Photos: Lint Camp

Paul Kemp, 67, cleans lint off stalactites. “Oh my God,” Kemp says. “These formations are terrible. They’re simply covered with dust.”   (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Paul Kemp fills a bag with lint and dust from stalactites inside Lehman Cave. Clothing fibers, hair, dead skin and dust are left by 28,000 annual visitors.  (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Volunteer Simon Kemp, 14, clears man-made detritus off rock formations in Lehman Cave.   (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Barney Croswhite, daughters Valerie, 14, and Rebecca, 10, and Erin Rajala clean lint off rock formations inside Lehman Cave.  (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Park ecologist Gretchen Baker’s brush is covered with lint from a rock formation in Lehman Cave, Great Basin National Park. “I should give as much attention to my house,” Baker said.  (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Gretchen Baker cleans lint off rock formations at Lehman Cave. Gloves are required, since moisture and oil from human skin can alter the growth of the delicate formations.  (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Randi Poer of Santa Ana points to a dusty area as park ecologist Ben Roberts follows her gaze. “For me, it’s an aesthetic,” Roberts said. “My philosophy for caves is just like any camping trip -- if you pack it in, you pack it out.”  (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Kathleen Croswhite of Henderson, Nev., cleans a rock formation inside Lehman Cave.  (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Lehman Cave -- part of Great Basin National Park, in the desert between Las Vegas and Salt Lake City -- was officially discovered in 1885, but many believe Native Americans used the cavern eons before that.  (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Rebecca Croswhite’s face glows red from her helmet lamp as she makes her way to the next rock formation that needs cleaning. Her family joined a group of volunteers for the annual cleanup effort.  (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Randi Poer makes her way through a narrow passage at Lehman Cave. “This looks so much cleaner!” Poer said at one point. “I can see the figures now. They look like coral!”   (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Park ecologist Gretchen Baker shows volunteers a dusty area that needs cleaning. “Don’t go OCD,” she tells them. “Just the major stuff.”  (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Volunteers carry plastic buckets down into Lehman Cave to carry out the detritus they clean up.  (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)