There is a lot to see here in Lava Beds National Monument. The blog post about our first day of caving is here. After riding out to Captain Jack’s Stronghold the other day, we spent another day caving and even added on a short hike.
Day 2 of caving was chilly. I think it was warmer in the caves than outside! My favorite cave of this day was Skull Cave. This cave is giant. In fact, it is actually the remnant of three very large lava tubes, on on top of the other. We climbed down probably 100 stairs to get far down into the cave. At the bottom is a floor of ice. This part is fenced off so the ice floor isn’t polluted or damaged by users but you can still see the ice.
After visiting a few other caves we hiked up Schonchin Butte (5,306′). The cave is named for Old Schonchin, a chief of the Modoc people during the late nineteenth century. Erupting more than 30,000 years ago, the volcano spewed ash and cinders into the air much like a can of soda when shaken. A lava spatter rampart is at the very top and that’s where the lookout is. The hike up is only .75 miles to the top of the lookout and it was a quick trip. The day we visited it had snowed off in the distant mountains and still looked a bit stormy which made for dramatic pictures.
I highly recommend visiting this monument. It’s quiet, especially this time of year. Most days we only saw a handful of people if we saw anyone.
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