Caving in Washington on Valentine's Day

(Disclaimer: I'm about to throw Ben under the bus here for the sake of settling my nerves that are still slightly shaken since our adventure. Really though, he's pretty amazing and I still love him. End of disclaimer).

Ben has a high adventure tolerance level. Not extreme, like base jumpers or free climbers, but higher than mine. When we do family adventures together, we typically meet somewhere in the middle of our tolerances... or maybe a little closer to my "safe" tolerance. That's mostly because Ben knows he'll be in the doghouse if he gets me too far out of my comfort zone, which is fine with me.

However every once in awhile we get ourselves into these situations where we both didn't really do enough research beforehand and I think, "What in the heck are we doing?". The problem is that by the time I have that thought it's usually too late to turn back or Ben is having a riot and I don't want to miss out on the "fun" he's bound to have without me (aka FOMO).

Both applied last weekend on Valentine's Day when we went to explore some caves in Washington (not super romantic I know but we're not really that sentimental anyway). In true "Ben adventure" style, it started with him telling me about and "easy" hike to some caverns in the forests of Washington. Usually he picks long hikes but this was only to be 0.2 miles into a half mile loop. A piece of cake, I thought.

But then what happens is the distances begin to increase exponentially. An "only hour and a half" drive turns into over two hours in the car, followed by a multiple mile hike deep into caverns and lava tubes in the middle of nowhere. And that's not to mention the fact that we had kids strapped to our backs.

Basically the hike began by going down and through a first cavern. It was really cool, but moderately difficult to maneuver. The rock was all lava and although it was wet, it was easy to get traction on. That was a bonus and I tried to be grateful for it as I considered that if I were to face plant down such rock it would probably pulverize my face and body. Not to mention that I was carrying my precious buddy Teddy on my back. In fact, had I not had a child on my back I don't think the hike would have been a big deal at all. But as it was, the extra 30 pounds was throwing off my center of gravity and I just felt out of my element.  That's why through the first cavern I just took my time and tried not to tremble as I climbed in.

The base of the first cavern

Once you exit the first cavern you approach the second cavern- about a 40 foot descent down steep lava rock into pitch black. This is where I told Ben that I didn't want to keep going. There were some words exchanged, but in the end Ben won me over by giving me a pep-talk about how "you can do it!" and telling me that he was going to go exploring without me if I didn't come. I made him promise me multiple times that this wasn't going to jeopardize the lives of our kids and he reassured me that if I took it slow and easy we would be fine.

 Before hiking down the large cavern

I shook the entire descent but once we got to the base it actually wasn't too bad. The lave tuba itself was incredible- basically a 60 foot high cavern that went back for miles and miles with side passages and loops to explore. We stayed in the main passage though since there was no way I was risking getting lost.

 See the look of elation on his face? He was so excited to be on such an adventure. What a guy.

 Down inside it was pitch black. Ben was well prepared though and had brought lights and back-up lights. He really does a great job preparing us for adventures.

 We found a level spot and let Nayeli out to walk around. It was about 45 degrees inside but she refused to wear a hat.

Something else to be said about Ben- he makes everything fun for the kids. He helped Nayeli find cool rocks to take home as souvenirs.

 

We ended up turning around because I was wearing out and the kids were ready for naps. Thankfully we exited unscathed. Ben was SO excited we had done it and felt "so proud" of me for conquering my fears. Since it was Valentine's Day he told me that he loved me even more for what I had accomplished and I jokingly told him that I loved him less for making me do it :) 

By that night I was trying to decide if it was awesome or dumb that we had taken our kids on such a hike. As a geographical landmark it was amazing and very cool to explore, but I don't think I'd do it again. In fact I know I wouldn't. Ben, on the other hand, felt like it was no big deal. He's already planning on taking the 12 year old scouts there next month for a campout and he can't wait to explore further. I love his enthusiasm, but I don't think my nerves can take another hike like that. Not until the next "Ben adventure" anyway :) I'll sit this one out.