QuestionQuestionReplyI've always been interested in caves, even at a very early age. They have always held a fascination for me. While I was young, I tried to find books and magazines on the subject but I found out at that time that many libraries didn't have much caving material (if any).
My first cave trip was with the Boy Scouts in 1977, and it was an overnight stay in Tennessee's Cumberland Caverns. Cumberland Caverns, a commercial cave, offers several programs to youth groups and the program of choice is an overnight, 14-hour trip that includes a commercial tour, "wild" tour, slide show, ghost stories, etc.
I'll always remember that trip. Our guide was not your average tour guide. He was a "professional" caver who really knew caves and knew the folklore of Cumberland Caverns. He took caving very seriously, and it was evident to me that he wanted to clear any myths that people had about caves. (At the time, however, I was 10 years old and I guess anything would impress me!) He told us that we would see only about 1.5% of the known cave on the 14-hour trip, and he told us of the huge cave around us. The large rooms with names like "The Devil's Quarry" and "Grand Hall". The beautiful places like "The Crystal Palace" and "The Jewel Box", all of which formed in complete darkness so very far away from our tour. I remember laying in my sleeping bag that night and thinking about those far away places, hoping that one day I could see those places for myself.
I visited other caves after that, but I was limited to what I could do because of my age. I had to wait for scouting-organized trips, or for my family to take me somewhere.
The next major step in my caving career came after I graduated from high school. I began attending college and tried to find a job that wouldn't interfere with my studies. To my excitement, I landed a job as a tour guide at Cumberland Caverns. I found that, as guide, I was given free reign to explore the cave as much as I wanted (on my own time, of course). Some of the other guides were as interested as I was, and joined me on excursions. We began having at least one exploration trip a week, in addition to all the other tours we gave. After many months, we had seen almost everything in the 27.6-mile cave system. However, nothing significantly new was found in our trips. The cave had been surveyed in 1970-78, and the surveyors had been very thorough.
For the first time (as tour guide), I found out about organized caving. Up to that time, I had assumed that caving was done mainly by individuals (geologists, scientists, and the lot). Then I found out about the NSS (National Speleological Society) and learned that most cavers were just like myself. Cavers in the NSS are from all walks of life. There are doctors, secretaries, scientists, construction workers, pilots, policemen, sign painters, etc. You name it, and there is probably at least one caver that does it. I know of one caver that is a beekeeper and apple grower. All these people share a common bond - their love of caves.
The NSS is manifested through chapters which they call "grottoes". I joined the Tennessee Central Basin Grotto in 1988, and caving for me hasn't been the same since. It was there that I learned the proper caving techniques and hardware, and began to explore caves all over the TAG region. (Cavers use the word "TAG" to refer to Tennessee-Alabama-Georgia.)
Since then, I have found that my main caving interest is the survey and exploration of new caves. Since 1988, I and several other cave surveyors have explored and mapped several brand-new caves in Tennessee's Highland Rim. It's something that I really enjoy (most of the time!), and I never get tired of it. It is said that a person really doesn't know a cave until they survey it. I have found this to be very true! Surveying a cave, as John Smyre once put it, is "suspense in slow motion."
What do I love about caving? This is a question that is asked of many cavers, and you can get several different answers. For myself, I guess it's the exploration of the unknown. It's the thrill of walking somewhere where no one else has walked. To be the first human being to bring light into a place that has never had light, and to see what's there. Curiosity. Isn't it amazing that, in today's times of high-tech satellites, an ordinary person like myself can walk out of my house and, a half-hour later, be the first human to stand somewhere that yesterday no one knew it even existed... Millions of people may come after me, but I can say I was the first.
Remember the famous quote when an Everest climber was asked why he climbed Everest? "Because it was there." Cavers usually explain their caving tongue-in-cheek : "I cave because of what might be there."
What do I find the most challenging? Probably finding new cave. Cavers exploring in Tennessee have now found over 8,000 caves in our state and we usually find about 300 new caves a year. The days of walking up a hill and seeing a large cave entrance are gone. Most new caves have small entrances that require some work to enter.
In caves that have been known for some time, it is obviously a challenge to find new cave. You might notice a passage about 50 feet up a mud-covered rock wall. Where does it go? Is there a lot more cave beyond? How do do you get to the passage? What if there is a lot of water pouring out of it? Modern caving techniques can be applied toward the problem, but every problem has a unique solution. Finding that solution is both a mental and physical challenge.
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