Caving Adventures Continued


I felt like Indiana Jones in my new hiking hat. Chris and I went on another cave hunt, this time on an older lava flow than our previous trips. We found plenty of leads that didn't go very far. Other lava tube skylights dropped down too deep and we could not climb into them. We came across a honey bee hive in one entrance, and woke up two owls sleeping in other holes. Crawling over goat bones and through spider webs made the day feel a bit like Halloween. Finally, we found a winner. The cave had unusually steep sides and we imagined lava flowing through it like a luge. The cave gradually narrowed, and one doorway we climbed through felt like an Alive in Wonderland set where the characters shrink as they step through the door. When we neared the cave's end we discovered two human skeletons. It was not uncommon for ancient Hawaiians to bury the deceased in caves. Their culture is very respectful of iwi (bones) so we did not disturb the scene and headed out.