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Who's done some spelunking (cave diving)?

B

bczoom

Super Moderator
Staff member
USMC Veteran
The Mrs. & I do a lot of traveling through the USA. It's amazing how many caves there are, all across the country.
We've been to many caves. Frigging awesome. Go several hundred feet underground and explore and be amazed at what's under the ground.
Here's just an example pic of one of the caves we've recently visited.
1783557344068.png
 
Back when I was in Boy Scouts, we used to go through some "wild" caves, known but not developed as tourist attractions.

I wonder where those pictures are, Actual FILM :D
 
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bczoom said:
The Mrs. & I do a lot of traveling through the USA. It's amazing how many caves there are, all across the country.
We've been to many caves. Frigging awesome. Go several hundred feet underground and explore and be amazed at what's under the ground.
Here's just an example pic of one of the caves we've recently visited.
View attachment 207554
Click to expand...
We've been in some caves and some caverns here in Ohio, and in North Carolina. But these were guided tours, not what I would consider true spelunking. Still awesome and fascinating. Underground lakes, stalactites, stalagmites. We also went on a tour of a coal mine in West Virginia one time, that in-laws from South Carolina arranged. That was pretty cool. Not good if you're claustrophobic.

Also, growing up in San Diego I visited what's called, The Cave, many times growing up. It's in La Jolla, which is a Richie Rich hoity toity area, and the entrance is inside of a gift shop. You go down a set of carved old stairs that were originally a bootleggers tunnel, and it comes out into a big cave that is right on the ocean. Pulled these images off of Google maps real quick.
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11422.jpg
11426.jpg
 
FTG-05 said:
I did 35 years ago when I lived in Huntsville AL, the home of the National Speleological Society. North AL is supposed to have more caves than the rest of the country; don't know how true that is, but there's a bunch of them around here.
Click to expand...
I did too when I was growing up in Huntsville! :love:
Cathedral Caverns is freakin' huge!!! :oops:
cathedral_caverns_park_entrance_copy.jpg

Now THAT is a real cave!!! :D
Edit: Ok, that is not 'real' spelunking, but it is awesome fun!
 
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Supervisor42 said:
I did too when I was growing up in Huntsville! :love:
Cathedral Caverns is freakin' huge!!! :oops:
cathedral_caverns_park_entrance_copy.jpg

Now THAT is a real cave!!! :D
Edit: Ok, that is not 'real' spelunking, but it is awesome fun!
Click to expand...
World's record (at least 20 years ago) for the longest concrete pour. About 5000' of pipe to lay the concrete walkway all the way to the end - of the public access. It goes a oot further after that.

At the end, you could build a 13 story building inside the cave, that's how big it is.
 
Trying to remember. Maybe Boyden Cave in Kings Canyon. You start by taking an elevator down 600'. Then you get out and explore.
The caverns in the mid-west are friggin huge. I was in one and they said they explored inwards to a couple hundred miles and they think they've just touched the edge.
 
One of my friends from years ago, Frank, told me that he used to be a volunteer for the local Fire & Rescue team and that they were conducting a training mission, rappelling inside Saltpeter Cave here locally. The team had gone some distance inside the cave when one of the members told them to stop, be still and to listen.

They heard some sounds that were like whimpering and crying but with the echo effects of the cave it was hard to distinguish where it was coming from. They tried yelling and got answers which eventually led them to two young boys who'd skipped school that day and they'd decided to go into the cave.

The boys only had one flashlight and when the bulb burnt out they weren't able to find their way back out. Frank said, "You talk about two boys that were GLAD to see US!"

It was just a fluke that they were found because they hadn't told anyone where they were going and their folks assumed that they were in school. Plus - the cave wasn't frequented much and it might easily have been weeks or months before anyone had ventured into it. It was just fortunate that the Rescue Squad had decided to do a training mission that day and that they'd picked a cave rescue and that they'd picked that particular location.

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Saltpeter Cave in Grassy Cove

Saltpeter caves in Cumberland County, TN—notably Kelly Saltpetre Cave and the Saltpeter Cave on Brady Mountain are rich in Civil War history but are strictly closed to the public.

Frank told me that they'd chosen the Grassy Cove site that day for their rappelling training because there were over 100-foot sheer drops in some of the branches of the cave. "There are places where we can't get through with our equipment on and we need to take off our gear, lay down and push it ahead of us through the tight areas."
 
Missouri is full of caves on private property. So as a teenager I was able to explore a few.
Crumpy likes the Commercially operated ones as they have lights and pathways.
We travel a lot, so I get to see many of those. Alway interesting fun.
Lake of the Ozarks construction recklessly flooded some 29 of them.
These caves held artifacts and graves that we can't explore.
But there are so many more in the region, privately held.
Just off the lake on the Fraizer river is one I explored.
One room inside was a basketball court in size.
But, you had to squirm a 3'X3 foot tunnel.
The tunnel was 20 feet of crooked rock.
Worth the pain and effort and danger.

Sady, A big house now occupies the entrance.

Free heat and AC !!!!! :clap: :ROFLMAO:
 
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