Day 31: Ice Cave!

Somehow I woke up at 5am feeling like I couldn’t sleep much more. Turns out turning in early works. I still managed to get a couple more winks in by changing position, but I hiked off up the road by 7.

I walked out of the National Monument and onto the land of fire and ice. It was only 8:30 or so by the time I reached the highway, so I took a break on a log under a tree next to a field under a volcano all on private land where I would spend most of my morning. Munch. Drink. Walk down the highway. Over the Continental Divide. Turn right on Bandera Rd and leave the trail. 10 minutes later and I was there.

Bandera, coincidentally, is the name of the volcano (and the hill west of it too?), even though I could not see any flags on or near it. Bandera is also the name of one of the lava tubes that once drained it, considered one of largest and longest in tree country. And right here next to the volcano, here where the Anasazi once settled, long ago, that lava tube collapsed, leaving behind a massive sinkhole and a truly marvelous pit. A pit that catches water and freezes it and keeps it frozen all year round. Down at the bottom of Ice Cave (not really a cave), there is a 20 foot thick floor of ice, insulated by lava and surrounded by walls perfectly designed to trap the frigid air and prevent the temperature from ever rising above 31 degrees Fahrenheit. And you can walk down a staircase and look at it for just 12 dollars here at the old trading post.

Okay, it’s not that incredible a sight to pay 12 dollars for, but it also isn’t something you can see just anywhere. Also, the trading post is now a souvenir store filled with nice folks and cute friendly dogs. More importantly, I could buy cheap root beer, ice cream, and even a microwaveable pizza. So early lunch it was. I also could charge my phone and mobile battery and empty my trash and grab a bit of water and toilet paper. Altogether a worthwhile hour or two off trail.

The next bit was not as fun. 3 more miles of walking along the highway. I walked on the inside of the curves where I had to walk on the edge of the road, but when the shoulder wasn’t too low, I went way off the road and walked in the ditch. Even when they changed lanes to avoid me, those semi trucks are scary to have flying past. But it wasn’t like I was going to get a three mile hitch in less than the time it would take to walk it, and that’s the way the trail goes.

I entered El Malpais again, and at the visitor’s information center (closed), I completely filled my water bag, since it would be some ten miles until the next water. The CDT continued behind the building along a boring gravel-covered path that didn’t visit any sites except what appeared to be a series of manmade earthen dams. There was evidence of fairly recent prescribed burns too. Which is good, since the smoky haze that filled the sky that morning said a wildfire was happening not too far away.

Anyway, I stopped under a tree for one of my usual lunches because a man cannot hike on pizza alone, then I lay around under it in different spots, chasing the shade until 3pm. It was still way too hot and relentlessly sunny when I started again, and the pine tree hadn’t really provided that great of shade.

Soon the trail got more interesting. It went over some lava for a minute or two, the terrain strewn with those small ankle roller lava rocks that actually rolled if stepped on. Then, a little later, it came right up to a sinkhole with a “Cave Closed” sign and then went through a fence at the park boundary.

Right next to the fence was another cave entrance, part of the same lava tube, that had no such sign. So I took off my pack and climbed down into it. At the bottom, across from a single tumbleweed that had found its way in (as they do), there was an opening to a low pancake crawl. It went. It presumably just went over to the other sinkhole. But I wasn’t going to check without my helmet and kneepads. Anyway, the conclusion was obvious given the cool breeze that came out every time the wind blew the right direction. I wished I had taken my lunch break down there where the air was cool and the shade didn’t need to be chased.

On the other side of the fence, the trail stayed wild. Lots of walking over the craggy broken tops of lava tubes and looking for the next cairn. Very little established single track.

The trail took a hard left at the brink of an enormous sinkhole that I couldn’t imagine having to cross. You’ll know what it looked like if you just think of that scene from The Land Before Time where Cera stubbornly wanted to go down into the ravine that crossed their path. But the trail stayed on the near side and followed it for half a mile or so. Not easy trail. Not easy to follow. Hard on boots and on feet. But it did carry me to the highlight of the afternoon, an uncollapsed section of the lava tube that showed off how enormous it was. So I climbed down and walked into it. Check out the video.

The “trail” kept on like that for another mile or two, the ground getting even more treacherous and rocky, the next cairns getting ever harder to spot. Finally, after a particularly nasty bit brief section across a narrow but steep sinkhole and vast pile of foot sized rocks, I arrived at the base of the encerrito (a long narrow hill–this usage of the word may be peculiar to this area), which, most un-CDT-like, the trail decided to circumnavigate rather than surmount. On the far side, I spotted a campsite so perfect, I decided to stop even though the sun had not yet set (as I couldn’t see it set from the eastern side of the hill anyway).

Tomorrow’s post will document another inevitable road walk. The following day will be the stunning conclusion of the New Mexico portion of this year’s hike. Are you ready?

Trail miles: 16.1

Distance to Grants: 24.6 miles

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