My friend Adam and I have been talking recently about doing something outdoors that will give us some exercise and help us to relax. What I'm about to share with you is not for everyone. If you are claustrophobic then this is probably something that you may never do. I still recommend everyone to try it though. It is called "spelunking."
I was telling Adam about the time I went a few years back and we are going to go within the next month. Spelunking is an activity also known as caving. It is where you crawl, climb, rappel and journey through tight crevices and tunnels deep into a mountain. We are very blessed to only live 2 1/2 hours away from the beautiful Rocky Mountains. We will be travelling to Canmore, Alberta to a place called Grotto Mountain to experience the Rat's Nest Caves.
The first time I went was with my Dad and it was awesome. We hiked for about 45 minutes up the mountain to get to the entrance of the cave system. From there we began our journey to the "Heart of the Mountain." The Heart of the Mountain, as our tour guide liked to call it, is a big rock that looks like a human heart located about 600 feet into the caves. It has been formed by thousands of years of dripping water wearing away the rock. As the water drips on it it looks as if the rock is pumping like a heart. It was a breathtaking site. Getting to this point is the hard part.
To reach our destination we had to venture through many tight spaces and sometimes we wouldn't even know which way was up. The cool part about it though was that you could crawl through an extremely tight tunnel going for 20-30 feet and then reach a rooms with 50-100 foot ceilings. These rooms within the caves contain hundreds of mineral formations, some over 300000 years old. We even got to do a 60 foot rappel into a black hole.
This is such an amazing experience and I'm really exciting to go again. For anyone who has ever been to the Canmore/Banff National Parks in the Rocky Mountains then you know how breathtaking the trip is, for those of you who haven't you must go. If you are interested in taking on the Rat's Nest Cave then i recommend checking out this website for more information. It WILL be an experience like no other.
2 comments:
Hi Chris .. your caving sounds very interesting .. & obviously if you're stuck in the caves .. your silvertoothbrush will come in handy ... as long as it doesn't have to last a year .. as there won't be much sunlight down there ..
Hello Chris, We have taken a trip to Boydens Cavern at Kings Canyon NTL. Park. It was the most peaceful adventure, especially when you reach the huge opening of the rock and just sit there and take in the beauty of nature. Keep us posted on your upcoming adventures.
Hugo & Roxanne
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