Hiking Team: Dave Miller, Rosie Miller
Date: May 23, 2024
The second trail we hiked on here at Bandera Volcano was the 1.4-mile Ice Cave Trail. The forest opened and there were lots of black lava rock paralleling the trail. The trail has been called the “most moon-like” expanse of country on Earth”. Along the trail we passed a collapsed lava tube. Farther along, the trail ended into a wooded canopy and descending steps. It was 81 degrees along the trail. As we walked down the 72 steps, we could see the ice cave opening getting bigger and bigger. Three steps from the bottom, boom, the temperature immediately became 31 degrees. The bottom step and viewing deck are about twenty feet above the ice cave floor. The ice is about 20 to 23 feet thick, blue green in color probably caused by algae. We cooled off and then began the tiring climb back up the 72 steps. The ice cave is also a lava tube and back in the 1930’s, the manager would sell ice from the cave to saloons to keep their beer cold.
