The boulders were too wet to climb so we headed up Pigeon Mountain in search of the Historic Entrance to Ellison’s Cave. We had a great afternoon exploring on the mountain with radar on for possible new caves. After several hours of looking in the wrong area, we finally found the entrance and looked around inside for about 200′. Everyone is very excited to return with our caving gear and explore it fully.

Ellison’s is one of the deepest caves in the U.S., with two of the deepest free fall pits. The Fantastic Pit rappel is 586′. The Washington Monument would fit inside the pit. We did not bring the vertical gear to do any rope work this trip, but the kids are psyched to train and return.

National Geographic photo of Fantastic Pit in Ellison’s Cave!