D I S T I N C T L Y M O N T A N A M A G A Z I N E • S P R I N G 2 0 2 0
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We crested a hill, and Zach, our trip leader,
proclaimed, "there it is boys. The Armpit."
An old miner's cabin, affectionately
termed The Armpit, is little more
than four walls, plywood bunks,
some furniture you wouldn't dare
put inside your home, and a pot
belly stove. It's dirty. It smells fun-
ny. It has mice that live in the walls.
And that night it would prove to
be home to one of the most blissful
night's sleep I ever had.
That sleep was the result of hours upon hours
rappelling, twisting, scrambling, and
mostly crawling through the Big-
horn Cavern: Montana's largest
cave system, located in the south
central part of the state.
THE VAST ANCIENT
SEAS OF MONTANA
During the Mississippian
time period, or roughly 360
million years ago, a significant
portion of North America was sub-
THE
DESCENT
CAVERN
BIGHORN
INTO
THE
T
HE JEEP RUMBLED ALONG THE ROUGH ROADS AND OVER BOULDERS SO LARGE I WINCED THINK-
ING WE WOULD BOTTOM OUT. Our driver, experienced in this terrain, knew his vehicle, and understood ex-
actly where we were going. A good thing, too, as we passed numerous forks in the road with the path heading
to the right looking identical to that on the left.
W
H
E
R
E
I
N
T
H
E
S
T
A
T
E
?
BIG HORN
CAVERN
by SCOTT SERY
MONTANA'S LARGEST
UNDERGROUND CAVE NETWORK
