Inside Pluto’s Cave, the Northern California cavern that dips 1,200 feet into the ground

San Francisco Gate ^ | Silas Valentino ,

[nickcarraway]

Part of the adventure in luring your friends out to the high desert terrain in Northern California, where a valley floor spills from the northern backside of Mount Shasta, is that precious moment when they look at you as though you’ve led them into danger.

Having discovered Pluto’s Cave from a map, I was prepared for some sagebrush whacking. What I wasn’t prepared for was that reaching the trailhead required navigating a maze of dusty roads. The cave is considered an easy hike — no serious spelunking experience necessary — and located less than 20 minutes from Interstate 5.

Pluto’s Cave is a partially collapsed lava tube in the Klamath National Forest. The cave’s opening is estimated to be 10 feet high and 20 feet wide, with a depth of some 1,200 feet into the Earth’s abyss.

For a torrid summer day, a venture into the cool underbelly of Shasta was an ideal pursuit to beat the heat. The cave keeps a cool 50 degrees, regardless of what’s happening outside. I plotted the coordinates via Google Maps and set north. This would prove to be the first mistake.

Splitting from I-5 in the town of Weed is Highway 97. Part of the Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway, the route earns its name for how it carves along the Cascade Range, where volcanoes are numerous. Charred residue from the 2014 Boles Fire was visible during the highway’s initial 10 miles.

We cut off from the highway and, per Google Maps’ insistence, I guided us through a rural residential area. It was the type of outback neighborhood that doesn’t appear on Google’s Street View. Front gates have convincing signs that trespassing would be a fool’s errand, and no one in their right mind would think to canvas this outpost to hawk some solar

[SunkenCiv]

Building habitats in lava tubes on the Moon and Mars has been a serious discussion for a while.

Pluto's Cave Holds a 100 Year Old Secret, Mt Ashland Primitive Camp
Vanlife Sheldon's Travels | 14.1K subscribers | 6,150 views | July 19, 2019

[major_gaff]

See! I was paying attention in that Humanities class the PSU College of
Engineering insisted that I take.

[SunkenCiv]

Those buncha liberals, whaddya expect? ;^)