geocache Description:


The trailhead for the Big Brush Creek Ice Cave is located about 7 miles west of U.S. 191 on the Red Cloud Loop Road. Parking is at the side of the road at 40 42.187 109 34.975. There is no signage for the cave, but you can follow the trail and your GPS receiver down the hill to the cave entrance.

The terrain rating is due to the steepness of the trail, especially the final few hundred feet. Maintenance on this final part of the trail is spotty, and there is the chance of small rocks being eroded onto the trail after a significant rain event. Care MUST be taken when the trail is wet or snow covered. For this reason, it is strongly recommended that you wear good hiking boots and carry a pair of gloves for the hike down to the cave entrance. Winter visits to the cave are some of the most impressive, but you should plan on postponing your trip to another time if ice is present on the trail to the cave. Within the cave, the floor may be slippery due to the presence of wet ice.

The aim of this earthcache is to visit an ice cave and measure the largest icicle that you can find. Additionally, you will be taking elevation readings of the parking area and the cave entrance to come up with the slope of the trail to the cave.

This is a nice cave to visit, especially in the summer when the temperatures in the valley are reaching into the low triple digits!

The listed coordinates will put you at the entrance of the Big Brush Creek Ice Cave, though about 80’ higher than you need to be in order to enter the cave. Follow the trail to the northeast and there is a rough trail down to the cave entrance.

An ice cave occurs when a natural cave contains significant amounts of year-round ice. At least some of the cave must have a temperature below freezing throughout the year and water must find its way down into the cold zone.

At the Big Brush Creek cave, water in the form of precipitation, snow melt and run-off soaks down into the soil at this location and works its way through the rock to the top of the cave. The water drips down into the cave, and due to the aspect and elevation of the entrance, and cold air flow up the drainage, the cave is kept cool enough through most of the year to support ice formations.

To log this cache, send me an email with the following information:

1) Measure the diameter and length of the largest icicle in the cave. You shouldn’t have to go deeper into the cave than 150’ to take this reading.

2) Take an elevation reading at the parking area and at the cave entrance. Using the straight-line distance between these two points, find the slope of the trail.

Please consider posting photos of yourself, or the local geology, when you log this EarthCache. Photos can be an additional rewarding part of your journey, but posting them is not a requirement for logging this EarthCache, and is strictly optional.

The above information was compiled from the following source:

Wikipedia: (visit link)

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