The troop met up at the church parking lot at 4:45 P.M. After loading gear, the group drove out to Agua Caliente County Park. The group arrived at the campground about 7:30 P.M. We offloaded gear and set up tents at sites 23 and 25. There was a wind advisory with gusts forecasted to exceed 45 mph for Friday and Saturday. The winds were strong and gusts would blow everything not staked down, including tents. The scouts focused on setting up one tent at a time. They got it done.
Navigating the Route
On Saturday, the group left the campground at about 9:00 A.M. on County Route S2. We found the turn off for Vallecito Creek Road about five miles out. We made our way east/southeast for the first half of the drive passing the Hollywood and Vine Campsite until we ran into the Arroyo Tapiado (Walled Wash). We turned left from there, heading northwest/north on the road. There are twenty-two major caves in the area, so it was about trying to find the entrances by using the slot canyons as references. We also asked others in the area, but most were not sure. Our first stop was on one of the larger caves with a good parking area on the east side of the wash. We think this is named Start Canyon (but who knows). There were a couple of vehicles parked near the entrance. After donning on our helmets/headlamps and daypacks, we made our way up into the cave entrance and began our exploration.
First Impressions
The cave itself was very interesting with some passages being very narrow and having low ceilings requiring some careful maneuvering around these tight spots. Our helmets came in handy. Other areas had high ceilings and even open areas where the ceiling had collapsed. There were a couple of areas with overhead bridges. We decided to turn around about twenty minutes in.
The Mud Caves
Once back at the vehicles, we pushed on further out on the road. We were trying to find Carey’s Big Cave. There were some promising cracks here and there, but we never found it. After some hits and misses, we came to a large cathedral-like opening that lead to a trail in the slot canyon. This was a trail that the troop had done about four years ago. About a quarter mile in, the trail leads to a small crack that easily could be missed. It was a tight squeeze to get through the entrance. This was what we think was the Dip slope Cave. We did this one until it reached an area that you had to crawl on all fours due to the low ceiling. We turned around here and then did a side passage that dead ended a short time later. Once back on the wash road we noticed some bikers standing next to a small crack. We were told that it led to a beautiful 30-ft high dome ceiling that had a small opening in the center of the ceiling. Sure enough, that is exactly what we saw. It was only a minute or so to get to the room, which dead ended there. It was interesting and worth the effort. After lunch, we continued on the wash road trying to find another cave. As we learned, even with maps, it was hard to find because they are not evident from the road. The scouts were getting tired at this point, so we made our way back on the wash road when we came upon a truck parked on the east side. We figured that there might be a cave in the immediate vicinity. We decided to stop here and explore both sides of the road to see if there was a cave entrance. One adult explored the east side of the road with no results, but the adult that ventured on the western side of the road came upon a small sandy trail that led into a tree and shrub covered area and eventually into a cave entrance. This would be our last cave today, and it was quite a cave. After following the twists and turns for 15 minutes or so, we came upon an intersection with three possible choices. Once went to the left and downward, one straight, and one up and over down into another cave entrance.
The Way Back
The scouts were done at this point, so we turned around and headed back to camp. We think this was the Bat Cave. And yes, we did see a bat flying about when we made it just past the entrance to the cave. We missed the turn off to Vallecito Creek Road, thinking that it was further south since we had seen a bottle on top of a stick marking the turn-off. Well, as we made our way further down, it became clear that we were not going in the right direction. Turning around, we found a sign indicating to turn to go on the Vallecito Creek Road. We never found the stick with the bottle (unexplained mysteries). We arrived back at the campground at 3:30 P.M. We stopped just before the campground entrance at the General Store, thinking we would be buying some cold drinks or ice cream. Nope, after getting out of our vehicles, we noted that the store was empty and abandoned.
At Camp
The scouts were tired and just wanted to unwind, so the decision was made to skip the hot springs and pools. The scouts hung around and enjoyed the camp time. At dinner prep, the scouts realized that the fitting for the propane gas stove hose was missing, so they could not use their stove. Fortunately, the adults had brough another stove and fuel as a back-up. After dinner, the scouts found time to enjoy the venue as the wind gusts blasted our campsite from time to time. Later at night, the scouts got out of the wind and into the tents to play some card games.
Everyone was up by 6:30 A.M. on Sunday. We had breakfast and began to clean up. The scouts did their litter sweep and we piled all of our gear into the two vehicles. The group departed the campground just after 9:00 A.M. As suggested by the group, we stopped at Dudley’s in San Ysabel, for coffee, pastries, etc. The group arrived back at home about 11:30 A.M. Once again, this turned out to be a great outing.
