First thing to know- I am more of fluffy teddy bear person, not your rock solid hiker of big mountains kind of person. The hike to the cave is not a leisurely walk around the block. It is pretty much a mile and 1/2 from hell, where I was huffing and puffing like the Big Bad wolf. BUT it was an amazing hike, and it was worth it.
As you can see from the pictures, the view of the Unita mountains is AMAZING! At least the path is paved and there are benches. So as you are climbing up around 2,000 feet in elevation, and you feel like you are going to drop dead because you can't breathe- there is a bench! (I think they are there so park rangers don't have to scrape people off the path)
It felt like you could just touch the clouds. It was nice to stop and take a look at all the glorious mountain scenery.
Here are pictures from the cave! It is definetly worth the hike and the $7 to tour the cave. It is amazing how water can form these caves.
This is the Heart of Mount Timpangos. There are several versions of a Native American myth that is tied to this heart of the mountain. They all involve love, sacrifice and death. It always ends with an Indian Princess jumping to her death.
This is the view as you are coming out of the cave. You can see almost to the Salt Lake Valley.
Here is the proof that I hiked and survived the mountain! On the hike up, I thought I might have to be scraped off the trail, but I made it! It was all worth it. The hike down was so nice and easy.
Morale of the story: If you hike up to the Timp Cave, it is worth it, just remember as you think you are going to die on the way up.
One of the worst things I found out when I was teaching Utah Studies is that the fact that those are Native American legends...is a legend. White people in the 1920s made it up. Or something like that! I wanted to cry.
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