Caycuse Caves

The Caycuse Caves are a very thrilling adventure, near Lake Cowichan.  The cave system is a full loop of tight squeezes, awkward positioning and just plain old getting dirty.  If you have never tried spelunking before, this is a fantastic introduction to the sport and may very well get you hooked.

Directions:
From the town of Lake Cowichan, head toward Honeymoon Bay.  Keep on the same road, past the town and past Gordon Bay, until you come to a T intersection. Set your odometer and turn right. Follow this rocky path for roughly 20km until you reach Nixon Creek. From there it is another 8 km in the same direction before turning left at the summit of the hill.  Travel 0.6km down this road and you will see a sign for C5 on your right. 0.4km down C5 you will find a smaller road on the right.  This road is quite bumpy and I recommend walking down it if you are in a vehicle without much ground clearance.  Roughly 5 minutes walking down this road you will see a small walking path on your left, marked with tape.  Within a minute of hiking on this trail you will see the entrance to the cave, pictured above.  Hard to miss, but if you come to a creek you have gone too far.

Equipment:
For this particular cave I recommend you bring flashlights (head lamps if possible) and make sure every person has at least one backup light. Sturdy runners or hiking boots, shorts and a light, long sleeve shirt should be all the clothing you need, though you may wish to wear a helmet as well.  As with all spelunking activities, it is highly recommended that you travel with at least 3 people and bring a few emergency rations, water and a long rope as well.

The Adventure:
When you first enter the cave it will almost seem as if there is no real way to go about exploring it.  The main chamber seems large enough, but any crevasse seems too small for any person to fit through.  This is a recurring theme throughout the cave and I assure you, this is a full loop that I have personally completed.  You will start towards your left, entering through a large crack that winds slowly to the right.  Part of the fun for myself was not knowing what was around the next corner, so I won't go too in depth about the full route.