Yinz come on out to the Loyalhanna Grotto's Spring MAR hosted at the Bear Cave Natural Area (a Mid-Atlantic Karst Conservancy Preserve) in Hillside, PA! Enjoy the wonders of Western Pennsylvania caving, from small crawlways to vertical caving at its finest. Caves in the area include: Bear, Lemonhole, Coon, Barton, Laurel Caverns, and many more. Patake in endless wonders, ranging from rafting and fossil hunting at Ohiopyle, to vista peeping at Cooper's Rock, and even gambling at Lady Luck Casino. You may even be able to see a wild Pittsburgher in nature! Whatever adventure you crave, we've got it!. Dinner will be served Saturday night and will consist of BBQ pig, with potatoe salad and corn on the cob. Vegetarian options can be made available, but please contact us ahead of time to be sure we have enough vegetarian meals. Exciting events include the "interesting items" raffle. Please consider donating an interesting item of any variety. Hopefully, we'll see you for a weekend of merriment!

A word on the nitty gritty of Spring 2018 MAR. Bear Cave Natural Area is a rustic campground without running water, facilities, or electricity. We will have portajohns and handwashing stations available, but please prepare to bring your own potable water or beverages. Camping is restricted to tent camping, as the roads can sometimes be treacherous for campers and RVs. Higher ground clearance cars are recommended but not required. The area around the campsite has a healthy bear population, so please be bear aware and store any food items responsibly. Lastly, we are soliciting "interesting items " for our door prize raffle. Let your imagination go wild!

On Sunday Loyalhanna Grotto's own Katie Schmid, a geologist with PADCNR will be leading a geology field trip for the MAR area. See description below. This will be a free trip, but please try to let us know if you plan on attending so we can prepare.

Hillside PA Geology field trip

This region has a long history of economic development tied to geologic resources. Geologic resources in

this area include coal, limestone, water, natural gas, and glass sands. On this field trip, we will see many

examples of this history and how it effects caving in this area. We will stop at an abandoned limestone

quarry that exposes the entire thickness of the Loyalhanna Limestone. At this quarry, we will discuss

how cave development in this area is tied to regional geologic structures. We will examine Bear Cave’s

effects on local hydrology by comparing the water flow at the cave’s entrance to the amount of water

flowing in the stream downstream of the cave. The field trip will end with a lunch stop at the Sheetz in

Blairsville, Pennsylvania for those people who want to get on the road and return home. After lunch,

there will be a hike to another Loyalhanna quarry for those who are interested. This quarry exposes

slickenslides and is a good fossil collecting site.

Registration fee is $25. If you only are staying for dinner (no camping), we are charging $15. If you have financial issues and would still like to attend, please do not hesitate to reach out to a Loyalhanna Grotto officer or member!





Photo Credit: Ryan Maurer @ Under a Rock Photography 2015