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the stoked dane
Trad climber
colfax, ca
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Topic Author's Original Post - Mar 25, 2012 - 01:50pm PT
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I am taking the kids to the valley next week. I would love to take them to the Indian Caves, but the beta on how to find them has always been a bit sketchy.
Does anyone have boomproof beta on their location ? Photos would be even better. Thanks for your help !
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enjoimx
Trad climber
Kirkwood, ca
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Mar 25, 2012 - 01:52pm PT
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Why not just keep the beta sketchy?
Have fun looking. Maybe you'll find something even better?
Explore.
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Spider Savage
Mountain climber
The shaggy fringe of Los Angeles
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Mar 25, 2012 - 02:05pm PT
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They do appear on some maps. Exactly. I'm not saying...But...for the kids:
Take the bus system to the Ahwahnee. The follow the main trail east under the Royal Arches. When you get to the trail to the stables that goes to the right, go left and explore the giant talus. The caves are shelter created by giant piles of rocks. They are not tunnels.
The more you explore the more the Valley (or Earth for that matter) the more she reveals her secrets.
It is filled with artifacts of men and of nature.
Some other great spots are:
The spring the Ron Kauk says is the best spot in the Valley.
The site of John Muir's cabin.
The place where John Muir probably discovered the obvious signs of glaciation in the Valley thus disproving Whitney's theory that the Valley was formed in cataclysmic drop.
Sierra Point - more info on SummitPost.com
My next goal is to find Tucker's secret cave.
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Risk
Mountain climber
Olympia, WA
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Mar 25, 2012 - 03:13pm PT
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For a long time I thought the caves were just the huge boulders on the flats with overhangs that would be fair shelter near the Ahwahnee bike path and Stables/Mirror Lake junction (used to be a shuttle bus stop), but then I took the time to explore above the boulders. There are several openings that lead into a maze of passages beneath the talus field. Some openings are really obvious. We found one room to be probably 30 feet across. It is really dirty, totally dark, and some of the passages very tight. Not a place to be in an earthquake. One of the most obvious starts out as a small hole but opens up into a steep and big hole with several options once to the bottom; it's up a few hundred feet from one of the main gullies leading up from the flat area where the big boulders area. Spooky down in there.
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M. Volland
Trad climber
Grand Canyon
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Mar 25, 2012 - 11:46pm PT
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TM is right. I've always felt the overhangs were less spectacular than the actual underground rooms that can be found higher up in the talus. The best one I've been in is in the talus on the east side of the column. There is a great finger crack (5.10ish) on the south side of a nearby boulder. That's the only way I can find it.
But if you are with young kids, an outing to the overhangs should be just fine. Even if you don'tknow exactly where they are, the exploring in that area is mellow as the ground around the overhangs is well travelled. No scrambling required.
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Mar 25, 2012 - 11:47pm PT
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What about the cave that Chicken Skinner lived in for a year or two, behind Currie? Anyone know where that is?
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Risk
Mountain climber
Olympia, WA
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Mar 26, 2012 - 01:49am PT
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The caves and sheltered boulders behind Curry are many and pretty nice. Take a stroll back behind the (former) Terrace for a look. BITD, one poor unnamed soul stashed a huge wad of airplane cash back there only to find it a week later chewed up and made into a rodents nest!
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dr. juicer kaniglio
Trad climber
san diego, ca
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Mar 26, 2012 - 10:42pm PT
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Id say pretty much near impossible to find the "real" indian caves unless you are shown. The general area has been mentioned already and is easy to locate. The official indian cave has a rather small non descript opening which would be hard to find and easily overlooked. That said the whole area is cool for kids with many small caves to play around.
There are many many caves in the Washington column area and East of WC. None see much traffic and some are virtually unknown about. That is by far my favorite part of the valley and I have explored every inch and spent countless days enjoying the peace and quit. Some of the caves there I can guess go years or decades without visitation. That area is magic and Im not a big fan of the valley in general but there are sooo many sweet spots out there and that area has a real good pure vib. If you happen upon the cave with Coltons bolted sport route and the off width Big Black Mama, your in Juicers cave. Im Juicer:)
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dr. juicer kaniglio
Trad climber
san diego, ca
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Mar 26, 2012 - 10:48pm PT
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...and in response to an earlier post. There are most certainly caves with long deep tunnels. If there is not a tunnel it is not the "official" indian caves. But again the entrances are very obscure.
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'Pass the Pitons' Pete
Big Wall climber
like Ontario, Canada, eh?
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Mar 26, 2012 - 11:04pm PT
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Tucker told me his cave was over near the base of the Sentinel. I remember saying goodbye a night or two as we split after the Mountain Room bar, he for his cave and I for Camp 4. I believe he lived there for four years, when he worked in the theatre behind the visitors' centre - his employer did knott provide him with employee housing.
I bet it's a pretty bitchin' cave!
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Dapper Dan
Trad climber
Menlo Park
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Mar 27, 2012 - 12:56am PT
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There's a cool cave on the trail to lower Yos. Falls , on the left . I believe it is called spider caves . The Yos. Institute take their kids there . It's pretty much a cave , dark , wet , hidden . I heard it said that it was hiding place for Indians when the cavalry was kicking them out of the valley...
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WBraun
climber
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Mar 27, 2012 - 01:04am PT
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Hidden caves meh ....
no one knows where the Harpole cave is .....
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karodrinker
Trad climber
San Jose, CA
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Mar 27, 2012 - 02:56am PT
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kc
Trad climber
the cats
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Mar 27, 2012 - 11:00am PT
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Oooooo!
