I forgot how intimidating it is looking over the edge to the floor far below. “These bars around the ladder keep you safe,” I assure Brenna. “You can’t really fall.” She’s still nervous about it.

“See Brenna!” Hunter calls up, demonstrating its safety. I step onto the ladder and have her follow so she’s almost sitting on my head as we descend.

Treated a century ago as a glamorous or exotic locale worthy of ceremony,^¹ the lava tube is now the dirty back alley of outdoor destinations. You won’t come away clean if you visit.

1. History I’ve previously detailed. See Trail Image, “Kuna Cave”: trailimage.com/…/kuna-cave

Hunter is already climbing the usual assortment of debris below the surface opening when Brenna and I reach the floor. “Can we go now?” she asks after looking around a moment.

“No,” I answer incredulously. “We just got here. Don’t you want to walk in a ways?”

“No.” She isn’t impressed.

Hunter cajoles and I decree that we’re going to explore nonetheless. The arch of graffitied walls extends beyond our light as blackness collapses on our heals. “I wish we had another light behind us,” Brenna says.

“We’re going to the end. It isn’t that far,” I answer when Brenna asks again to turn back. She seems happier when I give her my secret spare light.

At the end of the walkable tunnel is a crawlspace beneath a painted rainbow. Hunter tries to get Brenna to continue with him but she refuses. Hunter crawls in alone and emerges a minute later with what looks like an emergency blanket.

“I don’t like the pictures,” Brenna says of the graffiti while we’re waiting on Hunter’s second sortie. I don’t know if she finds them ugly, alarming or both.

“Try to walk softly,” I remind the kids more than once as I see the air filling with the fine powder that covers the floor. We wore filtration masks last time. I’m wishing we had them again.

Brenna goes straight for the ladder and Hunter follows as we reach the entrance. “I don’t like caves,” Brenna concludes. That’s fine. I don’t like this one either. But I’m still glad we came. Her world is a little bigger now.