exploring

I asked the campground host if there were any hiking trails close by and was handed a brochure and directed to the nearby Devil's Den Nature Preserve.



We followed the cave trail sign (it says .43 miles) and stopped a couple of times to look at rock outcroppings and crevices along the way, wondering is this it? I thought it would be bigger… until at last we came to this sign...



Oh, HERE it is, wow! Buddy proceeded to climb down into, while I decided to stay out in the open...



He didn't explore too much, not having a flashlight, so not sure how far back it went into the mountain, but the air was definitely cooler coming out of there, beckoning to just come a little farther... can you see him in the picture below?

This fault cave is one of Virginia's more spectacular geological features. Rocks, forty to fifty feet high, create the entrance to the cave on the southeast face of the mountain. The trail to the cave is for the more vigorous hiker. For those who want to explore inside the cave, be advised to use caving equipment and exercise extreme caution. ~ brochure by Devil's Den Nature Preserve Foundation

Thanks to Edward Harris Carlan who left the 250 acres in his will as a nature preserve - "To be used for cultural and intellectual purposes..."

Devil's Den Nature Preserve near Fancy Gap, Virginia