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le_bruce
climber
Oakland, CA
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Mar 27, 2012 - 12:48pm PT
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The first time I slept a night in a Yosemite cave I was paranoid about bears and spiders. An article had just come out in a science journal about the discovery of a new species of spider endemic to Yosemite talus caves, and the photo of the albino exoskeleton kept running through my head all night.
Now sleeping in a new-to-me cave is one of my favorite experiences of the Valley. It's the yang to the yin of sleeping on a portaledge. Cave sleeping: not just for the year-rounders. Even us city pukes can sleep in caves.
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originalpmac
Mountain climber
Anywhere I like
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Mar 27, 2012 - 02:22pm PT
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Juicers cave. I know that spot. Had a real good night dancing on the rocks up there. We shoulda dosed those idiot Brits. Cheers Juicer!
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ß Î Ø T Ç H
Boulder climber
bouldering
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Mar 27, 2012 - 04:21pm PT
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There's a nice little room in the talus behind the chapel.
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Wade Icey
Trad climber
www.alohashirtrescue.com
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Mar 27, 2012 - 05:49pm PT
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no one knows where the Harpole cave is .....
I'll bet Harpole knows where it is...
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On-Site Flasher 69
Sport climber
Riverside
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Mar 27, 2012 - 06:14pm PT
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Jucier's cave is one of the most awesome caves I've ever been in. Its right off the trail, but you can still manage to have raging parties with zero chance of ranger danger. The sport climb on the outside is also really rad, though I don't think it has seen a first accent.
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dr. juicer kaniglio
Trad climber
san diego, ca
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Mar 28, 2012 - 12:44am PT
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Ya cheers gentlemen! I dont recall any idiot brits but ya shoulda dosed em! Many a lovingly rowdy night out there in and near me cave with the homies and homettes. A sunrise or two... Keep the spirits high for me, im not gonna make it to the park this year:( Aahh man. Goood times. Peace and love yall
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originalpmac
Mountain climber
Anywhere I like
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Mar 28, 2012 - 12:48pm PT
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Juicer. Remember the night with me(pierce) and stevo watching the moon behind half dome? And the two drunk Brits that slept in the cave and were real as#@&%es to the girls? Anyway that was a killer night. Tell Eric I said hey. If you all ever make it to co hit us up. Cheers!
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On-Site Flasher 69
Sport climber
Riverside
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Mar 28, 2012 - 03:33pm PT
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Yosemite's going to be a more sober place without you jucie!
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johnny2plat
Trad climber
San Luis Obispo, CA
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I like to get off at the Mirror Lake (ie: Mirror Meadow) bus stop, then head toward the lake/meadow but take a left when you get to the trail (or paved bike path) that heads to the Ahwahnee. About the point where the bike path & dirt trail touch, head right (uphill) and you should see a jumble of rocks that make up the "Indian Caves". They are not real caves, just fun rocks to climb around in with your kids. I think the Park Service took it off the maps years ago because they were afraid kids (or clumsy adults) would get hurt. You can tell if you're in the right place because the rocks are polished from millions of kids sneakers over many years. Also, you will find mortar holes from years of acorns being crushed there by the Valley's previous inhabitants.
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9thLife
Boulder climber
Ahwahnee
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Apr 28, 2014 - 08:58pm PT
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My kid and I have bolder scrambled around in back of Camp Curry and once we saw a bear about 15 feet away. Pretty cool and terrifying at the sane time. It was cruising to scope out the trash
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Wade Icey
Trad climber
www.alohashirtrescue.com
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Apr 28, 2014 - 09:17pm PT
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no one knows where the Harpole cave is ..... not even Harpole...
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zBrown
Ice climber
Brujo de la Playa
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Apr 28, 2014 - 09:27pm PT
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no one knows where the Harpole cave is .....
Ah, but many of us know where it is not, though nobody knows where it will not be when it shucks off its material body.
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the Fet
climber
Tu-Tok-A-Nu-La
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I took my kids out there this past weekend.
I believe the actual Indian Caves are about 1/4 mile East of the circle on the map above. Closer to the trail that cuts South to the Mirror Lake shuttle stop than to the trail that cuts South to the stables.
I have an old topo map that shows them there. And it looks like a road used to go right to them. There are some large overhangs under huge boulders there close to the trail that would make nice shelters and are fun for kids to explore. The photos and videos I found online of the "Indian Caves" are of these overhangs.
We looked around for a couple hours and were about to give up on finding any actual caves when some guys came down from above the huge boulders and I asked them about any deep caves, and a nice guy explained how to find the deepest, darkest one he knew about. We had walked right by the entrance to it earlier and missed it. It's not under a huge boulder like the overhangs, it's just a small hole in a jumble of rocks. A passage dropped down about 30 feet to a small platform, then two small passages dropped down from there in different directions each about 30 feet as well. We turned off our lights at the bottom and it was pitch black and would be hard to find your way out in the dark.
I'm not surprised there are many caves in this area as mentioned above. And I'm not surprised the Park Service has tried to "erase" all mentions of this "attraction". There is a sign saying to respect the native Americans old territory, but there was still a lot of graffiti in the deep, dark cave we entered. And I could see people getting stuck or hurt down there. But for adventurous, respectful people it sure is fun.
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Risk
Mountain climber
Olympia, WA
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Unbeknownst to most, there's a fantastic, flat campsite under a tall rock overhang near the base of the Snow Creek switchbacks that stays 100 percent dry in the worst (or best) winter monsoon. The best "Indian Cave" for camping I ever found is west of the prominent overhanging rocks on the valley floor, and up a way's into the boulders. Big enough for a crowd, but really dusty, dirty and drafty. You'd have to be pretty desperate to stay there other than for the novelty of it.
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