Trip to Oregon’s Cascadia Cave brings archaeology to life

SWEET HOME, Ore. — Only some of the petroglyphs catch the eye right away.

So Tony Farque held up a flashlight and clicked the button to trigger a strobe. Light flickered on the rock wall towering above him, revealing a hidden tapestry of carvings. Farque said the strobe light mimics the glow of pitch torches used by Native Americans who carved the mysterious etchings in the rock thousands of years ago.

“This is the largest and most complete rock art site in western Oregon by far,” said Farque, archaeologist for the Sweet Home Ranger District of the Willamette National Forest. “There is a lot here.”

During the past 25 years, Farque has led the hike to Cascadia Cave more than 450 times, introducing about 8,500 people to the special place. The site is about 60 miles northeast of Eugene off Highway 20.

Most of the 10 people who joined Farque earlier this month were part of The Archaeology Channel International Film Festival in Eugene. The festival is in its 15th year, and a trip to the cave — east of Sweet Home — has become a regular part of the program, giving festivalgoers a chance to see some archaeology in real life.

Hiking to Cascadia Cave required walking off trail and over logs. The cave, better described as an overhang or rock shelter, is on private property near Cascadia State Park and isn’t regularly open to the public.

During the outings, Farque asks visitors not to touch the precious art.

Part of the intrigue of Cascadia Cave is trying to determine what the petroglyphs depict, individually and together. Farque has been joined in the past by archaeologists, historians and leaders from the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde and other tribes.

It wasn’t until his 150th trip to the cave, years ago, that a 9-year-old girl pointed out the shape of a large salmon on the rock wall. She was standing back from the wall, and some of the petroglyphs make part of the sacred fish, including its eye and gills.

Seeing the faintest of the carvings can take patience and perspective. Light from Farque’s flashlight — at just the right angle — helps, too.

“Sometimes you are too close to the wall,” Farque said. “Sometimes you are too far away.”