Caving 101 with Cascade Grotto! This event is volunteer-led and free. Meet near Cougar, WA.

We’ll start with an orientation to the grotto’s history and practices for caving responsibly, plus an overview of opportunities available for sport caving, project caving, and caving stewardship.

Then we’ll hike 0.3 miles to a nearby wild lava tube with more than a mile of passage. This will take about 2-3 hours and is roughly equivalent to a strenuous hike. Expect up-and-down climbing over large boulders and some crawling.

You’ll need to bring:

• 3 independent sources of light
• a helmet (caving or climbing helmet preferred, bike helmet will do)
• layers for a cold (45°F) and damp environment that can sustain damage from dirt and rock
• gloves
• kneepads

If you’re driving yourself, you’ll also need to display a Northwest Forest Pass (annual pass, $5 day pass, or equivalent).

If your gear has been in another cave before this trip, please clean and disinfect it according to WNS decontamination protocols. Help us protect our bats!

Register by Sept 14th to be included on the email with additional information about the trip. See Facebook event page for more information.