The Wasatch Mountains Underground
Continued from Utah Redemption: Wasatch Mountains Edition.
We got into a groove with Utah this year, dealing with the hard stuff like axle repairs and then countering it with epic adventures in some wonderfully scenic parts of the state. After our first axle appointment, we headed south to Red Rock Country, visiting the Utah Mighty 5 National Parks and surrounding areas. The journey was exhausting, but it was also one of the highlights of our year. We don't call it the Utah Redemption Tour for nothing! Then after our second axle appointment, we headed deeper into the Wasatch Mountains, on a quest to take advantage of the June weather and partake in spring and summer activities. We stayed at a beautiful lakeside state park, which served as our jumping off point for adventures in Park City, where we got our fix of summer mountain attractions and I geeked out big time on all things 2002 Olympics.
Our first couple of days left us on a mountaintop high, and we still had more exciting excursions planned. Only these activities would mean trading the sunny summits for the dark depths of the underground.
To introduce our first underground excursion, we need to rewind back to May 2023. We found a beautiful first-come, first-served campsite at Lewis and Clark Caverns State Park in Montana. The park is named after the caverns on the property, unique for the fact that they run vertical inside a mountain. Our opinion of cave tours hasn't changed much since that day. The cave is still one of our favorites among the many we've seen in our travels, of which past Nicole said, "Some have been amazing, while others have been a major whomp."
Something that made the cave even better was the company we had on our tour. Everyone was genuinely interested in learning all the scientific and historic facts about the cave and its surroundings, and many of us had frequented several other caves in the US and internationally. We got to talking with one woman, comparing notes on all the caves we've seen. She had been to quite a few and said without hesitation that her favorite so far was Timpanogos Cave in Utah. Ever since then, we had the cave on our list. Because it's located high in the Wasatch Mountains, it's only open in the summertime, but we were finally in the right place at the right time to check it out.
We booked an early morning tour with a start time of 8:15am, which meant we'd need to leave our campsite around 7:30am to drive the 35-40 minutes and check in. Only, the instructions for the tour also mentioned that we wouldn't meet our guide until the cave entrance, and the first hour and a half of our time was for the 1.5mi hike to the entrance. Did this mean we actually had a tour start time of 9:45am? Because we don't need an hour and a half to go a mile and a half, and we would love to sleep in a little and have a more leisurely start to our day. The instructions didn't say if we could arrive late or if there was still a strict 8:15am check-in time. We decided to split the difference and arrive a little late, but not so late that they'd think we were no-shows. We arrived to the visitor center around 8:30am.
Timpanogos Cave is a national monument, situated on the west side of Utah State Route 92, which runs alongside the American Fork River and has parts that are closed in the winter. While there are many surrounding areas for recreation located in the Uinta National Forest, the monument is mostly just made up of the cave and the trail leading to it.
I'll admit, I didn't read much about the hike after seeing that it was 1.5 miles and paved. In my mind, I likened it to the trail leading to Carlsbad Caverns, which despite having many warnings that it was a strenuous descent, was quick and easy for us. We figured we had our hiking legs sturdily screwed on this year, so any 1.5mi hike would be quick and easy, too. We expected we could complete it in 45 minutes if we had to, but after checking in and using the bathroom, we had a little over an hour, giving us plenty of time to be leisurely...cocky and leisurely.
Alright, here's the real deal with this trail. They tell you to allot 1.5 hours because it is an insane climb! It has steep inclines, switchbacks galore, and entire multi-foot stretches that are rockfall dangers and therefore you're prohibited to stop. The NPS does what they can to ensure safety, knowing that all levels of hiker will hit this trail. They provide plenty of benches in the non-rockfall areas, and they even have signposts reminding people to hydrate and to even check their pulse! We were really happy to be taking the morning tour because this hike in the heat would have been brutal.
We could have let our hiker-snob selves get the better of us and pushed on faster, but instead we took advantage of our extra time. We can't slow our pace that much because we both just have naturally large gaits, but we stopped to soak in the views, smell the flowers, and take lots of pictures.
Our timing couldn't have been more perfect. We got to the cave entrance with enough time to have some water and relax, and about 5-10 minutes later, we were summoned to our tour. Other people's timing? Well, we arrived to the entrance to find people whose tours started at 9:45am like us, and some people whose tours started much later. They must have arrived for their "start time," hiked fast, and now had a lot of time to kill. The dialogue was confusing, too, because the guides began asking us our start time, and people in our tour group said "8:15am," because that's what we were told. Only the guides were looking for the tour start time, which we were never explicitly told, but simple mathematical calculations let us answer that we were on the 9:45am. There has to be a better way to manage this, you would think. Instructions that say "Your tour starts at the cave entrance at 9:45am. It's a 1.5mi hike up a steep hill, so allow yourself at least 90 minutes to get to the entrance." I think that's what Carlsbad does.
