Limestone Caves

So the name of the climb above was "Turd in the Punchbowl" 12a. I don't think the name did it justice.       The natural springs below were something else.

John on "uckfay ushbay" - a sweet 11a.   Below is Phil entering the CAVE!

John has been talking up this place called Lime Creek for the last month and to be quite honest I was a little bit skeptical. It seems like there is a recurring trend that remote crags go in and out of style and the hype is usually built up too much. To his credit the spot was actually pleasant.
My last real climbing trip was out to Rifle and it was amazing how many people there were and how polished the rock was. Lime Creek was the same style of single pitch limestone sport climbing, however we saw a group of climbers leaving as we went in and that was about it; we had the camping and crags to ourselves for the next two days.
My big regret was that I wasn't feeling very strong when I got out there, but in the long run going on a camping trip with friends in a remote setting and looking at new rocks was what I needed.
The big surprise of the trip was after we were rained off the rock however. Phil is a great geologist and he has a penchant for explaining the names and formation of the rocks that I enjoy climbing on so much. Phil pointed out that we were on the Leadville Limestone formation and after looking at a large natural spring he speculated about the underground river system that lays beneath the rock.
Phil had mentioned a cave in the vicinity of Lime Creek and to be quite honest I didn't pay it much mind until we were on our way back to Vail with an afternoon to kill.
I wasn't sure what to make of Fullfort Cave as I found myself wiggling backwards down what appeared to be an irrigation culvert with an extension ladder inside. After about 40 feet of this the cave opened up into a larger chamber and went back forever. While maybe not forever, but we probably went more than an eighth of a mile back and only saw a piece.
It was a cold and dark labyrinth with passages that led up through chimineys and down shafts with ropes adding a sense of security to the muddy slick descents. I thought the underground river and waterfalls were cool, but Phil swore up and down that he knew of a secret room with more traditional stactites. We never found it, but that's a good reason to go back.