Coming into the landing pad "super" style (Steve Mullen)
Suspended by an intricate tangle of carabiners and ropes at a point above my spine I held myself in place face down above the launch pad in an awkward rendition of a push-up position, wondering what I had gotten myself into. All too soon the guide said, “Ready?” Nodding in the affirmative I was given a push and suddenly I was airborne, flying over the tree tops like a bird, arms outstretched, zooming toward the landing pad at 40+ miles an hour.
Launching on the parallel lines (Steve Mullen)
After swooping in to the landing pad I looked around for my husband, Steve, but couldn’t find him anywhere. He couldn’t have gotten there that much before me since we were on parallel zip lines and departed at the same time. I was a bit giddy from the ride, but after I regained my wits I looked back at the launch tower, there was Steve laughing at his plight, hanging from the line about 50 feet back from where he was supposed to be. His “catch” loop had gotten tangled between his legs so he didn’t get caught and catapulted backwards. No matter—he was perfectly safe, but a staff member had to clip into safety gear and travel hand over hand to fetch him and we joked that he got an extra ride.
100 foot spiral staircase in Moaning Cavern (Steve Mullen)
We entered the refreshingly cool cave offering a respite from the 90 degree temperatures at mid-day. The tour, involving walking down 234 steps in a circular staircase (and back up for a total of 468), had me a bit dizzy from going in circles down 165 feet.
The geology of the 25 foot rock formations, as well as ancient and modern history of the cave was described by a knowledgeable guide along the way. We learned that the cave lost its namesake “moan”, caused by water dripping into narrow holes, after the staircase was built in 1922 using steel from a World War I battleship, when debris clogged the moaning holes.
The largest public vertical vault cave in California, the main room could easily accommodate the Statue of Liberty. Below the open chamber a series of passageways extends the cave to 410 feet, accessible by belly crawling. We were intrigued by the human bones at the bottom of the cave, some of the hundred or so prehistoric explorers who met their death by an untimely fall, likely after being attracted by the sound of the moan and peering into the original small opening at the top.
We saw other adventurers rappelling down the face of the cave, a preview of what was to come. Asking a woman at the bottom who was coming off the rappel what she thought of the experience, she shuddered and said, “That was the scariest, most intense thing I’ve ever done in my life.” Not exactly encouraging but very brave someone who had never even been rock climbing.
Adventures Galore
"Curtain" rock feature in Moaning Cavern (Steve Mullen)
We emerged, blinking, into bright sunshine, and enjoyed a snack while we relived the memory of frisson of the zip line and contemplated our next adventure. Unfortunately no substantial food is sold at the park, but many families were enjoying picnics they had brought with them. We were excited about rappelling but I thought the crawl might be too claustrophobia-inducing for me. After experiencing the thrill of the zip-line and seeing the lay of the land in the cave we soaked up some sun and decided on the rappel for the next adventure.
Information:
Moaning Cavern Adventure Park
5350 Moaning Cave Road
Vallecito, CA 95251, USA
866-762-2837
Open year round; hours vary from 9 or 10 am opening to 5 or 6 pm closing depending on season and day of week.
Prices (check website for combination and repeat discounts; child pricing; coupons; discounts for seniors, military and other groups):
- Zip line: $39
- Walking Tour: $14.75
- Rappel: $65
- Cave Crawl: $76
- Climbing Tower: $5
- Gold panning: $9.95
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