Finding the Secret Cave

I was surfing the web a few months ago for info on Lac Des Arcs, and ran across this article regarding a cave under Mt. McGillivray. I found the article intriguing, as having read pretty much every hiking book about the area cover to cover, no one had mentioned it.

Today was not a great day to get too adventurous in the neighborhood, being overcast with rain threatening. So we opted to find the cave. Turns out it's not that secret.

The trail to the cave isn't in Gillean Daffern's book (at least not in the current 3rd edition. Maybe it will make the 4th, which is due out soon). In fact, the Trans Canada Trail from Heart Creek to Dead Man's Flat's isn't in the 3rd edition either. But either way, it's a hard trail to miss. Take the Trans Canada Trail west out of the Heart Creek parking lot. The TC trail is obvious; aside from a few diversions around creekbeds or the powerline, it's a single lane road. After about 2km and 20 minutes, you get to a 4 way road intersection. Head left (or straight; the left turn just cuts off a switchback). Climb up about 50 vertical meters in 2 big switchbacks to the cliff face. Until this point there's no views; at the first switchback you can start to see back over Lac Des Arcs...


Then within 100 m you get to the cave entrance. Total climb from the parking lot is 100 m.



Like all caves, it's dark inside, especially so when your eyes are accustomed to the bright light outside.




The tunnel goes straight back about 50 m. About 20 m in, there's a passage to the left with two large rooms, each 20 m by 30 m. It's cool inside, and it was dripping wet. Like all caves, it's basically at 100% humidity, but wasn't warm, being only about 15°.

What bugged me is that the cave stinks of campfires. There is not one part of the tunnel that does not have a campfire ring within 5 m of it. I counted at least 10 rings or ash piles. In the ceiling are some remaining reinforcement metal rods, and one sticks out from the ceiling about 2 meters. On the end of it is a dead glow stick, held on with electrical tape, directly above a campfire ring. There are broken beer bottles in most every nook and cranny. Tragic, that.

It's pitch black in the left turn passage; we had two flashlights, and it was just barely enough to see. The floor is flat but rocky and there are lots of campfire rings to avoid tripping over. Graffiti goons have, of course, splashed a tag or two here and there there. It's also quiet; there's traffic noise the whole trail, but in the cave, there's just the sound of dripping water.

Folks were climbing the McGillivray Slabs just the the right of the cave...


...and an osprey was soaring above us when we came out.


The weather remained threatening, and in fact a thunderstorm came out of Exshaw Creek and got us just as we were getting back to the car.



However, on our way back, we ran into a huge patch of wild raspberries. We stopped for about 10 minutes and picked about a half a waterbottle full (losing the lid in the process. If you find it, send me a note...). Yes, every red spot in the first photo are raspberries. We did not pick them all; we know this spot is popular with bears, and we like the bears to eat, too.




The cave is worth finding. However, I don't think it's worth camping in.