I'm glad I didn't check the trail stats on the way up because they probably would have mentally squeezed the last ounces of motivation out of me, but I did track my activity on my watch, so I checked it later. Almost 1000ft of gain in 1.45mi. That's a ton! Do they warn people about this?! I mean, probably, but like I said, I didn't read anything beyond the tour's fake start time. All Trails' stats are worse - about 1200ft of gain in 1.5 miles and a rating of hard. People who don't typically hike can certainly earn their stripes with this trail. In fact, it's not even just used for cave-goers. We passed many enviably fit hikers and trail runners using this trail as their morning workout (though technically running isn't permitted, these people are probably regulars and have good footing).
You know what's really pleasant? Sweating your way up a mountain and then immediately entering a 45°F cave so you can shiver-evaporate it all off while water drips all over you from jagged rocks above your head! At least once inside the cave, the hiking isn't too strenuous. Unlike Lewis and Clark Caverns, Timpanogos in situated in a mountain but is still a horizontal cave. We had only a 13ft elevation change on our tour, which took us through the 3 caverns: Hansen Cave, Middle Cave, and Timpanogos Cave. Each of these caverns is linked with manmade tunnels that were constructed in the 1930s. Anthony was tasked with being the doorman, ensuring that all the doors shut tightly after our group was through each section. In order to keep the natural caverns the appropriate humidity and temperature, industrial refrigerator doors were installed, and those things were bulky!
We like to find uniqueness in each cave we visit, and Timpanogos is most known for being extremely mineral-rich. Not with expensive minerals, much to the dismay of many discovers and explorers of the cave back in the day, but this is to our advantage because the minerals are still in the cave to mesmerize us today. They show up as different colors. See the green that glows in the light of our guide's flashlight? This is nickel!
The cave also has tons of helictites. These mineral formations begin by growing in one direction and then change direction as they continue to grow, creating angular shapes and curves. We learned about helictites during our last cave tour at Lehman Caves in Great Basin National Park, where our guide Molly talked about their formations through capillary forces, like when someone covers the top of a straw to draw the liquid inside of it. Our guide in Timpanogos said that it's unknown how they are formed.
Which brings me to one of my big issues with this cave tour. The guide kept his information very, very rudimentary. Molly was right, that most scientists theorize that there is some capillary process that goes into creating helictites. Our Timpanogos guide (whose name I clearly didn't get, and you'll find out why in a minute) was also correct in that no one really knows the process specifically. But as two cave enthusiasts, we want the deeper dive. We're not here for Introduction to Caves. Maybe other people in our group were, but it's better to provide more information than less, because then we can all reap some knowledge from our tour.
The other big issue isn't anyone's fault...except perhaps Mother Nature...and it's that these caverns are relatively tight and narrow. Whenever we stopped for a discussion or demonstration, we were either in a very tight space and couldn't move around, or we were crowded into a larger space but our view was blocked. Anthony's doorman role meant we took up the rear of the group, which we didn't mind (you'll find out why in a minute), but it also meant that we were blocked from getting good looks at a lot of the formations. I didn't even get a good look or photo of a helictite because they were really high up on the ceiling, and I couldn't squeeze past people to get closer. Our guide would also shine light quickly on various formations but then shut the light off right after, so we had limited time to see things. We've been in other caves where our guide tells people to go look at features in smaller groups so we can all take turns seeing it. We've also had tours where everyone just automatically makes room for one another out of common courtesy. Once again, an overriding vibe that we weren't actually supposed to care about the details of what we were seeing, and should just be happy to skim the surface.
Our guide didn't take the time to point out the different formations, so when Anthony and I debriefed after the tour, we realized that he had seen some awesome formations that I had missed. Some led Anthony to exclaim mid-tour that these were some of the best formations he's seen in a cave. I asked him afterwards, were we in the same cave?! Turns out, in one room, Anthony was standing up on a set of stairs and had a view of some tremendously intricate helictites, but I was at the bottom of the stairs facing into the backs of people's heads. Our guide never even pointed them out. If he had, I would have at least known to try and get a glimpse around the heads, but I didn't know, and by the time Anthony told me what he had seen, it was too late.
We've said time and time again that a cave tour is only as good as its guide. He stuck with Caves 101 material, and even still, we caught a couple of factual errors in his narration. For this reason, we do think that all his tours are probably like this, but we also think things were worse with our specific group. The guide has a background in sociology, and we think he was automatically catering to the vibe of his audience, and unfortunately for us, that vibe was a total lack of interest in anything more than "being in a cave." Part of our group included a dad with 5 kids, and all this guy cared about was cracking the lamest, most cringeworthy and unintellectual jokes at every chance he could get. Like, when the guide mentioned that we could see a bat in Hansen Cave, this dude cracked, "WAIT, MY EX-MOTHER-IN-LAW IS HERE?!" To make matters worse, our guide played off these quips, which resulted in the most eye-rolling verbal sparring sessions we've ever witnessed above or below ground. That's why we didn't have a chance to talk to our guide more or get his name, and why we banished ourselves to the back of the group. Honestly, Anthony being doorman ended up working in our favor. He was specifically told to slam those doors closed to make sure they were sealed nice and tight. Nothing better for taking out our frustration! Who can picture me egging Anthony on? "Close it harder!" "Slam it louder!" At first Anthony was too insecure to slam it harder than "5% of his strength," but I convinced him to give it 10% one time. That one felt powerful, and even the dad stopped his banter to commend Anthony on a good slam.
