Crack-in-the-Ground, Fort Rock And South Ice Cave

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Crack-in-the-Ground, Fort Rock And South Ice Cave

On 16 August 2022, Zosia Zgolak and I visited a number of obscure points of interest to help break up a long drive across south central Oregon. Our first stop was Crack-in-the-Ground located north of the unincorporated community of Christmas Valley (directions can be found here). Crack-in-the-Ground is a series of volcanic fissures running for several kilometres along the southwest edge of Four Craters Lava Field. Zosia and I did not really know what to expect when we arrived, but we ended up having a lot of fun exploring some of the fissures. The most striking aspect was how much cooler it was inside the fissures compared to the ambient temperature above ground. As such, Crack-in-the-Ground is an ideal place to visit during the height of summer when temperatures in this part of Oregon are soaring.

	Zosia arrives at the trailhead for Crack-in-the-Ground.
	A side-blotched lizard tries to remain inconspicuous on a rock.
	Zosia stands at the entrance to one of the many fissures found in the area.
	Some of the fissures are surprisingly deep.
	Zosia walks through one of the more hiker-friendly sections.
	This fissure looks a bit more challenging to enter.
	Zosia scrambles through a hole between collapsed boulders.
	The fissures are reminiscent of some canyons in Utah.
	Crack-in-the-Ground is located at the southwest edge of Four Craters Lava Field.

Our next stop was Fort Rock State Natural Area located roughly halfway between Christmas Valley and the city of La Pine. Fort Rock is a tuff ring, a circular volcanic wall, that stands out from the surrounding flat landscape. A number of hiking trails crisscross the interior of Fort Rock, and it is also apparently possible to scramble up to the highest point located at the western end. Unfortunately, Zosia and I only managed to walk for a short distance before the hot weather became too unbearable for us. We promptly retreated to our car and headed somewhere cooler.

Zosia arrives at Fort Rock State Natural Area.

Too hot for a scramble today!

Behind Zosia is the western end of Fort Rock which is apparently where the high point is located.

Maybe we'll come back some winter day...

After a brief walk, Zosia tries to imagine what it would be like to visit this place under cooler temperatures.

For our final stop of the day, Zosia and I visited South Ice Cave (43.58312, -121.07821) located about 40 kilometres east of La Pine or 27 kilometres north of Fort Rock. South Ice Cave is actually a lava tube which is several hundred metres long, and like Crack-in-the-Ground, it is an ideal place to visit on a hot day since the temperature is significantly cooler there. Because the cave is undeveloped, the footing can be tricky with a lot of potentially slippery boulders to scramble over. Fortunately, there are no navigational challenges; the cave is just one long chamber that eventually dead-ends. On this day, we did not see any ice formations, but Zosia still felt like she was freezing inside the cave. I was a little more comfortable with my "natural insulation", but with little else to see, we simply tagged the wall at the dead end before turning around and heading out.

	Zosia walks down to the entrance of South Ice Cave.
	The cave entrance already feels much cooler than the above-ground air. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	The footing inside the cave is rough and sometimes slippery.
	Zosia reaches a dead end in the cave.
	Sonny returns to the entrance of South Ice Cave. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak