Last month we hiked to a wind cave in Logan and blogged about it here. Here in Driggs, ID we found another wind cave to hike to. Our hike to Darby Wind Cave was 6.7 miles with 1800′ of climbing and endless amazement.
Once again, we entered Wilderness not very far from the trailhead and spent the entire hike in trees and fields of wildflowers. The trail switchbacks up with nice long traverses between. After a couple miles in we could see the giant cave across the valley. Up until that point the hike wasn’t too strenuous those this hike does begin around 7000′ and gets up to 8900′. A giant waterfall was welcoming and I hiked down to stand behind it and enjoy the splash.
The last part of the hike up to the cave is pretty steep in spots with rock stairs. After negotiating the stairs we crossed a shale shelf where the water cascades down to the waterfall, and hiked up the far right side into the cave. The Wind Cave snakes through the Darby Formation, a thick layer of 350 million year-old dolomite. It’s massive inside! The entire cave floor is a jumble of rocks and it’s dark so a flashlight or headlamp helps. If you have the proper gear apparently you can crawl through and get tot he connected ice cave. We did not do that. Instead, we hiked a ways back in and enjoyed the cold temps, wind, and the neat experience. It’s a bit dicey back in here so a lot of people stop at the face of the cave but if you’re comfortable enough with heights, scrambling, and danger then it’s worth a trip inside the cave.
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