Lavender Cave, Nevada

Nevada has had many cave secrets locked away for some time. A number of caves were lost in archives and documentation was vague on the whereabouts of many caves until recently. I was able to relocate Charley's Folly Cave, which led to a number of new discoveries in the region — Cine Shaft, Old Glory Hole, Hiko Sink, Lava Dreams Pit, Lucky Nugget Pit, Twin Pits, Angel Lake Pit, Cirque Cave, Lost Hope Cave, and more. Lavender Cave had been one of the more elusive — many attempts were made to relocate this most sought-after 200ft cave.

I am happy to announce that the highly decorated Lavender Cave has now been located. Rachel, Jamie, and I headed up to an area where I had been suspecting it would be. We started up a wash, encountered some interesting leads that went nowhere, then I noticed a side canyon with an interesting feature from below. Scrambling up, I walked to the bottom of a dry fall with numerous flowstone features, popcorn, and a dark hole with columns leading deeper — it was at this point I realized I had found Lavender Cave.

The varnishing on the entrance walls was a beautiful array of color — almost like a painter's palette. The first section required crawling and delicately maneuvering around formations. The next section had small rimstone pools of water with popcorn and formations all around them. The gours were actively flowing and the continuing room was actively dripping. Flowstone walls and formations draped the wall with fine three-dimensional geometry.

This cave appears to sit right under a canyon that takes in water periodically. The entrance is at the bottom of a dry fall and resembles a beautiful flower shape with excellent color — including lavender. From the vague description written 45 years ago, all indicators match and describe Lavender Cave as we see it today. I surveyed the cave to 202 feet with a potential lead in the back described in a former trip report dated to the early 1970s.

🎒 Gear for this: Petzl Tikka Headlamp · Petzl Vertex Helmet