Deep Dark Hole in the Ground

Even though I was very very happy to see the sun shining yesterday morning, I didn't get to enjoy much more then the first few hours of it. I threw my bag with helmet, headlamp, knee pads etc. in the truck and headed out to crawl around deep underground.

Caving or 'Spelunking' is an horrendous athletic endeavor...it's intense to push - pull - squish - walk - crawl - grunt and slither through the darkness for hours on end. Why would anyone in their right mind do such things? Well, that is a good question, and about 9 hours into every trip I always ask it. Then I look up and see some fantastic geologic formation that blows my little mind and I need not ask anymore. The crystalline formations that are as thick as your hair and up to 20 feet long that glisten in your head lamp amaze, intrigue the human mind....how does that happen and how much time did that take? The walls covered with white crystals make it look like someone blew snow all over the room or passage sometimes........and there there are the other little things that seem to grow out of the rock in wild shapes and sizes that are just beyond description. It's fantastic!

Then there is the exploration end of things. I think it's a human need to explore the unknown, and the above ground 'un-mapped territory' is rapidly shrinking. With almost all the great mountains climbed and huge rivers followed to their headwaters, it's hard to go beyond the edge of the know world. Caving has become the 'fix' that feeds that addiction for me. Step beyond the edge of the map, and you might be the first and last human to ever occupy that space.....just think about that for a moment.

Wriggle down some dark little hole and around the corner and you could 'discover' the next big passage to a whole unknown world. Its a bit of a rush. All that plus the fact that you are hundreds of feet underground in a place that is very dark and hard to get to...actually outright impossible by many who are not as skinny as I........ and it's an excitement that's had to put words to, but takes you back to a time when you were young, and everything was new and fresh. I think that connection to younger days is what makes it so great.

So go check out a tour in one of the show caves or National Park Caves of the Black Hills, and while you are marveling at the beautiful formations, just think about stepping off the trail and disappearing for 12 hours or several days in the darkness and exploring the great unknown. It gets your imagination going!