Images of Timpanogos Cave National Monument – Northern Utah, taken in June 2018.

Timpanogos Cave National Monument was created in 1922 to protect the extraordinary and unusual formations within the three interconnected caves in Mount Timpanogos; Hansen, Middle and Timpanogas Caves. Besides the normal cave formations (Stalactites, Stalagmites, Columns, etc.) this cave is known for its Helictites, curly gravity defying tubes that form on the cave ceiling. This cave hosts one of the largest collections of this formation in the world.

Months ago I made my reservation to tour the cave system starting at 9:00 a.m. The instructions said that I would pick up my ticket at the Visitor Center at that time and then have an hour and a half to walk the 1.5 mile paved trail to the cave mouth so that I could enter the cave at my tour time of 10:30 a.m. So I have an hour and a half to go 1.5 miles, piece of cake. …oh did I mention that the trail in question had a 1092 foot vertical elevation gain? The Empire State Building is only slightly taller at 1250 feet! And we were informed at the ranger briefing before we set out on the trail that by the way, because of the steep canyon walls there may also be rockslides, so don’t stop in any of the red and yellow marked zones on the trail…and if you hear a clapping noise it’s rocks falling so move as fast as you can to get out of any rock fall zone you may be in…okay that’s all, you’re hour and a half starts…now. Down the trail I went, or more appropriately up, and up and up and up the trail I went. It was grueling as there were no flat spots on the trail, just up and around a switchback and up some more!

Once at the top and in the cave system the sights were spectacular. This is a very colorful and ornate cave system with the aforementioned unusual Helictites formations as the principal character. Our small group, presumably only those tough enough to make it up here, spent 55 minutes weaving our way past the fragile, beautiful and still growing formations in this live cave.

And in case you are wondering, I made the hike up the trail in an hour and ten minutes…now getting back down was something else as my knees screamed at me all the way to the bottom!