Quick Take
Daniel DeLong manages to score an interview with the elusive Binky the Wonderdog, known for having made the hand-drawn map used by hundreds to navigate the depths of IXL, Santa Cruz’s infamous cave and the source of much local mythology. The cave, located in Wilder Ranch, is known for its narrow, claustrophobic passages, steep drop-offs and hall of sculptured faces. It’s not for the faint-hearted. You’ve been warned.
Have something to say? Lookout welcomes letters to the editor, within our policies, from readers. Guidelines here.“You remember the old Saturday morning cartoons when a character would get hit on the head with a giant mallet or an anvil or whatever, and their eyes would start spinning in opposite directions?” Binky asks. “Well, you know that’s based on a real medical issue.”
I nod. “Absolutely.”
I’m sitting in a brewpub in Santa Cruz with legendary caver (and enigmatic cartographer) Binky the Wonderdog, and he assumes I know about the spinning eyeball thing because I (like he) worked in the fire service/emergency response. It’s one of several things we have in common (we also both attended UC Santa Cruz back in the day) and likely the reason he agreed to let me peek behind his avatar to talk about the map he drew back in 1989.
That, and my sworn oath to refer to him only as “Binky.”
The medical issue in question is when a closed-head injury causes the brain to swell, pressing on the optic nerve and making that person’s eyeballs point in opposing directions (they don’t actually spin). It’s called “disconjugate gaze” and when it’s the result of a significant bonk on the head it’s a very, very bad sign.
“Yeah, you see that one time and you’ll never do anything without a helmet ever again,” I say.
He agrees. “Totally. Rock climbing, mountain biking, for sure caving. Makes it a little harder to fit your head through the tight spaces, but it’s worth it.”
A love of helmets; something else we have in common.
But why the insistence on not using his actual name?
He shrugs. “I’m way less interesting in real life. Besides, I’m just a guy who once drew a map.”
The map he’s referring to is that of a cave, a local legend in its own right, and a right of passage (pun intended) for many who came of age in Santa Cruz. The cave’s official name is IXL, but it’s known far and wide by a more sinister-sounding moniker: the Hell Hole.
I first heard about Hell Hole many decades ago while I was an undergrad at UCSC. Whispers of features like the “Corkscrew,” the “Birthing Canal,” the “Buddha Room” and — most storied — the “Hall of Faces” (a chamber deep in the cave sporting an ever-changing display of creepy visages and other artwork sculpted from mud) evoked waves of terror and preemptive claustrophobia.
So of course I had to try it.
This was long before the installation of the “Mailbox,” a small structure of heavy steel and concrete covering the entrance of the cave with a slot that acts as a gauge to discourage anyone with less (er, actually more) than the ideal body size/shape from attempting it.
“The narrowest parts of IXL are a little tighter than the Mailbox slot,” Binky warns. “So if someone finds themselves struggling to fit through the entrance, they should maybe reconsider.”
There are a number of caves in the Cave Gulch area near the west entrance of UCSC, and IXL, on the eastern part of Wilder Ranch State Park, isn’t even the largest of them. But it’s probably the most notorious, due to its extremely tight passages and several vertical shafts.
Binky laid out his relevant personal history with IXL a couple of years ago in a Reddit post called “Ode to a Cave,” which focuses on the story of the map. The basic gist: Unable to locate any official maps of IXL, he ended up just drawing one from memory during the course of multiple forays into the cave in the 1980s. Around 2015, he emailed a copy of that old map to someone who subsequently posted it online.
At that time, there was already a (somewhat crude) map of IXL available on the internet (unlike Binky’s it also indicated the cave’s location) and YouTube videos of people exploring the cave were not uncommon. But Binky’s map quickly caught on, arguably increasing the popularity of a cave that has seen more than its share of public exploration over the years.
It’s important to understand that official National Speleological Society (NSS)-sanctioned caving clubs (known as “grottos”) are intensely, vehemently protective of the caves their members explore. Locations are closely guarded secrets; access is highly regulated.
And with good reason: Pristine caves support fragile ecosystems and delicate formations that are easily damaged by an uninformed (and often uncaring) public. Because of this, the location of one particular cave in a given area might be freely shared, essentially written off as “sacrificial” to give the general public a place to go. IXL certainly seems to fit that bill for the Santa Cruz area, but as Binky points out, circ*mstances sorta sent it down that path from the start.
“IXL was discovered in 1952, and by 1956 it was reported that most all of its fragile geological formations had already been heavily damaged. Being so close to town and with such easy access, that’s not terribly surprising. And then UCSC was built right across the street.” Binky rolls his eyes as he speaks. “And the cave became a must-do for college kids looking for a thrill.”
I nod, knowingly.
Now with the internet, information about the cave is instantly available to anyone anywhere. And the cave’s traffic reflects this.
Videos of people braving IXL abound online. Some big-name YouTube influencers have even come to attempt the cave (or just declare it too scary … anything for content) and Binky’s map is often cited in these videos.
These days the biggest access issue with IXL is just finding parking (don’t park on Empire Grade; you’ll get ticketed).
Binky posted an updated version of his map a few years ago on Reddit, where people frequently contact him with questions:
Are you the real Binky the Wonderdog? Pretty sure.
Did you discover the Hell Hole? No, it was discovered in 1952.
Will you lead me through the cave? Also no.
What cave has freaked you out the most? Great Expectations Cave in Wyoming. A section known as “The Grim Crawl of Death” (imagine the Birthing Canal in Hell Hole but even tighter and 30 times longer and with an icy stream running through it).
What’s the most amazing cave you’ve ever seen? Lechuguilla Cave in New Mexico. It’s unbelievably beautiful.
While he may not provide guide service, he’s always down to offer online advice about IXL, albeit with one very serious demand: “Do not leave trash in IXL. In fact, strive to bring someone else’s trash out with you.”
Although a card-carrying member of the NSS himself, Binky spent his most prolific caving years largely outside the structure of official caving organizations. Still, he fully supports the mission.
“Caves are fragile places. They require protection.”
And how does a well-worn cave like IXL fit into that picture?
“Hell Hole has achieved this almost mythic status, one that’s very much tied to its unusual history as a legitimately challenging cave that’s easily accessible to everyone. It’s kinda become its own unique animal.”
He points to the ever-changing sculptures in the Hall of Faces, quirky objects sometimes placed in the cave (actual trash notwithstanding), the endless soggy logbooks people sign and fill with anecdotes, even the graffiti on the Mailbox entrance is more like reverent artwork.
And despite IXL being far from pristine, Binky doesn’t see it as a “sacrificial” cave at all. In his eyes it’s a “gateway” cave.
“Think about the large number of people who crawl through IXL every year to notch their first real spelunking adventure. And because of that experience, imagine how many of them get inspired to seek out their local caving grotto chapter and go on to join the National Speleological Society.
In that sense, I’d argue our beloved little Hell Hole plays a very significant role when it comes to cave conservation.”
My brief days of spelunking are long in the rear-view, but I’m glad Binky is still out there in the thick of it. We have a lot in common, he and I. But not everything.
That’s OK. We can’t all be legends.
Daniel DeLong officially and for the record discourages anyone from ever going into the Hell Hole cave (or any other hole or cave) or doing anything extreme or remotely challenging or fun or that might present any risk whatsoever and recommends everyone just bubble-wrap themselves from head to toe and stay home with the doors locked and curtains drawn. And wear a helmet.
