I’ve always wanted to return to the Canyon Creek Ice Cave, ever since the day I turned around after spotting blood at the entrance.
With the stretch of good weather lately, it felt like e a good time to get back there. I set up a group run to the cave on Saturday.
The Canyon Creek Ice Cave, discovered by Sam Fullerton in 1905, has gone by a few names over the years including Moose Mountain Ice Cave and the Bragg Creek Ice Cave. I know it only as Canyon Creek.
We met at the Ing’s Mine parking lot. Then it’s essentially 6.5 kilometres along a gated access road to the cave entrance. It’s pretty straightforward – just stay on the road until you reach a service area then up to the trees to the Canyon Creek Ice Cave.
Years ago you could actually drive up to the cave but the influx of people put an end to that for good reason.
The real story of the day was the wind. We were eating dirt and gravel by the time we reached the cave. The run to the cave entrance was not terribly exciting but it sure beats Moose Mountain Road.
At the 5.5 kilometre mark, you will reach some sort of utility gate, which is where you begin the climb up to the cave. This is when it gets a little more fun. Not terribly hard just tricky in some spots thanks to the ice patches.
Inside the cave, the darkness swallowed us almost immediately. Glad I reminded everyone to bring headlamps.
I nearly walked by the few ice formations that still remained close to the entrance. The warm temperatures have not been kind to them. Less than a kilometre into the cave, we reached a big block of ice. It was incredible to see. This was a good place to stop and turnaround. Beyond this point, the passage narrows enough you’d need to crawl on your stomach to keep exploring.
What a fun day. I love doing this random short adventures in the offseason. A good day out, wind and all.