Sacramento Bee photojournalist Florence Low traveled to Calaveras County earlier this month where she ventured into a network of caves known as California Cavern. She tells the story of her adventure in the Outbound section of The Bee's Thursday edition and online here.
Low had to walk, crawl and squeeze through the pathways of the caves while carrying her camera gear and a notebook to record the adventure. She ended up covered in mud.
"I encountered what I was dreading - knee-deep trudging through mud and clay in the wet sections of the cave. The mud was so sticky that if I stood in one place too long, it took quite an effort to get unstuck," she wrote.
All the effort was worth it, though, because of the the beauty she encountered on the journey.
"It felt like a different world full of natural crystalline formations," she wrote.
Three of her pictures appear with the story and I've gathered a collection of eight of her best images here.
Low had to walk, crawl and squeeze through the pathways of the caves while carrying her camera gear and a notebook to record the adventure. She ended up covered in mud.
"I encountered what I was dreading - knee-deep trudging through mud and clay in the wet sections of the cave. The mud was so sticky that if I stood in one place too long, it took quite an effort to get unstuck," she wrote.
All the effort was worth it, though, because of the the beauty she encountered on the journey.
"It felt like a different world full of natural crystalline formations," she wrote.
Three of her pictures appear with the story and I've gathered a collection of eight of her best images here.
A Middle Earth Expedition group at California Cavern admires nature's handiwork in one of the cave's many chambers on Thursday, July 3. Florence Low / flow@sacbee.com
From the left, Steve Guinn, Carolyn Talcott and Natalie Johnson make their way through the caves with a Middle Earth Expedition group at California Cavern. Florence Low / flow@sacbee.com
The landscape of the caves during the Middle Earth Expedition at California Cavern. Florence Low / flow@sacbee.com
The landscape of the caves during the Middle Earth Expedition at California Cavern. Florence Low / flow@sacbee.com
Alethea Stadler of Evans, Colo., wriggles through a narrow passageway. Tight spaces are but one challenge - there's a lot of water and mud, to boot. Florence Low / flow@sacbee.com
Guide Natalie Johnson, left, watches Carolyn Tolcott climb a series of ladders. Florence Low / flow@sacbee.com
Guide Natalie Johnson, left, watches Carolyn Tolcott climb a series of ladders. Florence Low / flow@sacbee.com
Eli Fairchild, 28, squeezes through a narrow hole to get into another chamber in the caves on the Middle Earth Expedition. Florence Low / flow@sacbee.com
Stalactites called, "soda straws" and various other calcite formations are plentiful companions on the Middle Earth Expedition at California Cavern. Florence Low / flow@sacbee.com
Stalactites called, "soda straws" and various other calcite formations are plentiful companions on the Middle Earth Expedition at California Cavern. Florence Low / flow@sacbee.com
Carolyn Talcott, John Talcott, Alethea Stadler and Eli Fairchild wait for others to catch up during the the Middle Earth Expedition. Florence Low / flow@sacbee.com
Guide Eli Fairchild ferries Michael and Alethea Stadler across Tom's Lake toward the end of the Middle Earth journey. A ladder leads down to the 75-foot voyage and another must be climbed afterward. Florence Low / flow@sacbee.com
Michael Stadler emerges from the caves, covered in mud and grime, at the conclusion of the Middle Earth Expedition. Florence Low / flow@sacbee.com
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