Posted: 3/30/2005 9:53:09 AM EDT
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Anybody here into spelunking or caving? I've been looking into exploring caves in the area with some friends and wondered how you could find GPS coordinates to caves in your area. I've found a few websites with information about caves, but not their locations (with the exception of a few in my area). Any advice? ETA List of sites I've found with Google: Tony Grove Cave Survey Bear River Grotto |
Sure you can - become a techincal cave diver  Cave diving has to be the scariest, most insane pasttime there is. Those guys are completely out of their gourds. I woudl NEVER even think of trying that (even with all the training) |
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Lookup caving clubs in your area and go to some meetings and join. Caves are fragile ecosystems and most cavers are very protective of themand keep their locations secret. Some of the caves you know of probably are trashed pretty bad near the openings, most caves with well known locations are. It doesn't hurt to have some experienced cavers with you to teach you the "ins & outs" of caving. Caving can be fun, but can also be dangerous. Proper equipment is necessary for safety. |
Good idea, I just wish I could check one out without having to go through all that. I guess I have to go prove that I'm a model citizen first.
Yeah, I hate it when people take a natural wonder and spoil it.
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can't help you on gps, i'm technology stupid, but i can say that caving is the nuts. i get dragged out to new york to known caves, so i don't do any looking. one of the coolest things is going into a cave that is also the terminus of spring run off/storm streams. it's even cooler when you go shortly after they dry up again. i've gone in and gotten to an area with a high roof and could see the very highest cracks filled with flotsum, kind of hoping that no pop-up thunderstorms were going on outside. i don't mind the distance that i'm in from the entrance, i don't mind the depth, i don't mind the mud, the bat shit, the wetness, but i always have it the back of my head, in certain caves, that a storm outside will drown me, and i wouldn't know the danger untill it was too late to get out. my longest was only about a half mile in, it was still cool. |
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I used to go a fair amount, an uncle went all the time and I was young so I got to tag along. Cincinnati used to have a group, there also used to be a really thin magazine but that was most likly national. I have a few, think they are NSS or something for the title. Anyway, the best caves are generally kept secret and part of this is because folks mess stuff up but the other part is that many folks have gotten lost or killed in a cave. Some of the best ones I remember were on private property in kentucky and one of the cavers knew the owner and we were allowed to camp on the property and go caving and it was great because not very many got to visit that cave. I still have a couple hard hats and the carbide lamps and a can and half of the carbide around here somewhere. |
You should get an award for having the most information and accurate info in such a short post. Re: danger, Floyd Collins was exploring Sand Cave in 1924, trying to find a link to Mammoth Cave, IIRC. About 150 ft. from the mouth of the cave, I think while coming out, a rock shifted and pinned his foot. Not a big deal, but it was wedged kind of funny. He couldn't pull his foot loose (lose?  ) but the passage was way too narrow for him to bend down and free it by hand. Frantic rescues were attempted. It was a media frenzy. A reporter went down the shaft to interview him. Food etc. was brought down, but after 18 days he died. And then it got strange... |