This Cave in Southern Utah Requires a Permit For a Good Reason
There is a cave in Southern Utah over a mile and a half underground and requires a permit to enter. The Bloomington Cave on the edge of the Beaver Dam Mountains is not open to just anyone for a reason.
Underrated Cave Features Tight Places and Slick Surfaces
It was a beautiful Sothern Utah day about 10 years ago when I headed west of Bloomington. I was with a group of 16-year-old kids who wanted to explore the 1.4 mile long cave.
When we arrived, we were the only ones there and if you have been to the cave, the first part going down is fairly large. I wanted to wait at the top and let the others go ahead but with some prodding, I agreed to go down the big part.
Five Routes Through This Cave
As I headed down, many other groups arrived. They piled up behind us and it slowly dawned on me that I was not getting back the way I thought. When I ended up at the bottom, there only seemed to be one option for getting out.
This meant following the much tighter and technical way. I was assured it wasn’t as bad as I thought and frankly, It was every bit as bad as I thought. As we made our way through tight crevices, I began to feel panic well up in me.
Techniques for Tough Terrain: Managing Fear
I could feel the mound of rock weighing down on me. Luckily, another adult I was with told me to wrap my arms around myself and squeeze as hard as I could. This actually lessened the tension I was feeling, and I would recommend it for anyone feeling panicked.
We slowly made our way to the surface. At one point, I had to slide down a crevice with a rock face an inch from my face. After a couple of hours, we were nearing the end when we discovered there had been a cave-in and our way out was blocked.
Read More: Disney Might Have the Best Way to See the Grand Canyon
Some of the others were looking for a way around the blockage and as I stood there in the dark thinking about going all the way back down the way we had come, I found a new level of pleading to my maker.
Blessedly, they did find a way around and I felt like I had been pulled from a rocky grave to the light. There is some real technical portions of this cave. Requiring a permit from the St. George Field Office helps people understand what they are getting into.
See Inside The Bloomington Cave
More From Star 98
