I've become curious about how many spelunkers are out there. One of the hobbies of me and my friends that very few people know about is cave exploration, or spelunking as it's called in the United States. It's a hobby that traces itself to my grandfather; he had a job post-WWII where he would venture into caves because there was a fear samurai were hiding in caves all across the Pacific. This turned into cave exploration skills which he passed onto my friends (less so me, I can "technically" do it for the visual enjoyment and do certain aspects better but consider it a safety red flag). I usually sit by as "reinforcements" outside a cave even though I do sometimes fancy some visuals.
There are a number of caves where we are, as it's one of the most erosion-rich regions in the world if not the most. Sometimes my friends discover things, either they take pictures or set them up for analysis. The activity can be so fascinating, caves are the opposite of open books and it's fun to "leave a mark" as you go, if that makes sense; it's like playing a video game in real life. Everyone talks about urban exploration, which is less insightful/legal and always involves places that were once sprawling anyways. Nobody talks about spelunking.
Any of you spelunkers out there? What caves have you been to? What's the most you've ever done, and what things have you discovered or brought back? And what did your experience involve?
I had a friend in Tennessee who took us to explore a cave out there, on the east side of the state. Unfortunately he didn’t prepare us properly, ut still! It was a very unique experience. It does seem horrifically dangerous, even with the rescue groups ready to come help. I spent some time reading the annual journal of cave rescue incidents and wow, some of those people are insane.
In what ways were you not prepared? Like equipment-wise?
The group we went with were experienced and it was done in a safe and professional way. However, our friend didn’t tell us how long the expedition would be - he thought my brother would say no if he said it was going to take 8-9 hours, so he told us “we just walk into this room, walk another 500 feet, there’s a tunnel then there’s another room with a book you can sign”. Utter bollocks. It was really a round trip of about 10 miles including things like crawling for 200 meters on your hands and knees in mud.
If I had known it would be that long I’d have taken more snacks, water and camera batteries.
Even then, it sounds like you got luckier. In all the times my friends did it, there was nothing like signing books or anything, we/they simply would find a cave and go in. Sometimes it was "moderated" but sometimes not at all, completely uncharted. It would often take forever, but, even despite us not being athletic and even being anti-athletic (though they'd always have the gear), they took pride in leaving a mark in random cave parts, by means of a flag or something harmless that can undoubtedly be traced to them/us. One must understand, the improvised nature is what makes it enjoyed.
Sure, I enjoyed it, but there was no reason to not know what we were getting into. The expedition has to be planned out in some way since it’s potentially quite dangerous and if someone was injured or stuck they’d require a rescue group. Also, this cave (Wolf River) is locked with a gate at the front, and someone had to make a reservation in advance and get a key and permit from the cave association.