El Escorpion Canyon Part Deux

  Today, it was time to hit the trail again, this time in temperatures about thirty degrees cooler than last time. Surely I'd make my destination this time, right? Not exactly.

  Despite the cooler temps, it was still a sweatfest. I took a different path this time, and I was really enjoying the beautiful day. Birds were out, squirrels were out, lizards were out. I was hoping the rattlesnakes weren't out, as I was warned they might indeed be. Speaking of be, I was also warned about the bees. I didn't need that warning as I had a close encounter with a colony on my first go round.
  But it was none of these that ultimately doomed my trip. It was something far worse, with more fangs.
  I could see the area I figured was the much lauded "Cave of Munits" from a pretty good distance away, so I was able to pick from the many trail options, and point myself in the right direction. A couple minutes later, I was making my way up a fairly steep and very washed out dirt trail toward a sheer rock face.
  And then, there it was, right in my face.

 It was MUCH bigger than I expected. You can't really tell from my photo, so here's one I found online that has people in it, for scale:

  Pretty impressive, right? Yeah. I was really excited to get in there and explore. I put the strap to my camera bag across my shoulders to keep my hands free and started up. It was tricky. I was warned to wear good gripping shoes, and gloves were suggested. At least once, I had trouble finding a good foothold.
  When I was about 3/4 the way up, I heard the unmistakable sound of a mountain lion. It was a warning sound. A "don't come in here, whatever you are." There are plenty of these guys on the hills around our fair city, and I found one.
  It's the second time I've run into a large predator during a hike. You longtime readers might remember my run-in with a bear on Scotchman Peak.
  So, with a little haste, I turned around, climbed back down, and made my way back down the hill. On the way, I ran into a couple, and I asked if they were headed to the cave. They were, so I told them my story. They seemed to believe me, but they went on anyway. Last I could see of them, they were at the base of the cave.
  It's disappointing to have gone twice now, and been twice denied the opportunity to explore this cave of legend. It has a long, storied past. Maybe one day I'll get to see it.