Lifestyles
Going Down!
Jon Beard looked at the group of wannabe cavers standing in the dark outside a private cave in southwest Missouri. Some wore hunting camo. Others wore coveralls and jeans. Their helmet lights scattered beams here and there, like miniature searchlights looking for a lost ship at sea.
Beard, the president of a local caving grotto, finally spoke.
“Single File 101 says when caving, you follow the person in front of you...unless he’s falling.”
A moment of silence followed, then Beard chuckled. Some of the group relaxed a bit and laughed. For others, however, even a dash of humor could not erase their apprehensions. They had heard about what lay ahead of them—a hillside entry point that measured little more than two-feet tall by six-feet wide. Would they be able to squeeze through the tunnel to gain access to the wonders of the underworld?
The main objective for the trip, in addition to the fun of exploration, included learning about restoration efforts at Breakdown Cave, a privately owned cave maintained by volunteers within the local caving community. It was a scenario similar to hundreds that are played out every weekend across the country when thrill-seekers and caving enthusiasts gird themselves with coveralls, boots, gloves, helmets and headlamps and head underground for high adventure.
The Springfield Plateau Grotto (SPG) is a non-profit organization made up of southwest Missouri residents who share a common interest in the conservation, survey and management of caves. The grotto (that’s what caving clubs are called) is a member of the National Speleological Society, and one of more than 200 grottos in this country.
Upon entry to the first room of the cave, Beard explained the causes of breakdown in a cave. In speleological (caving) speak, breakdown is described as rock that has fallen from the wall or roof of a cave. Beard continued, “Usually breakdown is associated with negative terms, but here it happens late in cave formation and is a very useful tool. If water removes the breakdown, it creates rooms.”
Caves come in all shapes, sizes and various degrees of breakdown. Missouri—aka “The Cave State”—is rife with more than 6,000 mapped caves. Interestingly, caves come in two categories: show, or commercial, caves and wild caves. Commercial caves are of the road-side attraction variety. Smooth and lighted paths take visitors on a sanitized journey to view underground formations with cutesy names like Herman’s Boot, the Shower Room, Princess Palace or some such moniker. Once the tour is complete, grab an ice cream cone in the adjacent gift shop, a few trinkets to remember it all by, then head down the road.
Wild caves are a whole other critter. This is nature in-the-raw. No lighted walkways, no tour guides. Just mud, rocks, mineral formations and good ol’ self-reliance. Better have good gear, an adventurous spirit and, preferably, someone with you who knows what they are doing.
Barbara Baird
Currently there are about 17,000 known caves in the U.S., and they are located in every state except Rhode Island and Louisiana. Of these, about 125 are open to the public, and 15 are found in national parks or monuments. Thirty of these caves are in state parks. Most caves are located in the Appalachians, the Ozarks, the Black Hills and certain regions of Kentucky, Tennessee and Indiana.
Although wild caving is practiced worldwide, cavers often are a secretive lot. If vandals don’t know where caves are located, they won’t be able to damage or destroy these delicate, irreplaceable resources. As Beard explained, “It is important for all to understand what caves and karst resources are, and how important they are to people and animal communities that depend on these resources.” Caves are a direct connection between surface pollutants and groundwater that we all use. The SPG is spreading the concept of cave and karst [irregular regions of limestone from which most caves develop] conservation to educate the public, and one of the conservation tools practiced by the caving community is cave location secrecy.
Although most grotto members will likely be happy to guide a novice who is interested in caving, they will not announce to the world where the cave is located. It’s like the deer hunter who does not give away his secret hunting spot, or the trout fisherman who knows of a little hidey hole on a special stream. “There might be cavers who practice secrecy to ‘hoard’ resources,” said Bear, “but SPG practices secrecy to conserve resources for the benefit of future generations of people and cave ecosystems.”
Caving is not only about recreation. It’s about research, too. Caves are studied for archaeology, ecology, biology, cartography, history, geology, mineralogy and hydrology. Cavers also learn mapping techniques. In fact, some of the only unmapped places left on earth are in caves.
In order to be effective, caving must be safe. Even a day trip to a local wild cave must be fully planned, and if permits are necessary, they must be acquired. Calling ahead to talk to park authorities pays off, and arranging to accompany a grotto to a site will also work. In fact, because of the inherent dangers of exploring wild caves, doing so with a group or guide who is familiar with a particular cave system is the recommended way for beginners to get in on the action.
Charity Hertzler, Public Outreach officer for the SPG, said, “One of the things that SPG tries really hard to stress is good landowner relations. We love to work with landowners who have a cave that maybe they would like to know more about...how long it is, knowing more about the critters that live in it, et cetera.
“Sometimes landowners are scared that if we find an endangered species in their cave, that some government agency will try and take over their land, and as a result they might be afraid to contact someone to come and take a look at it. That’s just not true. It’s important for landowners to know that there are organized cavers out here who would love to help them learn more about their caves because of the deep appreciation that we have for the caves.” Hertzler says the SPG, as with several other grottos, can survey the cave and its passages.
If you find something unusual while caving, leave it and take several photos of it. Photograph something beside it so that the scale of the item can be measured. Make a note of where it is on the cave map, or draw a map. Take the photos to park authorities, a local grotto or to a nearby college science department.
After spending time in a cave, be prepared to come away with a whole new perspective. After all, when you have seen what is going on underground, your eyes will be opened to the beauty of the underground ecosystem.
Beard says that most grotto meetings are open to the public. “They are a good way for non-cavers to find out about the exciting world beneath us, and to learn about safe and appropriate caving practices.”
Just remember to follow the cavers’ rules: “Take nothing but pictures. Leave nothing but footprints. Kill nothing but time.”