Subway Cave
Hike Review
We hiked the Subway Cave Trail. There’s an existing loop trail, but it was so hot that we hiked to the end of the cave, popped out to eat some snacks, then walked back through the cave.
The cave was nice and chilly inside (apparently stays around 45 degrees all year round), which was perfect given the 90 degree temperature outside.
It gets completely dark, so we were glad we had a headlamp to light the way. The iPhone’s flash light came in handy too.
The cave’s floor was bumpy at times and I think Annabelle tripped once. No biggie though.
There were plenty of others, but at certain sections of the cave, we were the only ones around, which was pretty cool.
What I Learned
We brought two headlamps, but the Ozark Trail one’s battery was empty (although I had topped it off only a week ago). Thankfully, the Black Diamond headlamp worked perfectly.
Because it was so hot outside, the girls and I dreamed about just camping at the mouth of the cave, where it was just the perfect temperature.
What Happened?
I had told the girls about the existence of this Subway Cave—a lava tube near Lassen a few weeks before our trip to Lassen. Because of what I told them about the cool temperature of the tunnel and the record heatwave we were having in the rest of the state, they were more excited about this short little hike than everything else I had planned for the trip.
We arrived at the cave still feeling hot from hiking about a mile at Manzanita Lake (to get ice cream)—given that, the excitement about the cave was at an all time high. We packed some snacks, more than enough water, our headlamps, and started the hike. The first few hundred feet to the entrance was hot and we moved rather lazily through it. The only interesting part was that we saw two women who we had seen at Lake Helen—we must have been doing similar sightseeing the whole day to see them here a whole 5 hours after. Once we got to the mouth of the cave though, the girls lit up with smiles as the cooler temperatures washed away their lethargy.
We lit up the lone headlamp that still worked and we started walking the bumpy trail. Throughout the hike, Annabelle’s energy level was at an 11/10, as she just loved everything about the cave. She was fascinated by the rock textures, the little pools of water on the floor, and the tiny stalactites that were growing from the ceiling. For Kaylee, she had a good time, but she was definitely spooked by the darkness of the cave, even though she had the iPhone light to guide her path.
When we reached the other end, we ate the snacks we brought—a small can of Pringles and some beef jerky. We then walked our way back through the cave and explored a bit more, with Kaylee feeling a bit more comfortable in the cave. The little bit we explored further was called Lucifer’s Cul-de-sac, and it was a place of interest as the ceiling dropped down to about 6 ft and I had to duck to ensure the safety of my dome.
The hike back to the car was uneventful and we all started complaining about how hot it was. So, we decided together to drive to Burney Falls to see if we could cool down even further.
