Hiking to Timpanogos Cave

On July 14 we made a reservation to hike to Timpanogos cave.  I hadn't been since I was a teenager, and I wanted the girls to have the experience of hiking up to the cave and of going through the cave. We had done some hiking already, but this was a more challenging hike than we had been on thus far.

At the beginning of the trail.

Timpanogos cave is a national monument and is part of the US National Park system.  The cave was discovered in the early 1900s, but then was lost for a few years.  It was opened as a park during the Great Depression.  The cave was formed when the landscape was part of a great sea system millions of years ago, but has been lifted up along the Wasatch fault to a great height.  Mt. Timpanogos is the 2nd highest peak in Utah.

View down into the canyon and toward Utah Valley (west) from the trail.

To go to the cave you have to either reserve tickets, or show up and hope that they have room for you.  They take tours every 15 minutes, but each tour is limited to 15 people.  We reserved our tickets - for the only time that was left with six slots - for 6:00 p.m.  We were told to show up to the park an hour and a half early.  We arrived at around 4:15.  The hike to the cave covers just over half a mile, but gains over 1,200 vertical feet over the course of that half mile. The path is paved and there are a number of short tunnels and a lot of switchbacks.  The hike is doable, but quite strenuous.  The hike is complicated a bit by the fact that the trail is mainly located in a rock slide zone, so there are many places where you are not supposed to stop.

Examining the rocks and lichen.

A rock tunnel on the trail to the cave.

This was one of the areas we weren't supposed to stop in.

We were given an hour to make the hike and we left at 4:45 after watching a presentation on geology and having a safety briefing about the trail.  We all made it to the top, even if there was a bit of complaining along the way when the going got tough.

Inside the cave.

We arrived at the top and they took our group a bit early.  We started our tour at 5:45.  Inside the cave you aren't allowed to touch the walls - this is quite difficult when the tunnels are narrow and short.  I carried our backpack with water in it and had to do a bit of crawling in order to make it through some areas.

A narrow area in the cave - a problem for bigger guys like me.  No problem for Lexa.

The cave has a nice trail through it.  Our guide was a drama major at the university and an amateur speleologist.  He was knowledgeable and funny.  The cave has a lot of very neat (and some unique) limestone features.  The cave trail itself is a third of a mile (1800 feet) from end to end and you get to see a lot of really cool things.

Examining the cave - darker limestone with other minerals mixed in.

Popcorn stalactites.

Listening to the guide tell us about the cave formations.

Our guide was a lot of fun!

The limestone has different colors depending on what other minerals were in the water, and has different shapes depending on the pressure the water was under during formation. The kids favorite room in the cave is the one that looks like a giant caramel Sundae.

An amazing limestone flow.

Stalactites.

Cave Bacon.

Popcorn

This is formed when there is strong capillary pressure

Huge stalactite.

More cave features.

A close-up of a stalactite.

Ice Cream Sundae.

After making our way through the cave, we came back down the trail.  It wasn't quite as strenuous as the way up, but was still a good hike.  The three hours we spent at the cave were a great adventure and will be a fond memory for the family for years to come.

Through the cave and back into the heat.

Hiking down, satisfied with a good day's work.

a switchback on the trail.

Foxy lady taking a break!

In a rock slide danger area.

Getting close to the beginning of the trail.

A beautiful view of American Fork Canyon.