Old Man's Cave Hike and a Whiteout

It's an hour+ drive to Old Man's Cave State Park but usually worth it if you want to enjoy the beauty of the area and an abundance of ice formations.  The parking lot was crowded as I met Steve O and Flyin Tuna.  No one else could be persuaded to make the trip but maybe it was that afternoon forecast that deterred some.

Steve and I wore running or hiking shoes and discovered there had been so much foot traffic that it had created an icy path in the early going.  FT installed cramp-ons to the bottom of her shoes so she had no issues.  After about a mile, I began to jog and reached Cedar Falls and then kept going to....

....Ash Cave.  Along the way I ran into Mitch Tallen, out giving his.....

....dog a walk.  It was good to catch up with him.

On the way back from Ash Cave, upon reaching Cedar Falls, I took the rim trail to avoid the treacherous conditions of the gorge trail.  The lake was frozen as I crossed alongside and finished with 10 miles.  The wind had picked up but upon reaching #33 to head north, it was just wind.  A couple of miles south of Lancaster, I could see a wall of grey in the distance and soon it began to snow hard and visibility began to diminish.  Entering Lancaster, there were whiteout conditions at times.  I emerged from one cloud of snow burst to find a stopped car in front of me.  Too late to avoid impact, I managed to steer my car on to the sidewalk, pulling alongside the car.  We looked at each other, he began to move, I pulled off the sidewalk and all was well. 

I crept north on #33 out of Lancaster, seeing 5 cars....

....off the road.  I was just lucky to make it home and called Steve and FT to hear of their journey, each having their own set of problems.  #33 was closed soon after I went through.  Two weeks until AZ.  I think I am ready.