Timpanogos Caves

While we were in Utah recently, we took the chance to tour the inside of a cave.

For those of you who have never been there, Mt. Timpanogos is located just north of Provo Utah. A 30 minute drive from Brigham Young University will get you to one of the starting points to hike the mountain, and another twenty minutes along the alpine loop (fee applies) will take you to the back or north side of the mountain where the caves are located.

If you want to tour the caves, there is a reasonable fee that you pay at the base before heading up the steep 1.5 mile trail. Believe me, it's worth it.

We got there later in the day then hoped and had to wait a while before we were aloud to make the accent. While we waited, we put sun screen on, went to the bathroom, checked our food supply (you'll want snacks if you go), and made sure we had enough water. (Turns out we just barely had enough with half a gallon for six people-three of which were kids. Need to bring more next time.)

About an hour and a half before our tour time we started on the trail. An hour and a half to hike one and a half miles! No problem. Turns out it took us a little over an hour. It was a really steep climb, and we had a toddler and four year old with us. Occasionally, my husband or I would hoist one of them on our shoulders adding an extra 36 pounds of weight. Oi! Needless to say, we stopped a number of times to rest, wait for the laggers to catch up, let people pass, and drink some water. Grandma also liked to stop and look at the flowers and plants. (She's a botanist, you know).

I had Blake on a leash, and he pretended to be a puppy. It made it a lot easier to keep track of him, keep him moving, and ease our worry about him walking near the edge of the trail where there was often a nasty drop off. He didn't mind it much, as I tried to give him plenty of slack. It helped out a lot in the caves too. Blake made the majority of the hike on his own two legs. That leash was wonderful!

Bailey did a lot of the hiking herself too, for which I was very impressed. She's only four, and her legs are so short. Daddy carried her a good chunk of the way down though because she was literally getting exhausted.

Sierra made the whole thing on her own, and loved to stop and read the map to find out where we were.

Close to the top was a rest room for anyone who needed it, and once we got to the top, there was a rest area carved from the side of the mountain to sit in out of the hot sun. We only had about twenty minutes to wait before our tour started. Just long enough to eat.

Once inside, we were put out sweaters on. It was close to 50 degrees, not freezing, but definitely cool after the heat on the trail. We were also told to wear our backpacks to the front and not to touch anything except for the floor, as the oils from our hands could ruin the rock formations. Good thing Blake was on the leash! I used it a number of times to keep him from touching things.

There was a lot to see. Stalactites and stalagmites were all over the place. There were small lakes, curly straw-like rock formations, and vivid colored rocks from the nickel and iron deposits. We got to see the famous Heart of Timpanogos (picture at top) and hear how the caves were discovered. They no longer have the "salt and pepper shakers"for people to touch though. That was sad.

Our tour lasted around 45 minutes, but it seemed much shorter. The kids really enjoyed it, even though they were getting tired. It took only about half an hour to get down the mountain, and by the end, Blake was ready to pass out. It took him less then three minutes to fall asleep in the car once the engine was turned on. Poor thing. It was past his nap time, and he's had a major workout. Oh well. It was worth it.