2024 Lava Beds Trip
36th Annual

Finalized date: Weekend of June 22, 2024

There is a motion to move the Lava Beds day to the Fourth Saturday in June (which would be June 22, 2024). This moves it off Juneteenth and Father's Day. Current vote: 7 yea, 0 nay. Both MSNBC and Fox News have already called it for the Fourth Saturday. But it's not too late! Mail votes to beej@beej.us before February 1, 2024.

Approximate headcount: 10?

Ok, kids, it's that time of year, again! Woo hoo!

If there is no rain, there might be a severe fire danger. If that's the case, there will probably be no fires allowed. Bring a stove!

Carpooling is encouraged since you don't want to spend $200 on gas, and because there is only room for 2 cars per site, generally.

The "A" loop is the preferred area for camping, particularly clustered around site A4. This site has a great central location with lots of other sites around it.

Campsites are two cars max, but you can overflow park (perpendicular, please) by the A-loop bathrooms. Don't park more than two cars per site, or 8 heads per site, or Wilford Brimley's gonna make you eat your oatmeal.

Orgy on Saturday night, in the food sense! Be sure to bring enough food for yourselves—maybe even a little to share. And beer! (This isn't a pot-luck...just an excuse to eat together. We do it every night, but Saturday Night is Where Bapper's Bean Dip's At!)

Please read the links below if you don't know about the trip. There will be caving, hiking, camping, and drinking. Also, maybe swimming, vomiting (this has really tapered off as we've matured, but in a few years Lava Beds The Next Generation can take over), as well as Go or chess. Historically, people don't bring mountain bikes, as opportunities are severely limited (to automobile roads) unless you want to go up on the Medicine Lake Highlands, and that's a vacation in itself.

First-time cavers:

If you want to go caving but don't have any stuff, the park can help you out. You can buy cheap plastic bumpcaps for about $6 (which I 200% recommend in lieu of nothing) at the Visitor Center, and you can borrow large lantern-battery flashlights for free (but they must be returned by 5 PM). The park also has handheld flashlights for sale and some batteries, as well.

As for stuff the park doesn't carry:

My official lights recommendation is to buy a $15 bright white LED headlamp, and pack some kind of spare light and batteries. Try to get everything AA (or some consistent size) if you can.

My favorite kneepads are tile-layers kneepads with a sturdy-yet-flexible plasticized-rubber cover. They will last the longest, but anything is better than nothing if you plan to crawl.

My favorite gloves are leather work gloves. Sometimes you can find cheap ones at the dollar store, or you can splurge and get them for a fiver at some Ranch And Home or hardware store. If you're not going to crawl or scramble over rocks, then you won't need them. If you're not getting leather, something with a rubberized palm is good (but with a cloth back so it breathes.)

My favorite elbow pads are actually vollyball kneepads. If you're not belly-crawling, you won't need them.

Steer clear of hard plastic on padding--it tends to crack on the lava.

Floors can be covered with unstable rocks or breakdown, so tread carefully and consider ankle support.

Lava, when you crawl on it, tends to shread everything you wear, including shoes. Don't wear your Sunday Best, unless your Sunday Best deserves it.

If you're strolling slowly through certain caves, you might get cold. If you're crawling or moving fast, you'll be sweating like crazy.

There are caves of every difficulty level in the park, from easy upright strolls all the way down to 9" squeezes (or tighter!), and flat walking passage all the way up to 50-foot vertical dome climbs (I'm going to go ahead and recommend "no" on that one.) If you want a certain type of cave experience, just ask me and I'll direct you to an appropriate destination.

Here's caving information for beginners.

Other info:

This is semi-arid desert at over 4000' elevation. Nights can be hot at first, but cold later, or cold all around. It's D-R-Y dry there, so bring chapstick. It probably won't rain, but it might.

There are health risks of at least: bubonic plague (avoid animals and fleas), hanta virus (avoid piles of mouse exrement and breathing too much dust), west Nile virus (use mosquito repellent, though mosquitos are not so bad there, ok to be honest I never use mosquito repellent), rattlesnakes, Lyme disease (avoid foliage without clothing cover and check each other for ticks), dehydration, heat exhaustion, and heat stroke.

Every night at 9 PM, a ranger will give a presentation in the campground about some topic of interest. Check the bullitin boards in camp for the schedule. And bring a blanket or bundle up, since the temp will drop a lot during the presentation.

Resources:

Love and Kisses:

beej@beej.us