A view inside a lava tube near McCloud, California, most likely formed from an ancient eruption of Mt. Shasta.  The cave begins at a collapse pit with two ways to go.  This is the downstream route which has ceilings up to 30 feet high & a mixture of breakdown & original passage w/ some occasional unique sand castle formations.  Here one can see a crudely planted ladder dropping down a vertical pit from the top of the bright entrance opening.  From here one descends a slippery dirt mound that has accumulated over the millenias, down to floor level where my silhouette is.  First time down this there was a dead white mouse.  This cave interior reminds me of Arnold Ice Cave near Bend, Oregon, however instead of being freezing & dry it is not as cold (somewhat foggy) w/ plenty of water drips making an eerie sound all throughout.  The cave does eventually end over 1,000 feet in as the ceiling drops down to the floor.  These caves have been known as ice caves since before 1935.