Lions, tigers, and bears ... oh my! Well, that’s the way it can feel going down into the bowels of the earth on the Lava Tube cave hike, near Flagstaff, Arizona.

The group of hikers that day included Tom, Jeannie, Adrienne, Jason and Jon Van Lew, Alison Kocek, Holly Johnson, Bill Ruppert, Mike Haverty, John and Marilyn Guidorizzi, Joe Michalides, Brad Fenwick, Prescilla Molinar, Marnie Shepperd, Chuck Parsons, Kiyoni Nada, Renuka Darbha, Zach Ellman, Ben Velasquez, and Elaine Cobos. We first had to negotiate the treacherous and sometimes nerve- wracking challenges of getting everyone hooked up. The first grouping started at Bell Road and I-17 in Phoenix, continued at Munds Park to get the intrepid hike leaders, Ben and Elaine, and finally collected the last of the “Brady Bunch,” aka the Van Lew clan, in Flagstaff.

We negotiated the rocks carefully, flashlights in hand and headlamps securely in place. A cool breeze wafted out of the cave entrance. The temperatures really did drop to the mid to upper 40s F., even though it was 80 F. outside that day. It should be noted that no one ventured to bring a Coleman lantern, electric or otherwise, even though Elaine insisted she had only copied this recommendation from a regional hiking website she found searching the Arizona Highways links.

Everyone enjoyed the uniqueness of this hike. However, with 20 hikers in our group alone, it was difficult to be totally in the dark or totally quiet at any one time. We attempted a “moment” of silence twice, once while seated at the dead end portion of the cave, only to fail to scare Rudy Arredondo and his friend, Jo, who had easily caught up to us during the hike. The only rough moment of the hike was towards the end when Chuck had a rude encounter with a jagged piece of cave ceiling that penetrated his stocking cap and drew blood. Marnie was prepared, as always, to offer assistance and first aid.

We completed the group portion of the hike with a leisurely lunch in the relaxing forests surrounding the cave entrance. Everyone had a chance to play with Zach’s brand new puppy, Bailey, who was a real trooper throughout the cave experience. Some people then headed back to Phoenix, some to Flagstaff to celebrate birthdays, some to ride the chairlift at Snowbowl, and others to squeeze in one more hike. You’ll have to corner them on the next hike or club meeting to find out how their adventures went. Eight of us headed up Snowbowl road to hike out to Veit Springs, the sight of Ludwig Veit’s homesteader cabin from 1892. There are two springs located here one of which sports some pictographs. This culminates our story about lions, tigers and bears. We learned that not only does a bear poop in the woods; he also tinkles in a cave.