The dad was so busy trying to be witty that he wasn't supervising the kids, some of whom were really little. He stayed ahead of them, likely so he could keep joking with the guide. This meant that we got to see every time the littles touched the cave walls. They didn't do it belligerently. It was more because some of the passageways were so narrow and the ground so slippery that they didn't feel steady on their feet, so they kept reaching out to stabilize themselves. Here's the thing, though. I may not have seen the warnings that in order to get to the cave, we'd need to climb the paved trail of death, but I did read an FAQ about bringing young kids into the cave. The website said that children are welcome, but for parents to think hard about whether or not their kids would enjoy it. Are they good with small, dark spaces? Can they walk for a substantial period of time? Can they follow the rules to not touch the cave? For a lot of these kids on our tour, the answer was no. The dad ended up needing to carry one of the girls for most of the tour, and it was clear that our tour was catered only to what they wanted to know. And so, instead of pointing out all the intricate helictites on the walls and ceiling, our guide pointed out the rock that looks like a camel.
When we exited the cave, I had to take pause because I honestly had no idea the tour was even ending. I was still waiting to actually see and learn things. I was looking for the grit of the tour, but it never came. Before we all started back down the mountain, our guide asked us to raise our hands if we learned something new on the tour. Anthony and I were the only ones that didn't raise our hands.
Given that the cave connoisseur at Lewis and Clark raved about Timpanogos, we know that other tours must be way better. There is no way that lady would have stood for a tour that was so lacking. We wish we could have also come out raving about the cave, but the whole experience just wasn't the vibe. Anthony liked it much better than I did, but we were both disappointed. It's exactly what I said. Some of these cave experiences are amazing, and some are a whomp.
We salvaged our day by taking the scenic route back to our state park. All of route 92 was open, and so we traveled through the mountains along the Alpine Scenic Byway. We saw a few deer, and the aspen groves were outstanding. It's too bad this road needs to close in the fall, because when those leaves turn, this drive would be a vibrant yellow paradise. But we'll settle for the luscious greenery.
The next day, we dove even deeper underground with a trip to Homestead Crater. We heard about this place from a couple of our Instagram friends right before we arrived to our area campsite. It was only a 20-minute drive to the crater! We didn't need a lot of convincing to go check it out, because this baby advertises itself. Not only are craters awesome, but this one is 65ft deep and has water in it. Over 10,000 years ago, snowmelt from the mountains seeped into the earth and was heated by its core, 2 miles beneath the surface. It later rose back to the surface, depositing minerals that created the crater. It's an hourglass shape with two levels. SCUBA divers can go to the bottom level, and this is the only warm-water SCUBA destination in the lower 48. Because the crater isn't formed from a volcano, the water doesn't have the foul sulfurous odor. We reserved a soak/swim time for after work.
There isn't much to say except that we categorize this as a "better on paper" experience. There's no denying that swimming in a geothermal crater is awesome. We likened it to a cross between a hot spring and Devil's Den. The problem was, the 94-degree temperature kind of felt like lukewarm bath water. It wasn't cold enough to feel like a swim, but not hot enough to feel therapeutic. We kind of ended up just bobbing around, feeling gross because all the minerals were building up on our skin. Also, it may not smell like sulfur, but the CO2 emissions and all the minerals did give the whole crater a rank odor. By the end of our 45-minute swim, I was feeling nauseated and ready to get out. Honestly, I was ready to get out after 20 minutes.
The staff require that all swimmers wear lifejackets, which is totally understandable, but the buoyancy of the water kept causing our jackets to float up to our chins and chafe our necks. The whole situation was awkward. I didn't really know what to do with myself, so I just went with the flow.
Let's just say that if this is supposed to be an Instagrammable destination, I did not understand the assignment. As long as we kept our focus on the crater, we had an almost-enjoyable time. The crater walls are made up of mainly limestone and travertine, and the colors and textures were fascinating. Looking up through the crater gave us a great sense of how deep we were below its surface, and looking below us, we could see little lights placed to guide the SCUBA divers around the crater's 400ft wide base.
We noticed what looked like a bridge over the crater's opening, and so after our swim time, we went to check it out. Sure enough, we found a tall flight of stairs leading up to the surface, and a metal footbridge right over the opening.
The crater is located on a private resort property with overnight accommodations, restaurants, and other amenities. We didn't stick around, though, because we felt disgusting and there was a lot of construction going on in the parking lot.
Our underground excursions in the Wasatch Mountains may not have been what we hoped, but we wouldn't say we regret our experiences. We keep things real here on the blog, which means telling our stories as they actually happened, but we're also aware that exploring a mountain cave one day and a geothermal crater the next is the epitome of adventure. We don't take that for granted.
A lot of these reactions likely have a lot to do with our disposition, too. By this point in our journey, we were itching to make our way further east. We were wearing tired of Utah once again and felt a desperate need to increase our travel distance but decrease our bucket list destinations. Mindset is everything when it comes to enjoying travel, and if we didn't start listening to ourselves, we'd be facing post-Utah burnout once again.
