Horne Lake Caves – Exploring The World Beneath Us

9 November 2016Callum M & David L

On Wednesday, October 19th, a class of 25 students and two teachers clad in rain gear jumped onto a yellow bus and headed to the Horne Lake Caves Provincial Park. Students varied from being dressed in sweatpants, hoodies and sneakers, *cough William*, to being prepared with so much rain-gear that you could possibly mistake them for rainbow coloured grizzlys. The two hour bus ride, was described by Sacha B as being one of “her favourite parts of the trip” and was filled up with songs sung so joyfully that Mrs. Patel’s noise canceling headphones were her best friend the entire trip. The compilation of Snapchatters and Instagrammers brought the entire bus trip a permanent flash; however, this came to a quick stop when we arrived at the entrance sign of the Horne Lake Caves and some people (not the true photographers) came to the conclusion that it might not be the best idea to bring their phones into the dark, confined, wet caves. All 25 students of the Grade 8 class, along with their two teachers, Mrs. Patel and Ms. Ramundi, hopped off the bus to be greeted by two friendly cave guides, Miles and Chris. The guides divided us into 2 groups and we set off, ready to explore the world beneath us. Our first challenge arrived as we shuffled across a wobbly bridge leading to a well kept hiking trail. After a short walk we came across a fork in the road were the groups split up, each going to a different cave. We were in group one, led by Miles, who took the right side of the trail that led us to the entrance of the main cave. Miles explained the guidelines to follow while spelunking, the exploration of caves. After we had the rules down pat, Miles led us into our first cave. In a few steps, we were blocked by a giant gate installed to prevent vandalism, because in the past before the caves were turned into a park, many teenagers partied and destroyed the calcite, taking it home with them as souvenirs. Luckily, our ever-so-handy guide had connections and was able to unlock the gate. Our first few steps in the caverns were filled with curiosity and amazement, but Miles had us covered and taught us all about the caves. Calcite, the white or colorless mineral made up of calcium carbonate, was the gem of the caves. Many people call it “Popcorn Rock,” and when calcite is in a certain formation called Moon Milk it can be used to treat heartburn. We advanced through the dark caverns, but suddenly came to quick halt: a small waterfall poured down a rocky cliff blocking our way forward. Disappointed, since we all knew that we would not be allowed to proceed, we turned around to start our way back to hear Miles suddenly yell “Who’s ready to start climbing?” Our faces lit up with excitement and the class started the summit. Miles showed us where to place our hands and feet and soon enough, we had all conquered the waterfall. We weren’t done yet. Miles brought us around the corner and showed us a long metal slide that led us into complete darkness. We clicked on our headlamps, took a deep breath, and trusted Miles. We were all down the slide in no time, laughing and talking the entire way down. Sadly for us, that was the end of the main cave and we were forced to trace our steps to the start of the cave. The gate slammed shut behind us marking the end of our first spelunking session. Our second one arrived faster than we thought as we followed Miles to where the next cave awaited. After a kilometer of hilly terrain, we arrived at an entrance that looked as if this cave had had a bone to pick with an asteroid. Welcomed by another barred gate, Miles unlocked it and hastily stepped aside to release the stampede of Grade 8s. We rushed into the new cave eager to explore every nook and cranny. After a while Miles got us under control and he continued on with his tour, leading us through a strong river that flowed right through the cave. Once through the river we reached a point in the cave that Miles said was called the Midnight Zone because if everyone turned off their headlamps (which we did) you could only see complete utter darkness. We soon met up with group two, who looked as if they were having as great a time as we were. But our reunion did not last long, as they were going up to the main cave and we were continuing our trek down. On the way down, we came across several animals, bacon slices, and spike-shaped formations made of calcite. Huge limestone arm chairs gave us a nice resting place, but we finally arrived at our final destination: it did not disappoint. A huge calcite crystal hung from the roof of the cavern over a pool of water so clear that the reflection looked like a mirror. It was a beautiful sight and our group watched, entranced by it. Unfortunately, the time came to leave. Maybe another time, as we had to get back to the entrance of the cave as quickly as possible. In the forest again we hiked down the long winding trails, until we arrived where our adventure had begun. The other group was not here yet and, too hungry to wait, we dug into a delicious lunch of sandwiches, juice boxes, cookies, bananas and chips; yum! When our bellies were overflowing, the other group finally arrived, thirty minutes late. Way behind schedule, we rushed into the bus and raced back home through the pouring rain after a very eventful day in the Horne Lake Caves. Callum M & David L

Where Students Choose To Be