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• Arnold Ice Cave Complex Walking Tour

  • When
    28 Sep 2022
  •  
    1:00 PM
  • Spaces left
    0

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  Arnold Ice Cave Complex Walking Tour

  Wednesday, September 28th

  Susan Gray - Trip Leader

  The Arnold Arnold Ice Cave Complex consists of numerous other caves  and collapsed sinks. On this trip, we will focus on the area immediately adjoining the Ice Cave itself. There are three caves and four unnamed sinks. Only one of the caves, Hidden Forest, is open to the public year-round.

  We are meeting at 1:00 on Wednesday, Sept 28, at the Deschutes County Roads Dept/Surveyor building, 61150 SE 27th Street, Bend. It is the building next to and immediately south of the animal shelter and uses the same driveway off the main road. We have been given permission to queue up in their clearly marked ‘Overflow Parking’ lot on the north side of the building. There is plenty of parking out at the Caves, so carpooling is not necessary. But if anyone wants to carpool with someone, cars may be left there for the duration of the trip. 

  We will proceed south on Knott Road and turn east on China Hat Road (Road 18). The gravel portion of the road is very washboardy, so be prepared for that. My RAV likes it better if I take it slow. We will continue out to FS Road 300, turn right (south) and drive to the parking circle. The plan is to arrive by 1:30. At that point, we will meet up with at least two very special Forest Service people with some seriously relevant experience with these caves. Former Deschutes National Forest head archaeologist and now the Heritage Program Manager for the ENTIRE Northwest Region Penni Borghi is going to be with us. And, Bob Jensen, long-time DNF geologist and author of the definitive work “Roadside Guide to the Geology Newberry Volcano” will also be there to tell us everything we need to know about those Caves! I want to say how stoked I am.

  We will be walking the full length of the complex out there, from the parking area at the Ice Cave to the south end of Hidden Forest Cave. 

  The pathways between the caves and sinks are mostly smooth and in some places a bit rocky. We will be cutting over through brush to the rims of the caves and sinks that we won’t be going down into for a look see. So wear long pants and shoes/boots with good tread. Head lamps aren't necessary as we are NOT going down into darkness. For anyone who would like to scramble deep into the very back of well-lighted Hidden Forest Cave to the opening into the unnamed sink between it and Charcoal Cave, and this is a fun thing to do, it may look dark for a minute, but the opening is close. I never needed to carry light. 

  After returning to the parking area, we will have the option to walk out to the rock art site. I have taken recent photos of the images and have enhanced them, so if you decide more trekking is not for you, I am happy to show you the photos. 

  Always bring water and certainly a camera. 

  Dogs are not permitted in the sinks or the caves, so please leave them at home.

  As for Covid precautions: All must be vaccinated, preferably also boosted, and should not participate if they are experiencing symptoms, have tested positive for Covid, or have had contact with someone with Covid or with symptoms within the preceding week.
  

  At the bottom of this email are links to some very important references regarding the Caves. These have been developed over time and were necessary to try to keep these geologic wonders and cultural treasures safe. Also, to protect our bat population!

  Questions, contact Tom Machala, Trip Coordinator, at ascoinfomail@gmail.com

  
  

  Selected References 

  White Nose Syndrome Decontamination Map - Deschutes National Forest

  Cave Resource Protection Restrictions - Deschutes National Forest

  The Rock Art of Oregon Territory - Bradshaw Foundation

  Ice Cave Photos - Oregon High Desert Grotto

  Arnold Lave Tube System - Wikipedia

  Arnold Ice Cave Pilfered - Central Oregon Subterrain

  Geology of Selected Lava Tubes in Bend - DOGAMI

  Impact of White-Nose Syndrome - USGS

  Public Cave Access Information - Deschutes National Forest

  
  

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• Glass Buttes Day Trip

  • When
    17 Oct 2022
  • Spaces left
    25

  Glass Buttes Day Trip

  with Flint knapping workshop by Ryan Griffin and geology overview by Bob Timmer

  Monday, October 17, 2022

  Sign-up will start Monday, October 3rd
  

  There are at least nine different types of obsidian in two massive mountains at Glass Buttes and Little Glass Buttes, just a two hour drive from Bend. Ryan Griffin, BLM archaeologist will speak to its significance and show us how Native Americans crafted it into tools and Bob Timmer will tell us how it got there. After lunch members will receive a rock hounding map so they can collect obsidian on their own. Be sure you have good tires on your car. There’s obsidian everywhere!

  More details to follow!
  

  Questions, contact Bob TImmer, Trip Coordinator, at bobtimmer@yahoo.com

  
  

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