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Show Enlargement of Timpanogos Cave Being Planned Enlargement of Timpanogos Cave national monument in American Fork canyon by installing connecting connect-ing tunnels to "middle" and Hansen caves is being contemplated by the national parks service, according to A. E. Demaray, associate director of the national parks service at Washington, Wash-ington, D- C, who visited in Salt Lake C:ty Thursday. The t mnels could be constructed at a cost of $6,000 and would increase in-crease the present 600 feet of accessible ac-cessible passageways in Timpanogoa cave to 3,800 feet with the additional addition-al caves, he said. Although the mouth of the Middle cave is 1,800 feet west of the entrance en-trance of Timpanogos cave, and the entrance of Hansen cave 400 feet beyond that, because of the twisting passageways in the caves only 150 feet of tunnel would be necessary to connect them, Mr. Demaray said. Mr. Demaray, with Mrs- Demaray, P. P. Patraw, superintendent of Bryce natonal parks, who has charge of Timpanogos cave, and Harry Langley, San Francisco, resident landscape architect for the national parks service, visited the present Timpanogos cave Thursday aiter-noon. aiter-noon. Approximately 120 feet of rock and dirt separates the present accessible ac-cessible cave with Middle cave, while only 30 feet of tunneling would be required to join Middle cave with Hansen cave, he said-Middle said-Middle cave has a mountain face opening, but the entrance Is so inaccessible in-accessible that only a few climbers have seen the interior, which, it is reported, is more vividly colored and more picturesque than either of the other caves, Mr. Demaray said. Hansen cave, although remarkable in structure, has been somewhat destroyed by mining prospectors, he said. The addition would undoubtedly undoubt-edly make one of the most outstanding! outstand-ing! national monuments in the country. Changing the route of the present trail leading up to the cave to lessen les-sen the difficult dumb also is being be-ing considered by the service- "At a cost of $2,500 the beginning of the trail could be moved farther up the canyon and would be 85 fct higher than the present location. Changes could be made to shorten and simplify the climb from that point," he added. Application for PWA funds for the project has been made and a survey will probably be made in September, Mr. Patraw said. After insecting the project Mr-Langley Mr-Langley reported the proposed development de-velopment is very feasible and no special difficulties should be encountered, en-countered, Mr. Demaray pointed out that the present cave is under the supervision supervi-sion of American Fork so far as the credit for the development of the monument was due to them. Money raised from fees collected from visitors has been used in improving im-proving the cave. Leo G- Meredith, secretary of tlie Timpanogos outdoor committee of American Fork, who is in charge of operation, reported the assumption of maintenance costs by the national nation-al parks service would enable the committee to accumulate, tlirough entrance fees which have heretofore hereto-fore been used for ocraUng, a fund for installation of a lighting system in the new passageways and possibly possib-ly for a new camp building. |