Sun Valley (Craters of the Moon National Monument)

This morning I drove back out to Craters of the Moon National Monument. This area resulted from volcanic eruption and features lava flows with scattered islands of cinder cones and sagebrush. Although sun was predicted for the day, a low mist had settled in the valleys. After stopping to take a few photos along the way, I stopped at the Robert Limbert Visitor Center. The ranger there pointed me to particular spots of interest. She also set me up with a free cave permit to enter Indian tunnel, which she advised was the most photographically interesting. The free permit requirement was mostly to allow them to question you about previous cave visits within the last 10 years. They might as well have said ever. This is a stricter protocol than I have seen for trying to limit White-nose syndrome in bats. In spite of the fact that the last time I went through a cave, they had us walk through hydrogen peroxide, she said that was insufficient and asked me to wear different shoes and a different jacket. She assured me that my regular sneakers would be fine to visit the cave. And fortunately I had a lighter down jacket that would work for later in the day.

I started driving around the auto tour loop, stopping to take short hikes into the various areas. Unfortunately the sun soon burned through the morning mist and started creating harsh shadows. At one of the stops, I met Jim and Issa, who were visiting from Virginia. We ended up doing a couple of hikes together and got to know each other a bit. They were such good hiking partners that I asked them if they were interested in joining me tomorrow to visit Black Magic Canyon. They said they would think about it and get back to me.

After we parted, I went off to explore Indian Tunnel. I immediately realized that sneakers were wholly insufficient for this terrain. The entrance required climbing down a 30 foot pile of loose rock and, once at the bottom, more piles loomed. As well, I was carrying my camera on a strap rather than in a pack and was carrying a tripod in one hand. None of that was the right set-up for this situation. In her enthusiasm to protect the bats, the ranger failed to think about protecting humans. I carefully picked my way down the first rock pile, and over one other. I saw another looming in front of me, and All Trails showed me that I was still near the beginning of the route. I captured what images I could from this vantage point and decided to call it. I doubted that the rest of the cave would be very different visually, and I wanted to survive to hike another day.

I drove back to my lodging and received the welcome news that Jim and Issa were interested in joining me tomorrow to explore Black Magic Canyon. This location has a few challenges, so I was happy to have company. We decided to meet in front of my hotel in the morning and head out from there.

Additional images are found in the Gallery.