"What they do is come via the 'Key Hole' and rappel from there to the 'Pedestal,' that's what most people do," he said of the route Whitehead and his companion took on Saturday. "The other person had gone down the rope a few times before, but it was [Whitehead's] first time. He fell off the rope due to some kind of fault "Harnen said. "He dropped about 100 feet."
On a wet Monday, we hiked from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. During this time, one other party (consisting of two persons) was on the route. Accessing the gate and parking is a simple task. A shelter has two picnic tables underneath it. Otherwise, there are no amenities. We found the wet stones on the route to be slick (probably not an issue in dry conditions). The path is graded 'Moderate' since it gets rather tricky as one progresses up the gap. The preserve itself is beautiful (no garbage was seen) and the landscape is intriguing. Hikers may misidentify a magnificent pit cave (found on the trail's left side) as Stephens Gap Cave, but this is not the goal (but do give it a look). Stephens Gap Cave is unique because so many things seem to be precisely positioned inside its single, huge space (two massive entrances, waterfalls, picturesque lighting, great rock formations). There are a few minor, branch sections that may be of interest. It was simpler to climb out of the cave than it was to descend. You'll be OK if you exercise prudence. Overall, totally amazing!
Take care not to trip! It's fun to sit in the sun, but you're taking a significant risk. Secure your tether! To get to the cave, travel a quarter-mile steep slope to the cave. A brook runs beside the route and is fed by the waterfalls in the cave. Stephens Gap has two entrances: one in the ceiling and one right above the pit bottom. We chose the latter, which required us to navigate a steep mound of loose boulders while keeping a tight eye on our steps. You can only rappel via the ceiling entry if you are an expert.
Stick to the rock bed and don't cross it to remain on the correct side. The trek wasn't too terrible, although it took a bit longer than I thought. It took us around 30 minutes to get to the cave. We didn't see any water in the rock bed along the route, so we assumed the waterfall wouldn't be flowing, but as we drew closer to the cave, we could hear the water rushing. The cave has two entrances: one on each side. You may either rappel into the cave (if you're skilled) or climb down via the side entrance, which is what we did. Okay, so I didn't exactly go caving, but my two brothers did explore a deeper section of the cave. This is a fantastic journey for those of you who know how to splunk!
