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| Hiking | 6.96 Miles |
1,618 AEG |
| | Hiking | 6.96 Miles | 5 Hrs 19 Mns | | 1.62 mph |
| 1,618 ft AEG | 1 Hour 1 Min Break | | | |
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| no partners | | A leisurely hike to Shaka and Wave Caves via Lost Goldmine Trail.
Opted to do the approach from Lost Goldmine Trail rather than Carney Springs - Carney Springs Trailhead looked to be nearly full as we drove past on our way to the nearly empty (aside from one other vehicle) Lost Goldmine trailhead.
The lost goldmine trail is easy to follow, and is a nice wander through the low desert, though it does see cow and horse traffic (and has associated leavings as a result). The trail crosses the Carney Springs Trail at a post. Turning to follow the Carney Springs Trail, the trail eventually hits a fork marked with a rock and a spray painted arrow pointing left (the direction that would be taken if heading up to Wave Cave). We went right and headed up canyon to have a look at Shaka Cave (which we overshot, but quickly figured out our mistake when turning to look back down canyon). After a brief break in the shade of Shaka, we headed back down, followed what we thought might be a use trail to cross cut between the two forks (it eventually disappeared as it got close to joining the Carney Springs trail) - headed back up canyon towards Wave Cave.
While there was no company on the trail to Shaka Cave, there were a number of other hikers (and a few dogs) on the way up to Wave Cave. The trail is steep and scrambly in sections. There were several folks inside the Wave Cave on arrival, including one individual who disregarded what I assumed is proper etiquette (get your photo of the interesting feature/view and then allow others to do the same). We dawdled in the cave for a longer snack break than anticipated, waiting for our chance to get photos of the unique wave feature.
On our exit, there were still a number of folk headed up to see the cave. Definitely worth a visit to see the unique feature, but not a hike to seek solitude. |
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Happier when hiking....I may not move fast (and I'm often distracted by wildflowers), but I'll get there eventually  |
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