On Jul 11, 12:54*am, Frogwatch wrote:

*Made sure we all
have at least 3 sources of light, trash bags (can save your life) and
other stuff.

Do you also run a continuous line to the entrance like the underwater
cavers?

What are the trash bags for?

*From its top you look down into a
chaos of boulders disapperaring into the darkness. *A truly primeval
place. *It is as if you are present at the moment of creation, before
God produced light, the only elements being rock and darkness. *With
your lamp, you feel god-like able to separate rock from nothingness
and darkness. *All reality is defined by the extant of your carbide
lamp with the unknown stretching beyond the dimly lit regions of your
lamps reach.
It is also humbling knowing that without light you'd be lost in the
chaos. *Imgine being immersed in the noise of your tv screen without
any signal, except it is dark. *Without any light you'd never find the
passage that your carbide lamp reveals and you'd wander randomly
through the chaos. *You are far beyond any hope of rescue if anything
happened to you and all hope of returning to reality depends entirely
on yourself.

Great description :-)

These caving experiences of my late 20s strongly shaped my outlook on
life and made me almost completely self sufficient and generated a
desire for the unknown stronger than any drug. *Even in my early 50s,
I still have several dreams a week about caving. *Something that
shapes your life so strongly is difficult to ignore when it comes back
later in life.

My only experience is with UW caves (technically the "cavern" portions
of them). Weightless, in total
darkness and the only sound is your breathing off the regulator.
Coolest experience
was near the grate in the Ballroom at Ginnie Springs. You can shut
down your light
and look back (100'+-) towards the entrance, and it will appear as a
round blue - green
and white sphere, like a photo of the earth, from space. Weekday
afternoons are best, to have the place for yourself) and, you don't
have to worry about weather, seas, or even washing your gear.

UW caving is viewed as near suicidal by the general public. But, the
vast majority of
fatalities are divers completely untrained in diving caves (or any OH
environment), with totally
inappropriate diving gear, ignoring & bypassing the"Grim Reaper"
warning signs that are in
place at every dive site, and going where they meet what can only be a
nightmarishly frightening end.

For a brief history of perhaps the most amazing, Brass Balls required,
UW cavers checkout:

http://gue.com/?q=en/node/552
--
SJM