Dan Clyde Cave

Michael Mimbach and Spencer Coles at the entrance to Dan Clyde Cave. Michael was kind enough to be our guide for this trip and show us the ins' and outs' of the canyon. It is a very interesting and beautiful place with a lot of potential for some more big caves.

Spencer down climbing the entrance pit.

Looking up from the bottom of the entrance pit.

Michael on rope starting the 60' descent into the pit. This is the largest drop in the cave and quite a spacious room.

You can see how much water has been coming down this pit.


From a ledge midway down the largest pit Shane took this great shot. It is difficult to see how large this cavern is in these photos, but it is an impressive one. Even more impressive are the log jambs right up near the ceiling, indicating that this pit fills completely with water in heavy run off years. The small white dot (bottom middle) is Spencer's headlamp at the bottom of the pit.

Michael dropping the last 15' into the big pit.

Michael looking into a muddy lower passage. In the bottom of the big room there are 4 small leads that will take you into some of the tighter passages of the cave.

Spencer attempting to climb a lead into an upper passage.

On the floor of the big room is this interesting feature. The dripping water is eroding away the sand that is not protected by small pieces of wood.

Spencer exploring one of the tighter slots at the bottom of the pit.

Looking up from the bottom of the large pit. Spencer on rope, ascending out of the big room.

Looking up from the bottom of the large room. Spencer on rope, ascending out of the big room.

The road is best traveled by four wheeler (or Polaris Ranger) as it is very narrow and quite rough. We made it just fine (but much slower) in the 4Runner adding only a few more scratches to the many it already has.

We really had a great day! Thanks again Michael!