Our first underground excursion was into Cottonwood Cave to explore the Second Parallel section with Lincoln National Forest cave specialist Deanna Younger.  We set a slow pace and enjoyed the hike through the big canyon passage of Cottonwood.  Even after four trips in Cottonwood Cave I'm still in awe of the scale of everything.

The Second Parallel section includes a number of spectacular formations, including the following:

We spent about five hours in the Second Parallel of Cottonwood Cave, and I captured about thirty minutes of video.  

Our thanks to Deanna for leading a spectacular trip through Cottonwood's 2nd Parallel.

HIDDEN CAVE

 Hidden Cave was the second cave on our visit to the Guads.  The entrance to Hidden Cave consists of a short rapell into a fissure, and the cave is roughly split into two levels.  Though the upper area is smaller, its worth a visit. 

Hidden Cave, though maybe a little smaller in scale compared to other caves in the Guadalupes, is one of my favorites.  It's brilliantly decorated, and though a few places may show signs of vandalism, the efforts of High Guads Restoration Project have done much to restore the beauty of Hidden Cave. 

OGLE CAVE

We returned to Carlsbad Caverns park the second day to visit Ogle Cave.  The site of a former guano mine, Ogle Cave welcomes cavers with a spectacular 180" rapel amidst swooping cave swallows.  The entrance drop is part vertical and part slope, and follows along some of the cables of the former mining operation.

Stan Allison of Carlsbad Caverns National Park was our trip leader for Ogle.  (All trips into Ogle Cave are by permit through Carlsbad Caverns and permits must be obtained well in advance of the trip.) 

As we wandered through Ogle Cave, Stan educated us on the history of the cave, explaining in detail how low-grade bat guano was collected in the back of the cave and shuttled to the front via an assortment of cables and sacks.  Miners, who were active in the cave during the first part of the twentieth century, did plenty of damage to the cave, but the most spectacular views are well preserved.  The Bicentenial Column, said to be the second tallest free-standing column in the world, is 110 feet tall. 

With the help of "LightBoy" Jeff  I shot quite a bit of digital video in Ogle Cave.  While the grand scale of the passage made filming difficult, I came away with at least twenty minutes of useable footage.

We exited Ogle Cave after about three hours and headed into Carlsbad for a visit to a curious little cave called Lost Cave.

LOST CAVE

That evening the Pecos Grotto of Carlsbad hosted a trip to Lost Cave for us.  Infrequently visited, Lost Cave is gated and requires a short twenty-foot rappel through an awkward culvert. What makes this short cave fascinating is the collection of fake Lascaux cave paintings in the main room.  We were told the images were painted by a French film crew who had been denied access to the authentic paintings.  Tragically, the film crew and the footage was lost when the the plane crashed returning to France. 

We appreciate the Pecos Grotto taking the time to host our trip to Lost Cave.  It was an exceptional end to a great day of New Mexico caving.

PINK PANTHER CAVE 

For me, the highlight of the High Guads II was our visit to Pink Panther Cave.  Pink Panther is another cave in the Lincoln National Forest which requires a guide, and we were very fortunate to be hosted on this particular trip by Mike Queen, a caver with a voluminous knowledge of karst geology and a great willingness to share what he knows. The hike out to the cave took us a couple miles along the scenic crest of the ridge. The views are spectacular.

A rappel of about 40 feet delivers cavers into Pink Panther.  The name of the cave derives for the skeleton of a Short Nose Bear, allegedly once mistaken for a big cat, hense the name Pink Panther.

To be continued...