Ape Caves

The main parking lot wasn't full yet at 10am, but the area already felt like a zoo. After following a brief, mildly interesting ranger-led tour, we walked down the lower cave (until the ceiling was low enough to require crawling), and then back past the main entrance through the upper cave to the upper entrance (for a total of about 4.5 miles underground).

I felt my Black Diamond Icon headlight was barely strong enough. Also, I would bring a helmet next time: There were several piles of rock that had to be scrambled over, and 2 or 3 "lava falls" that had to be climbed (one using a short rope). The rock wasn't slippery, but I was glad we went uphill rather than down.

Visiting the caves on a busy day is not a good idea: You keep getting blinded by oncoming headlights and camera flashes (making it harder for your eyes to adjust to the dark), and slow, large groups cause congestion in the upper cave.

Photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/eric.jain/ApeCavesAugust2011
Tracklog (outside trail): http://connect.garmin.com/activity/108741090