Picture an island in the enchanting mist of an inland sea. Near its apex is a cave. The scene is very serene and beautiful. You then see movement at the mouth of the cave. Something very large is coming forth. Once clear of the overhang it stands erect. It is a very tall human of sorts; a ten-foot red-headed cannibal to be exact.

Luckily, this vision is many thousands of years old. You are safe, the mist has dissipated, and the water has receded leaving a desert in its wake. But the cave is still there.

Friend and fellow adventurer, Genevieve, and I travelled to Lovelock; a small town in north-western Nevada.  We found our road and went eighteen mile southeast of the town, via dirt and gravel roads to Lovelock Cave.

The cave sits up on a hill, and a large opening is visible from the road below. The cave has two openings. A much smaller one off to the right was used as access by the Native-Americans for thousands of years. The larger opening was blasted by guano miners in 1911. The cave and the area around it are rich with natural history, human history, and an argument of myth vs. reality.

The local Native-Americans consist of the Paiute/Shoshone tribe. They arrived at this area, perhaps, as long as 10,000 years ago when much of Nevada, and the great basin in general, was still an inland sea; a result from that last ice age. The Lovelock Cave area was the aforementioned island, and later part of a shoreline of ancient Lake Lahontan. Paiute lore says that when they first settled the area, a group of red-haired giants, many as tall as twelve feet, already lived there. They became known as the “Si-Te-Cah,” which means “tule eaters.” However, tule did not appear to be their main course. The giants wreaked havoc on the Paiutes, capturing and eating may of them. A lengthy war ensued, but the giants had the power and the size advantage, and the Paiute tribes, who often fought each other, were unable to beat them.

Years passed until the tribes were able to unite and prove a powerful adversary, whittling away at the giant population. Some of the giants constructed rafts made of tule, attempting to escape by crossing Lake Lahontan. There is no account of what happened to those giants. Perhaps they became hungry, ate the tule, and sank.

The giants who remained were cornered in the cave. The Native-Americans ordered them to come out and fight to the death. Those that did were quickly cut down. A worse fate awaited the giants that refused to come out. Brush was stacked against the cave opening and set ablaze. The last of the red-headed giants died of asphyxiation.

Sarah Winnemucca, daughter of the great Chief Winnemucca, wrote of the tales of her ancestors in her 1882 book; “Life Among the Paiutes.” She says. “After my people had killed them all, the people round us called us Say-do-carat. It means conqueror; it also means “enemy.” “My people say that the tribe we exterminated had reddish hair. I have some of their hair, which has been handed down from father to son. I have a dress which has been in our family a great many years, trimmed with the reddish hair…”

By the time the white settlers had punctuated the surrounding areas with towns and mines, these old oral traditions among the natives had become fun and fanciful tales. But in 1911 those dreadful guano miners had found the cave and began blasting and digging it out. They reportedly found many mummified remains of humans, including some very large ones. This was enough to spur an archaeological investigation, which finally led to another in 1924. It has been written that more large bones were recovered.

            In 1931, the Nevada Review Miner newspaper wrote that two large skeletons had been discovered in a nearby ancient lakebed. One was eight and a half feet long, and the other was ten feet in length. Over the years, other reports of odd sized and/or large bones have been reported in this part of the state. It has been rumored that some of these bones ended up in a back room at the Humboldt Museum, 72 miles northeast of Lovelock.

The area of the cave itself has changed little since the surrounding landscape dried out. The dirt road in, and a small parking area with an outhouse and a picnic table are the only noticeable signs of modernization. There is also a hiking trail that loops up and around the cave.

Genevieve and I were the only people there. We began hiking from the truck toward the cave above. It was an uphill climb, but fortunately, because of the time of day, most of it was in the shade. Along the way we studied some fascinating rock designs, most of it limestone. Before too long, we stumbled across the smaller entrance to the cave. This would have been the main entrance used by the Paiutes, and allegedly the giants before them, although even the smallest of giants would have had to duck to get in.

We entered and surveyed the interior. This part of the cave was a bit rocky and slanted. We walked around to the larger opening and reentered. An observation platform has been built within the cave, complete with railings and shallow steps. I turned on my spotlight and studied the surroundings. The cave is about 150 feet long and 35 feet wide. The ceiling of the cave near the entrance is charred black from fire.

Due to the greedy bone hungry archeologists before us, we found no red-headed skeletons, nor did we find remains of Native-Americans or guano miners. We did not even find bats. We did discover, however, a lone pigeon high on a ledge, looking none too thrilled with our intrusion. It was cool and inviting inside; a stark contrast to the scorching summer day outside. After poking around for a bit, we decided to explore more areas around the cave.

We spent a large chunk of the day there, traversing the trails and doing a little rock hounding, but there was one more necessary part to the adventure. We decided to go to the Humboldt Museum in Winnemucca to try and get a peek at the giant bones in the mysterious back room.

The Humboldt Museum is stuffed full of local history: from mammoths to miners, and Native-Americans to boom towns. There are also historic finds from the cave within, like decoy ducks, pottery, tools and remains of things like sandals and baskets. We toured the premises at length until we could no longer bear it, and went to question the curator.  I asked her about getting permission to see those things that most people don’t get to see. She tilted her head and looked at me strange. “The big bones!” I added. She displayed a perturbed look as if I had stepped on her foot. She went on to say the museum no longer carried them, that the Paiutes/Shoshone authorities had taken them and there was no longer access to them. I’m not sure if what she was telling me was entirely correct, but it was evident that the conversation was going nowhere.

Despite the disappointing end to this adventure, I want to make it clear that it is a rewarding experience to see the Lovelock Cave. There is an information board in the parking area and a giant playground of geology. Bring good hiking footwear and be aware of the steep terrain and rocks. More importantly, bring plenty of water if visiting in the summer months.

As to the question of myth vs. reality about the red-headed giants; I have seen no evidence with my naked eye; just a few pictures of the bones that were supposedly housed in the Humboldt Museum. I don’t know who or what lived here over 10,000 years ago, but I do believe beyond a doubt that something has been covered up.       

Lovelock is on I-80 about 90 miles east of Reno. Take the second exit and look for the Lovelock byway. Follow it 18 miles southeast of town. The road ends at the cave parking area. 

 

 

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