Two Winter Lint Camps Freshen Cave

This article was originally published in The Midden – Great Basin National Park: Vol. 15, No. 1, Summer 2015.

Volunteers find the real cave floor in the Inscription Room, buried under sand.

NPS Photo by Gretchen Baker

By Gretchen Baker, Ecologist

Due to high interest in the Lehman Cave Lint and Restoration Camp last year, the park planned two camps for the winter of 2015: February 6-8 and March 3-4. During these five days, 46 volunteers spent nearly 500 hours cleaning numerous sections of Lehman Cave.

Teams worked in different parts of the cave. Some picked lint off formations high above the Music Room, while others removed hairballs and trash from staircases and along the edges of the trail. In the Inscription Room, teams uncovered rimstone dams and flowstone that have been buried by old debris for decades. They removed over 3,000 pounds of debris and sand originally brought in for old trails and trail-making activities. They also found items of archeological interest, such as a coin from a pool hall in Milford, Utah.

This young lint camp volunteer helped dust off a dusty cave wall.

NPS Photo by Gretchen Baker

Volunteers of all ages participated and were able to meet the National Park Service centennial goal to connect with and create the next generation of park visitors, supporters, and advocates. Many of the participants laid claim to a certain part of the cave and look forward to returning to it to finish cleaning there.