– N. Pezel
– N. Pezel
– N. Pezel
– N. Pezel
– C. Smith
– C. Smith
– C. Smith
– C. Smith
– C. Smith
– N. Pezel
Horne Lake Caves
by Nancy Pezel 23 September 2023
A rainy start to this trip did not deter the 10 adventurous members in their exploration of Riverbend Cave on Vancouver Island. After gearing up with helmets and headlamps, our guide Kat took us on a 30 minute hike up a forested trail to the cave entrance. At a number of stops along the way she pointed out and described the geological features that indicate the presence of karst (caves), including grikes, sink holes, dry stream beds, etc. We also learned what defines a cave.
Once inside we walked and scrambled along the relatively gentle grade of an old dry stream surrounded by very impressive calcite deposits of varying shades of mostly white/cream with small amounts of brown and black. One of the first things we learned was not to touch the calcite formations, as they are easily damaged by the oils in our skin and turn a peanut butter brown and eventually black as they are damaged. Calcite is a “living” (growing) crystal formation, growing approximately 1 inch per 1000 years, so it takes an enormous amount of time for them to recover. In the “Sacrifice Room” we were relieved to learn this room is sacrificial in that it is home to a large chunk of calcite that we were allowed to touch. During our exploration of the cave, we paused for a short time to turn off our head lamps and experience what complete darkness felt like! After that we walked back up to the cave entrance and back down to our vehicles on an alternate portion of the forested loop trail.
Thank you to our drivers Howard, Lois, Paul and Margaret. Thanks to Barbara M for organizing this unique and interesting field trip. And thank you to our very informative guide Kat for the wonderful experience.
