Today, we set off to find one of the holy grails of Maine backwoods exploration! Located northwest of The Forks, Enchanted Cave is the longest limestone solution cave in Maine with 140 meters of explored passageways. Its location is purposely kept obscure to protect the fragile environment from over-visitation and vandalism.
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| Trail to the caves |
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| Cave entrances |
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| Inside a cave |
Armed only with a few vague and conflicting sets of coordinates and descriptions, we set off on a long drive over some of the roughest roads I've ever been on. We had no idea what to expect, and, just when we thought we might have gone too far, we found a faint trail leading into the forest. After a short hike on this rough trail, we descended into a ravine and saw the first entrances to the caves!
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| Passageway with a low ceiling |
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| Squeezing through a tight spot |
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| A larger passageway |
We spent the next few hours exploring the network of caves. There were three caves that we were able to go relatively deep into, one of which had multiple entrances that we could get into. The caves contained a wide variety of passageways, from tight squeezes and winding s-turns to large chambers that we could walk upright through. There were also underground streams in some of the caves, as well as stalactites and other calcium carbonate deposits. A variety of erosional features were also present, such as pillars, bridges, and rounded walls.
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| One of the smaller entrances |
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| Erosional features |
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| More erosional features |
We were all amazed by the experience, and I've never been anywhere else like it in Maine. Most caves in Maine are talus caves, and most of the limestone solution caves that do exist are very small. It was an adventure that we won't soon forget!
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| A bridge feature |
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| Calcium deposits on the cave floor |
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