Suggestions for Carlsbad Caverns area

[DBone]

A friend and I are planning a trip west to hike El Capitan for Labor Day weekend, and wanted to see if anybody had suggestions on things to do. We basically have 2 full days to do whatever we want, but from what we understand it will take up almost a full day to summit El Capitan and get back down. We've been told 6-8 hours for the roundtrip.

The second day we were thinking of visiting Carlsbad Caverns. I thought I remember people discussing it before, but I couldn't find anything via a search of the forums. For the people familiar with the area, what would you do with a full day of free time?

Thanks for the input!

Dave

[Gary Bricker]

This would be a good group trip in the fall. Keep me posted

[Barry]

My son and I when we lived in the US visited Carlsbad Caverns.
Larry Pardue who is often on this list was our guide.
Larry worked in the caverns for several years and is a real expert.
I am sure if you ply him with sufficient beer he would give you a guided tour.
The caverns are really worth a visit.

Barry RV6A F-PRVM

[RV8N]

Originally Posted by DBone

A friend and I are planning a trip west to hike El Capitan for Labor Day weekend, and wanted to see if anybody had suggestions on things to do. We basically have 2 full days to do whatever we want, but from what we understand it will take up almost a full day to summit El Capitan and get back down. We've been told 6-8 hours for the roundtrip.

The second day we were thinking of visiting Carlsbad Caverns. I thought I remember people discussing it before, but I couldn't find anything via a search of the forums. For the people familiar with the area, what would you do with a full day of free time?

Thanks for the input!

Dave

I think your probably going to be hiking Guadalupe Peak. It is the highest point in Texas and has a very nice trail going up. El Cap is a lower peak and I don't think there is a trail going up it.

We were going to visit Carlsbad Caverns the day after our hike but our legs were still hurting and my wife and girls had already done the caverns. We drove up to Roswell instead and visited the international UFO museum. It was very interesting (if you enjoy that sort of thing). There are also several alian gift shops in town.

Karl

Now in Sandpoint, ID.

[szicree]

Here's a pic of my gal standing in front of the entrance, which also doubles as an amphitheater for nightly bat viewing. The cavern descends 800 vertical feet along a pretty nice footpath, but you can take the elevator out if you're tired. It's really a must see natural wonder.

[n5lp]

Originally Posted by DBone

...The second day we were thinking of visiting Carlsbad Caverns. I thought I remember people discussing it before, but I couldn't find anything via a search of the forums. For the people familiar with the area, what would you do with a full day of free time?...

Originally Posted by Barry

My son and I when we lived in the US visited Carlsbad Caverns.
Larry Pardue who is often on this list was our guide.
Larry worked in the caverns for several years and is a real expert...

Originally Posted by RV8N

...We were going to visit Carlsbad Caverns the day after our hike but our legs were still hurting and my wife and girls had already done the caverns...

The point about soreness the day after hiking Guadalupe Peak is well taken however the Carlsbad Cavern self guided tour is not very strenuous except to the knees. It is about 1 1/4 miles of pretty steeply down, then about 1 1/4 miles of pretty flat. One could do that with a late start, then back to Carlsbad for lunch and maybe a visit to the municipal beach (Didn't know there was an ocean here? Well that is what they call the park area along the dammed up Pecos River) and/or the Living Desert State Park Zoo. Then one could go back to Carlsbad Caverns for the not-to-be-missed evening bat flight.

Since you are the types to hike Guadalupe Peak, you might also be the type to try one of the several alternative cave trips in the park.

http://www.nps.gov/cave/planyourvisit/cave_tours.htm

These trips range from easy to difficult and from wide open big cave chambers to tight belly crawls and chimneys. Unless you make reservations well ahead, chances are not good for getting on one of the small group trips, especially on a holiday weekend.

What the park calls the Slaughter Cave trip is in a long-known cave that was historically called New Cave. This is in a different area of the park than the other guided cave trips. The trip is easy on packed dirt and guano trails in large chambers and no lighting. You are able to experience complete darkness on this trip as well as most of the other guided trips. The hike up to the cave is strenuous and may take 45 minutes or so.

Spider Cave is a smallish maze type cave, not far from Carlsbad Cavern. You hike down to the bottom of a canyon then enter the cave through a belly crawl. By belly crawl I mean that at least at one spot you are flat on your belly and may want to exhale some air, to have enough room. It is a strikingly beautiful cave that tends to have very dark colored walls and bone white speleothems. I would rate the difficulty as moderate because of the belly crawling and some mild scrambling.

Lower Cave and Left Hand tunnel are both fairly easy trips in Carlsbad Cavern itself. They both take you into highly decorated areas on packed dirt trails. Lower Cave involves some ladders and mild scrambling.

The most difficult of these trips is Hall of the White Giants, also in Carlsbad Cavern. Only small groups can take this trip. It involves extensive crawling and scrambling as well as chimneying in slick areas, hand lines, and narrow ladders. The trip is taken using caving gear like helmets with lights. Knee pads are highly recommended.

I have never worked at Carlsbad Cavern but I have lived in the area for a long time and am pretty familiar with the cave. I only wish that I could retain 1% of what I have been told by the many experts I have been fortunate enough to go through with. I enjoy accompanying people through and have done it many times. Labor Day weekend I do have a commitment to go through with visiting relatives either on Friday, Saturday or Monday, I don't know which yet. If we could all get together that would work well for me. One of the visitors is also an RV builder. Otherwise I could go for sure on Sunday or maybe one of the other days. Just contact me.

Carlsbad Cavern is one of the great wonders and I highly recommend you see it one way or the other.

I know some other people have written up trips here, but I can't find them either. Rosie and some of the SoCal folks made one trip I remember. One of their activities was having dinner on a boat at "the beach."

[larrynew]

A small tip if you go to Carlsbad Caverns. Rent the self-guided tour headsets. I've been to the caverns several times and it's much more enjoyable with the headsets. They are the proximity type that play the same script that a guide uses but you can go at your own pace.

[n5lp]

Originally Posted by szicree

...The cavern descends 800 vertical feet along a pretty nice footpath, but you can take the elevator out if you're tired...

Ironically, the park pretty much requires that you take the elevator out. Is this really strange, in a national park? I sure think so.

Until the issue is better resolved, it may be possible to walk out if you talk to a ranger and get your ticket endorsed. Tell them that that trouble maker Larry Pardue told you it is alright.

[Sid Lambert]

O.K. I'll bite.

What is the biggest hole she has ever seen?

[Ironflight]

Without a doubt, if you can hook up with Larry, do so!

On my trip to Carlsbad last year, I toured the cave with Larry, another Larry (who just happened to be the former head of the park) and Louise, who has written scientific guidebooks to the cave. I was so impressed, I took her home with me!

We did a vertical cave out in the Guads one day, and then Carlsbad the next - it was a good way to deal with the sore muscles, and Larry is right, the way they have it set up as a "one-way" downhill, it isn't hard at all.

Paul