We have been blessed with another beautiful day! Cool nights, blue skies and warm days with temperatures in the high 70's. Went to explore the lava tunnels and caves. These form when lava flow hardened on the outside while the lava still flowed within. Those temperatures inside the caves were around 40 degrees.
The first cave we went into was the Boy Scout Cave. It is a steep climb down the lava rocks into a narrow opening requiring you to either scoot on your back or knees to get through. All this time going over sharp lava rocks. Once inside, you are able to stand but always in need of watching your head for lava stalactites. (This is from molten rock that dripped and harden) Andy did clunk his head once or twice. There are no paved trails or artificial light. So it is pitch dark, requiring a flashlight. That cave is about 300 feet long and very "closed in". I didn't explore the entire cave and ventured out the way I came in. The floor of the cave can be a sheet of ice in the spring and retains some ice year-round. Although, Andy didn't encounter any.
The next cave we hiked was through the Indian Tunnel, which was very large: 30 feet high, 800 feet long, allowing us to walk comfortably. Collapses in the ceiling allows sunlight to enter, therefore our flashlights were not needed. This cave I explored without problems. Occasionally the nests of pigeons (or rock doves) would scattered loudly and scare me. Doves in this location was the last thing we expected.
Take a close look at the second photo...thats me!
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