So here I was on the roadside in the middle of Wyoming clambering up and sliding around rock ledges doing one of those things I love doing, intent on seeing where these openings in the cliff side lead. Many looked like they had potential but dead ended after a short few yards. Many entrances were out of reach and too high up but sooner or later I will breach them. Either by dangling on a rope, using a big ladder, building myself a James Bond style jet pack, grappling hook gun, cherry picker, pole vaulting, giant stilts, catapult myself into it, or if I have to get a circus cannon and shoot myself at the openings. One day.. one day, where there's a will, there's a way. Until then I could still keep poking around at the more accessible passages into the rocks. As I explored, I probably dedicated a good hour to looking around the rocks and in doing so became covered head to toe in of fine dirt and dust. At one point I found a tiny entrance that went back somewhere, somewhere I doubt many people can get to. I'm very skinny and even for me it was a tight squeeze. To this day I still want to know where that goes. I backed out after sliding my stomach a little ways through the dust because there is literally no way to turn around, I had to slide back out feet first, it was that tight. I'm hopeful however that with more time and precaution that I can follow this foot high by two feet wide tunnel somewhere back into a cavern. Before I do that again, I better have a marker to place near the opening so people can find me, or have a partner with a long rope tied to my feet or become good at back tracking in a household ventilation duct sized void, on my belly.
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| Wind River in background, the likely recipient of thousands of years, perhaps millions of years worth of water drainage through these rocks which seems a likely force in shaping their voids in conjunction with the Wyoming wind. |
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| As Bugs Bunny might say, "Watch out doc, the next step is a doozy!" |
This endeavor was fortunately without disappointment. I did find a large cave, not large as in compared to big caves like Carlsbad Caverns but rather large compared to all the other holes in the limestone rocks at this location. I entered through a narrow crevice in the rocks, went into a small room sized cavern, slipped past a boulder into another small cavern. Then when I thought surely it could not get better, I followed a tunnel down into a dip, thinking "This must come to an end." I followed it back up onto the other side, I came up and found myself looking down what I could only describe as a massive long subterranean hallway. The ceiling was anywhere from 12 to 20 feet high in some places, it was not very wide but it still felt like a hallway in a large building, one you could probably drive a small compact car through with only a few inches to spare. It was a jack pot moment for my caving finds. Jaw dropped I pressed on in the dark with my light gleaming down what seemed like an endless tunnel. It went on and on and on, the air was cold, I could see my breath in front of my face despite the outside temperature being that of a sizzling hot summer day around noon. The dirt on the floor was so fine, to a level which is seldom seen inland. The dirt reminded me of ocean sand on the beach, the walls and the floor were cool to the touch, like the inside of a refrigerator. I could hear my foot steps echoing around me, I slowed down and treaded lightly past chunks of rock on the floor. As I slowed my roll down the cavern hallway, everything was so silent, the sounds of summer gone. I was inside a void, a void much frozen in time and space. For all I know, prehistoric sea creatures could have swam past where I stood when Wyoming was a flooded swamp. More than likely during it's existence I'm sure some Cheyenne or Bannock tribe people may have paced this exact same hallway, stepping in the same fine dirt. In the cave's more recent history I'd not be surprised if outlaws hiding out or frontiersmen and pioneers sought refuge from the elements in a place like this cave. After counting about 400 feet worth of pacing I finally reached the unofficial end of that cave tunnel, I say unofficial because the fine dirt rose up towards the back meeting the ceiling coming down. There was a small hole between the rock and the dirt, I really think if had more time there and better equipment such as a longer lasting light, I'd dig it out just enough with my hands to crawl through and continue onward.The biggest disappointment at this time was my camera running out of battery pack power, it died just after entering the large hall. If it lasted long enough I'd have certainly captured some shots of the crazy looking bubble shaped stalactites descending from the ceiling.
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| Entering the big cave hallway. From here it's roughly 400 feet back, to a narrowing, presumably the end of the cave but there's strong evidence to suggest it continues further through a small hole at the back of this passage. |
I certainly plan to return to follow up and cover this site more thoroughly. I know there's more passages here, some difficult to reach but worth checking out. When I do, I'm going to certainly be arming myself with better gear. Stronger longer lasting lights, rope, a good camera with multiple charged batteries. I'm glad I stopped as this was a heck of a find. There's virtually nothing I can find on info regarding the existence of this on the web or anywhere else despite this location having a state geological marker. So here you have it, a rare glimpse inside some little known Wyoming caves.
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| The good old Permian Era days, that was a long, long, long, long, very long friggin' time ago. |
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