The Northwest Voice

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I thought I was going "spelunking" through the caves of Sequoia National Park for two days, but soon learned that serious cave explorers are called "cavers". The term "spelunking" came from a man by the name of Clay Perry. He wrote a book about his caving trips with a bunch of guys in the 1940s and referred to his group as spelunkers. For some reason, the term stuck and was widely used for two decades. But by the 1960s, the "S" word became associated with folks who were inexperienced. Today the T-shirts and bumper stickers of many experienced cavers read: "Cavers save spelunkers".

Dr. Patrick Mickler, a geologist and lecturer at Cal State University, Bakersfield, is working with a group of scientists studying the climate changes of the southern San Joaquin Valley. For four weeks this summer, several local schoolteachers have been hired to help. This not only gives the geology department extra sets of hands in the collection and recording of data, it also offers Kern County teachers the opportunity to improve their knowledge of Earth Science.

The project was divided among five teams consisting of a university professor or visiting expert, an elementary or high school teacher, as well as college and high school students either majoring, or interested in, geology. My team was assigned to the task of drip water and calcite sampling in Sequoia National Park's Crystal Cave.

This was my first time in a cave so I had no idea what I was getting into, other than a great adventure that I would later share with my fourth grade students sometime in the fall. I not only had the rare privilege of crawling and climbing (slipping and sliding) around California's most beloved cave, but in the name of scientific research, I got to do so off the beaten path where tourists are not allowed to go. Furthermore, along with geology majors Shawn Larkin, 27, and Stefanie Frelinger, 19, I scrambled from one dark cavern to another carrying five-foot PVC pipes that would later be constructed into something resembling a stick figure with an outstretched arm collecting water drops. We spent two days measuring, sawing, and snapping together pipes. The "calcite collectors" — as I've named Dr. Mickler's PVC pipe contraptions — worked out amazingly well and are securely fitted into five hidden (and not-so-hidden) locations in the Crystal Cave.

In a nutshell — and avoiding the complicated science that's involved — Dr. Mickler will return in a few months to gather the drip water and calcite grown on glass plates positioned a few inches under each stalactite, an icicle-shaped formation hanging from the roofs of caves. By comparing the chemistry of the calcite grown on the glass plates and the water from which the calcite precipitated, he will determine how modern climate controls the chemistry of the cave calcite. The ultimate goal is to use these modern cave experiments to help researchers who are trying to unlock climate records stored in ancient cave deposits. Stalagmites, dome shaped cave formations that grow upwards from the ground, can contain continuous climate records for the past 300,000 years.

Had I been alone, or with a group of my non-athletic friends, I most definitely would have been classified as a spelunker. More to the point, I probably would have been labeled a "ker-plunker" as there were several times when I did just that. But, hey! When you're trail blazing new territory in the name of science, who cares what they call you.

During the formation of Crystal Cave over ten million years ago, before the creation of the Mountains, volcanic activity was present. Marble, a metamorphosed limestone, is a volcanic rock that emerged and became necessary in the creation of Crystal Cave.

Over time, as marble embedded within the uplifted mountains became exposed to groundwater, the formation of caverns began via chemical dissolution in which rain and snowmelt mixed with the carbon dioxide in the soil and created carbonic acid. This weak acid ate away the calcium-rich carbonate rock. Dripping through cracks and fissures, this process, as well as the erosive power of sediment-laden flowing water, gives us the beautiful cave that we have today.

Crystal Cave Visitor Information

The cave is open to the public from May to late October. The least expensive Regular Tour costs $11 for adults, $6 for children 6-12 years old, with kids five and under admitted for free. These tours are limited to 50 people. Tickets may not be purchased at the cave entrance. They are bought at the Foothills or Lodgepole visitor center in Sequoia National Park. Allow an hour and a half to arrive at the cave after purchasing your tickets.

There are two other, more expensive, tours.

The Discovery Tour ($18.95 per person, June 25-August 31 gives a deeper understanding of the geology and wildlife of the cave and is limited to sixteen persons, 13 years of age and up. The Wild Cave Tour ($129 per person) allows for four-six hours of climbing and crawling around. Only six people are allowed per group and you must be at least 16 years of age to participate. For more information, go to www.sequoiahistory.org/cave/cave.htm Phone (559) 565-3759 or e-mail snha@sequoiahistory.org