Actual Spelunking - Pepper Sauce Canyon - Tucson, AZ
NOTE: An updated version of this post and others can be found at: www.johnmizell.com
Acutal (not urban) Spelunking - in a cave, a very dark cave.. dark cave with wet water - and that smell.. pleasent, get on all fours smell.
John, Chris, Amber, Matt - in the cave, it's the mud that's got us acting weird... I swear. Though it was clear some folks enjoyed the cave for it's solitude and similarity to an air tight container in which they could surround themselves with personally altered air which they would breath in and enjoy.
Here is a convienent map which is posted out front the cave. I suppose this image is a little small.
PepperSauce is a great little recreational cave. If you've never been in a cave this is a great start. It's dark, wet, you get dirty and there are plenty of people to help out if you get yourself in trouble. The extensiveness of the little cave is quite vast and once you visit a couple of times you'll begin, I'm sure, to find all the nuances and tricks the hiding place has.
posted by John-Man at 3:59 PM
6 Comments:
i love this cave! my friends and i have been lost in it many times and it seems to bring us closer to eachother everytime....
natasha! can u email me some directions or landmarks? i heard about this place for my first time a few weeks ago and am dying to go! keraelizabeth@hotmail.com
Howdy. Here's the best I can do with it's location.
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=pepper+sauce+cave,+tucson,+AZ&sll=37.871593,-122.272747&sspn=0.179954,0.339546&ie=UTF8&hq=pepper+sauce+cave,&hnear=Tucson,+AZ&ll=32.500594,-110.682044&spn=0.001502,0.002653&t=h&z=19
This might not be spot on, but it's very close. Go on a weekend and you'll find other spelunkers parked. There is also a sign only a few meters up the path.
I just went to this cave, and it's awesome! It's so much fun how there's just room after room to explore and so many different paths to take.
I would like to comment for any potential visitors to the cave, that it is a bit hard to find. Here's my version of the directions:
Get off the 77 going into Oracle by turning right onto American Ave. Bear right onto Mount Lemmon Rd. There is a sign that says "Peppersauce CG" 3 miles, however it really seems more like 4-5. You'll find yourself on a winding dirt road with no signs telling you if you're going to the right place. Eventually you'll find the Peppersauce Campground, and you keep on going past this, you bear to the left to stay on Mt Lemmon Rd. up the hill. There's a sign right here that says Peppersauce Cave 3 miles. You'll find yourself on a scarily narrow winding dirt road over the canyon. The sign says 4x4s recommended. There is no sign when you get to the cave--we only figured out it must be the spot because there were a few cars parked by the side of the road. This will be just past a bridge--there's just a little area on the left side of the road to turn out and park. Cross the road back onto the right side and walk back a bit to where the bridge was and there's a hidden path to walk down. At the bottom in the creek bed, you'll see a sign that has info about the cave, and you'll know you're in the right place. To get to the entrance to the cave, you have to climb up some rocks. Just after the entrance, there's a very small passage that you have to lay down and slide through to get in, but don't worry, this isn't indicative of the rest of the cave, it's mostly big rooms (with small passages connecting them). I'm claustrophobic, and I was able to do it and have fun, although I almost panicked and turned back at the beginning.
I want to go again, it was a great experience.
Can fat folks fit?
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