Sometimes, the best adventures are planned on the spur of the moment. And the best people to plan spur of the moment activities with in November are paddlers who haven't had enough adventures in the last few weeks. So between Thursday at 9 p.m. - when Jim agreed to take me caving and I bragged to Lee that I had the coolest weekend plans - and Saturday at 9:30 a.m., when we met in the parking lot at Mount Nemo Conservation area, four of us (Lee, Mark, Elke and I) had decided to follow Jim underground.
Jim is a caveman. That's what I'd been told about him before I ever met him. Me, I'm a chicken. Enclosed spaces equal discomfort. Very tight spaces equal fear. I figured the best way to get over my "I can't do that" feelings about going into caves was to go into some. So, outfitted with a stylish helmet for my noggin, I was ready for some underground adventure.
Any geomorphologist would suspect caves in this type of terrain - limestone, temperate climate... I'd never really registered that, under trails I've hiked many times, there are two very cool caves. But they're not the cavernous types of spaces I'd pictured when I thought of "cave".
Nope, these caves are tight - in most places, they feel like a crack. And they're dark - so headlamps are a must. Most of us made do with the usual camping headlamps, but Jim had the real thing - a carbide headlamp mounted on his well-used and well-loved helmet. And a duct-tape mounted mag lite as backup.
The first cave we went into involved minimal climbing, and it ended out on a ledge at the cliff's edge. We emerged for a group shot (I got to use my new mini tripod) and then quickly made our way back to the other end - where we met yet another paddler, Sandy, and his group of outdoors club people.
The second cave was much tougher - you start with two significant drops. Jim had anchored a rope to help us, but demonstrated a descent - he hopped off the edge and used his shoulders to brake all the way down. My shoulders weren't quite wide enough, but by sticking my arms out a bit, the same technique worked.
The deeper we went, the tighter it got. In a few places, there was standing water, so we climbed along some small ledges over top. We thought the register should have been at the very end, so only the dedicated could get to it!
For me, the biggest challenge was climbing back up the two drops at the beginning. Of course, I was my usual stubborn self and refused to use the rope. Now I have some impressive bruises on my knees to show for it - but I made it up without assistance. What a great workout, my heart was pounding during the last bit. Mark emerged shortly after me, equally sweaty from the exertion.
So... too cool, this caving thing. I didn't freak out, even when I couldn't turn my head, but we were always in vertical cracks. I wonder how I'd react if I couldn't lift my head? Only one way to find out... yep, Johanna has discovered a whole new activity. Best thing is, the weather can be crappy, but it's dry and not too cold inside the cave - the perfect November activity.