Finding the 'Cave of Death'

Originally I was planning for this month's post to be about lighter subject matter, considering the content of last month's post.  Well, something happened that changed those plans!  Don't worry though, this blog is not intended to be "Rainer talks about the dark and disturbing."  Future posts will be much lighter than this!

I'm a bit of a nature lover.  Fortunately for me, I was born in Utah, which has a lot of really great natural areas.  My neighborhood is nestled up close to the Wasatch Mountains, and I have spent many days wandering the valleys, canyons, and foothills.  One thing of particular interest besides the woods and wildflowers are the caves in the limestone of the Wasatch Front.  Most of the caves I've stumbled upon in my journeys have been very small clefts in the rock, hardly deserving the title of 'cave.'  There have been a few that I could actually fit through, and a couple that I could stand up and walk through without issue.  I think caves are interesting, but I have enough claustrophobia and common sense to avoid any kind of exploration that would necessitate squeezing, crawling, or worst of all, swimming.  In my opinion, there's just too much that can go wrong in a cave.

Still, there are many for whom the urge to explore outweighs the risk.  Many spelunkers have skills and strategies that minimize that risk.  But still, mishaps and unfortunate circumstances can pose a deadly threat to even the most prepared explorer.  One such tragedy happened in Provo, in "Gollum's Cave," also known as "The Water Mine" and most ominously as the "Cave of Death."

Gollum's Cave is a small cave in some foothills a little ways from the Seven Peaks water park in Provo.  The main stretch is ~100 feet long. At the end of the main stretch, there is an underwater passage that leads to another small room, about large enough to hold 4-6 people.  It is for this passage that it is called 'Gollum's Cave.' 

Part of an illustration of Gollum's Cave.

Five friends visited the cave on August 17th, 2005.  Beforehand, they had been talking at a restaurant when one of them, Jennifer Galbraith, related her experience of exploring the cave and nearly freezing to death.  She remarked that it was the 'Cave of Death.'  Only four of the five committed to entering the cave: Jennifer Galbraith, Scott McDonald, Ariel Singer, and Blake Donner.  The fifth, Joseph Ferguson, showed up but waited at the entrance of the cave.  When his friends hadn't come out after 45 minutes had passed, Joseph called the police.

All four of the friends made it into the chamber, but none of them made it out.  The air in the chamber had very low oxygen and the four were depleting it by the minute, forcing them to leave.  Ariel tried to leave first, but she drowned in the passage, inches from breathable air.  Her body blocked the exit for the three friends behind her, and all of them drowned.

 

When the police and searchers arrived, they began pumping water out and air in.  Soon, they found the bodies.  The cave was sealed up with concrete, and a plaque was put up to memorialize the four. (This was a very brief summary of events, here's some great sources for more in-depth research: israelniederhauser blog, ksl article, deseret news article, utah caves blog)

After I heard this story, I wanted to visit the cave to see it for myself.  I've heard of other, more high-profile cave accidents like Nutty Putty, but this one was so close to where I live and I had never heard of it before.  Unfortunately, sources on the internet were very weird and gatekeepy, refusing to give the exact location of the cave.  I decided that I would find the location and put it on Google Maps to make sure that the tragedy is never forgotten.

Finding it wasn't all that difficult, which made me further confused over the weird caginess and secrecy online.  The KSL article provided a very helpful image from the air with an 'X' marking the location of the cave.  All I had to do was find the rough location on Google Maps and go there.

While land use has changed since the image was taken (ugly McMansions have unfortunately crept up to the foot of the mountain) I was able to pretty easily match the bushes and drainages in the picture with Google Maps satellite images.  I was pretty sure I had the right spot, now all I had to do was go there.

I parked at a nearby parking spot, "Summit Drive View."  Parking there was allowed during the day but forbidden at night, presumably to prevent teens from fornication.  I would have rather biked there, but I had an event later in the day that limited the time I could spend on my adventure.  From there it was a pretty short walk to the spot.  I had to wander around a bit because all I knew was that the cave was in the general area of a certain cluster of bushes.  As I was walking along a footpath, I noticed water trailing down from above and I knew I was at the right place.  I followed the water uphill through some thorny brush and ended up at the entrance to Gollum's Cave.

A video I took once I reached Gollum's Cave.

When I arrived at the cave I took some pictures and videos, then I realized I had worked up a thirst.  I've only drank spring water a couple times, and this was one of those times.  The water was cold and good but I felt a sense of melancholy that the same water was responsible for the deaths of the adventurous hikers who came there before me.  May they rest in peace.

 

Once I got home, I put the location on Google Maps as "Gollum's Cave Memoriam."  You can view it here.  I hope that others will visit and pay their respects to those who lost their lives here.  Remember to tell your loved ones that you love them, and if you're the type who loves spelunking, be very careful!  Even small caves close to civilization can be very dangerous, and even experienced cavers can die inches from safety.