Amazingly bizarre find yesterday while hiking the 4 Valleys region on the west side of Wealthy Mtn. So bizarre it’s difficult to write about…
Okay, here goes: found a cave, and one sitting *directly beside* another I’d already classified as “Other Cave”, now called Open Cave. The new cave is contrastingly called *Closed* Cave. Together they also make a type of twin caves site, almost like 2 side-by-side rooms. They lie near the head of the 2nd valley of the 4 Valleys region, counting from west to east (see above map).
Below we have just a small sample of the protective vegetation surrounding Closed Cave on basically all sides, even the top. It’s *extremely* difficult to reach, although one assumes this was not the case in some bygone day…
… since within this small cave, perhaps 20 feet deep (similar to depth of nearby Prism Cave, then), we have a number of bricks, obviously moved here by human hands.
And moreover, we have clear signs that the entrance to the small cave has been compromised, seemingly by reinforcing the ledge it is on. Is *this* where the stove sat instead of inside?
Because there’s also this evidence that a stove was indeed here, although I can’t make out the brand because of the worn letters. This lies just below the above pictured ledge where I sat my coffee cup.
As I said, Closed Cave is essentially inaccessible from any direction. I actually went around neighboring Open Cave and entered from the back, the only way I safely knew how. And even then it was tough going through rhododendron and briars. I was crawling on all 4s throughout.
Closed Cave rocks from more of a distance. What is the meaning of all this?? And who “lived” there???
Sunklands 