The Underdark

We have been out here on Vancouver Island for four year now. We haven't really had the opportunity to do much exploring, aside from a trip to Tofino shortly after we arrived. Several people we know recommended that we see the caves at Horne Lake Provincial Park, about an hour northwest of Nanaimo. So, a couple of weeks ago, we decided to take the trip. The girls declined the opportunity to wander around in a dark, unlit cave, so it was Julie, Avery, and yours truly who made the trek.

Horne Lake Caves are in a mountainous region of the island, and the entire area is breathtakingly beautiful. Horne Lake itself is nestled between these low mountain ridges, and was so beautiful that we almost didn't go to the caves.

We did though, and embarked on a 1.5 hour Family Adventure Tour. Our guide was a cool young guy by the name of Jess-C (yes, that's his real name, and yes, his parents are hippies), and we were lucky enough to have him to ourselves.

The caves were about a 20 minute hike up the mountain from the parking lot, and we learned a fair bit about caves and karst geography along the way. Also, poisonous plants, and how I'm in the worst demographic for following instructions (middle-aged white guy).

I've never been in a cave before, and I have to admit that I had some trepidation about descending a steep metal staircase into a narrow cave that seem to "glow" with a black that swallowed the sunlight, with nothing but the feeble glow of our headlamps to guide us. Those concerns were unfoundeed, as it turns out.

One important rule: You can touch the river rock (yes, this was a seasonal riverbed we were descending) but DO NOT touch the limestone. Not only are they fragile, they also pick up the dirt and oils from filthy human skin, and incorporate it into their surface. So they get dirty, and stay dirty for decades.

The caves were amazing, We saw a foot-long soda straw that was 1200 years old. A limestone wolf, the guardian of the caves. Stalactites and stalagmites, "popcorn", "curtains" and other amazing structures formed by the slow deposition of calcium carbonate, dissolved in the water.

We learned that the First Nations people in the area never went deeply into the caves, believing them the entrance to the spirit world. They would have never gone as deep into the caves as the limestone wolf guardian we saw, yet in their stories the guardian of the caves was a wolf.

It was an amazing trip, a glimpse into the fantastic world under our feet. We plan to go back, for the 3 hour tour next time. I'm not sure I'm up for the cave rappeling yet, or the tour that takes place when the river is running, but we will return.

I highly recommend it.