One of the things that I have had on my to do list with the kids was to hike to Timpanogos cave. It is something I remember doing as a kid, and have always remembered what a cool experience it was. Sadi did not want to go so Chase and I got tickets for the first tour of the day on Sunday. I was rethinking this idea at 5 a.m. when we had to get up to go. When we arrived up the mountain the sun was just starting to peak on the Mt.
We picked up our tickets from the visitor center and headed to the trail head to hear our warnings from the ranger about the trail.
The hike itself is on a paved trail going up the mountain. Although the trail is only a mile and half it is literally straight up. You climb 1,092 feet in that mile and a half.
I'm not sure if the altitude change had anything to do with the struggles I was having, but honestly this trail kicked my butt! I could not believe when we reached the 1/4 mile marker...that's it? It felt like a lot further.
The views all around us were breathtaking, and I was so happy we decided to go early as it was quickly becoming warm.
Chase was a trooper, he was charging up that mountain with no complaints or ever asking to rest (maybe because I had to stop several times).
We finally made it to the top! Behind us in the crevice of the mountain was the entrance to the caves.
Before our tour began one of the Rangers invited us into his cave office to check out a cave cricket (I neglected to get a picture). They are completely white and are blind due to no light in the cave and so they use their feelers to find their way around. I had no idea they could live in there. Once our cave tour began I soon found out I really did not have the right camera to take pictures inside and spent more time trying to get pictures than listening to the tour.
The tour is about an hour long and takes you through a series of 3 connected caves(Hansen Cave, Middle cave, and Timpanogos cave). We learned all about stalactites and stalagmites and how long it takes them to form. We got to see this pretty "lake" inside Hansen cave, and got to experience how truly dark it is inside a cave when the lights go out.
You really have to duck and maneuver around all kinds of things in the caves. The actually have a formation called headache rock that so many people have hit their head on. These pictures do it no justice. The colors inside were amazing!
It was pretty cold and very wet inside. Chase received the first "cave kiss" of our group which is when the ceiling drips on you. He was also one lucky kid and was picked to lead the group through one part of the cave using the ranger's flashlight. He said this was his favorite part of the tour.
He was disappointed when we made it to the exit and the tour was over. We head out and down the mountain which was kind of hard too. You would think going straight down would be easy, but man it did a number on our legs.
The whole way down Chase kept telling me how cool it was, and how it was totally worth the hike. He thanked me several times for taking him. We spent a little time at the river and then headed out for some lunch. We stopped for burgers and fries....and a tub of fry sauce to douse them in.
We totally earned it, and I didn't feel guilty about one bite.
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