Submitted by: Mark Alman – DFW Grotto and TSA
May 15th to 17th
Participants: Mark and Andrew Alman (DFW Grotto and Troop
138), Dennis and
Kyle Tramel Matt Sanders and Robert Swanner (all of Troop 138).
Caves Visited: Goat, Whirlpool, West, Inner Space, and
Hamilton Pool
We left our intrepid Scout explorers last month as they were exiting
Whirlpool Cave and heading over to West Cave and a much-anticipated dip
into
Hamilton Pool.
Hamilton Pool, a collapsed cenote and one of the best
swim holes in Texas.
Located near Bee Cave SW of Austin.
Photo by Mark Alman of the DFW Grotto.
We made our way to West Cave, located near Bee Cave, southwest of Austin.
To get there from Austin (Chill Out, secrecy buffs! This is a widely known
cave preserve and is on the TSA WebPages, "Caves and Karst of Texas"),
from the TSA Web Page, "take Ben White Boulevard (Highway 290) west to
Oak Hill. Go right at "The Y" at a big Albertson's store onto Highway 71.
Drive 7.1 miles to the village of Bee Caves, continue 1.2 miles, turn left
onto Hamilton Pool Road (RM 3238) and follow it for about 13 miles
to the Pedernales River. West Cave is past the river at the first gate
to the right at the top of the hill. If you go to West Cave, be sure to
stop at Hamilton's Pool on the way-it's beautiful.
Historical graffiti from 1888 found in West Cave.
Photo by Mark Alman.
Description: West Cave is not a show cave but part of a nature trail in a lush, green canyon shaded by tall cypress and oak trees-an enchanting experience.
Originally known as Hammett's Cave, for Hammett's Crossing on the nearby Pedernales River, "Westcave Preserve" is operated by a nonprofit conservation organization and owned by the Lower Colorado River Authority. The nature trail and talk are educational, taking in an unusual part of the Hill Country. The trail leads from a plateau top overlooking the river into a small but verdant canyon formed by the headward cutting of a creek. A 12-m-high waterfall drops into a deep, green pool that overflows into the creek.
The cave itself is rather small, being only 46 m long with a 2.5-m ceiling and two entrances. Part of the north end has been walled off by travertine deposited by the waterfall. The north end is floored with soil and curves toward the south to a short drop from a window overlooking the shelter behind the mossy waterfall. A series of water-filled rimstone pools gradually rise to the ceiling at the south end of the cave. You only need a small flashlight.
West Cave was part of some unappropriated public school land from 1839
until 1937, when it was sold to Chester Lay of Austin. The cave was then
operated as a commercial venture but failed after a few months. The property
suffered from various abuses until John Ahrns acquired the place in the
1970s and began restoring and showing it as an educational nature preserve.
Westcave Preserve Corporation was formed in 1976 to protect and restore
the place. Many plant species, both rare and representative of the Hill
Country, may be seen on the tour. "Their phone number is 830-825-3442.
(From left:) Dennis Tramel, Robert Swanner, Kyle Trammel,
Andrew Alman, Matt Sanders, and Mark Alman at West Cave.
Photo by John Ahrns.
We had a very enjoyable tour with John and the boys were impressed
by some of the historical graffiti and the amazing formations we saw. The
cave is in a truly serene and beautiful setting and is definitely worth
a trip. The Preserve operates on donations made during the tour and John
is a very good tour host. He regaled us with stories of the area and pointed
out many features in the cave and along the way that we would have overlooked.
Check it out!
I came to find out from talking to John that he had lived in Dallas
at one time, around the Hillcrest and Central area in North Dallas. He
also was involved in a Scout Troop there years ago, as well! Small world,
huh?
A portion of the rockface and overhanging ferns and other
features at Hamilton Pool.
Walkway is obscured by foliage.
Photo by Mark Alman.
About this time, we had all worked up a pretty good sweat and were anxious to head over to Hamilton Pool for a dip. The pool was located on the same road as West Cave and they charge a measly $5 per carload to swim. The boys anxiously jumped into their swimsuits and we made the ¼ mile hike down to the pool from the parking lot.
We were treated to a magical swimming hole and Hamilton Pool has jumped
to one on my Top 5 swimming spots in the state (hmm, another story some
time, huh?!). The pool is a sunken "Texas-Size" cenote that has a sand-beach
at one end a deeper 30-60’ area on the other end of the pool. Above this
deeper area is a small waterfall that I’m sure is much larger after a heavy
rain.
One final view of the pristine scenery of West Cave.
Photo by Mark Alman.
The cliff face is covered by many ferns and inhabited by a large contingent of swallows. There is a walkway along this area inside the hollowed out cliff face and is protected by the dripping/falling water. Large catfish patrolled the beach area, looking for tidbits to eat that we had stirred up, and the boys took great delight in trying (in vain) to catch them.
We spent a good while there swimming, although not nearly as long as
the guys would have liked! We rounded our stuff up after getting chased
out as the Pool and Park closes at 6 P.M. We spent the rest of the evening
cooking supper and washing the cave dirt and grime off of us. Some of the
boys insisted upon playing Frisbee and rolling around in the dirt in the
horse arena. A dirty place, but a GREAT place to play Frisbee!
The famous "Roadrunner of Inner Space Caverns"!
Photo by Mark Alman.
Sunday morning found us grabbing a quick breakfast and breaking camp
in time to make our scheduled tour of Inner Space Caverns in Georgetown.
Most of us had already been through Inner Space before, but it was a
pleasant ending to one of the best and most fun caving/Scout trip I have
ever participated. I always enjoy letting new cavers and folks who have
some experience (like our Scouts) get dirty, squeeze through some holes,
encounter various critters, and traipse through mud and water in order
to experience and see for themselves what a "wild" cave looks like and
what a commercial cave appears. Fortunately, the guys said that they enjoy
and appreciate the wild ones more! Same here and I’m definitely looking
forward to going in the Fall!
(From left:) Andrew Alman, Matt Sanders, Kyle Tramel, and Robert Swanner striking poses deep down in Inner Space Caverns. Photo by Mark Alman.