Cave hobbyism

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?

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I think one reason it's not that popular is because in many regions there's little to no naturally occuring caves. The most developed parts of America, New England, the Great Lakes region, & Costal California have very few.
- From the maps there seems to be quite a few, in Europe too. Though even just a handful of caves seems like a lot to me.

Seems like a nice hobby! On my side I'm a bit claustrophobic so probably not one for me ha ha
- Caves are a lot like any building structure; many have enormous interiors in certain parts while others are like you describe. In fact caves are typically more open than regular buildings. Many of us, in fact the three of us on our end, aren't that athletic either.

Wow, that sounds like a hell of an adventure! I don't have any experience in cave exploration, so I would like to throw your own questions back at you: what was the most interesting thing your group found in a cave? What are your most memorable experiences linked to cave exploration?
- I wasn't there when it happened, but one friend found a new subspecies and the other found small traces of cave art, not profound enough for a consensus to confirm anything was going on but profound enough that a layperson would have no doubt. I haven't found many exciting things, except maybe remnants of people seeking refuge. I haven't been hands-on in the majority of cave exploring, but I have some memorable moments saved in the form of photos (here's hoping Lemmy fixes photos soon).

It’s been about 15 years since I’ve been spelunking. I did it a lot in the scouts. Started with Bear Caves in Blairsville, PA (just a name, not actual bear caves). Those were fairly easy and well explored. Nearby there is Lemon Hole cave which involved rappelling 80ft into the cave. That was a lot of fun.
But probably my favorite cave would be the loyalhanna creek cave in Ligonier, PA. If you ever travelled from Ligonier to Latrobe via US-30 you’ve passed this cave. I passed this cave weekly growing up but I never knew it was there until I was 16 years old. It’s right off the side of the road but there’s a ditch hiding the entrance and even that doesn’t look like an entrance. You get to squeeze under the hillside into a 1’ gap and the wiggle your way for a few yards on your back to get into the actual cave itself. Then after you get in, it starts to sink in that you have to do it again to get back out. Probably the tightest spot I’ve been in. I’m laying on my back and my stomach is scraping the ceiling. I was a skinny little fuck back the too. Couldn’t wear a hard hat because it wouldn’t fit. Had to slide it beside me.
Totally unrelated website to that story has some pictures of the cave but it’s a really unknown cave so there’s not too much info on it. Definitely a fun cave though for anyone in the area.
https://mountaincatgeology.wordpress.com/2009/04/22/loyalhanna-creek-cave/
- I may have to recommend that to the friends. There's a cave near us like that, it looks highly unassuming but it's so large that, had it not filled up with water following a mishandling during mining, it would count as the world's largest natural bombshelter.

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.

I have a question about spelunking and parasites. Do bats carry ticks or mites that may potentially cause infections? Or is there any noxious bugs that might cause issues for you in caves? My college age son went spelunking in April and he said he removed a tick, but he’s got several similar bite lesions that have never gone away. He and his friends did encounter bats in the caves.
- Worked in caves for 3+ years now. In my neck of the woods the worst ya gotta worry about is rabies, but the bats here seldom bite unless provoked. We're more of a threat to the bats though since we can spread white nose syndrome which can wipe out bat colonies.
  
  One of many reasons people should clean everything and themselves before and after cave exploring. It surprises me how many people don't.
- Some very important notes for your son:
  Caves are cold so not many insects go down there.
  If he got bit by a tick check for tick diseases. I know the big one around here is Lyme Disease. If he has a bullseye shape around the bite that’s a sign of an infection. I don’t know if other tick diseases are prevalent in your area.
  If he was in close contact with bats and may have been bitten get him checked for rabies. While very rare, there are still occasional cases across the US. It can remain dormant for a very long time but once it crosses the blood brain barrier and infects the brain there is no help. It’s better to get him checked and vaccinated early than wait and see.
  Just some numbers on the rabies, there are about 5k animal cases reported yearly nationwide, mostly wild animals. Only 1-3 yearly reports in humans. So it’s rare and unlikely, but it’s just not something you fuck around with and risk.
  
  Thanks. He did have a very faint bullseye, he got on to doxycycline for three weeks three different times. The urgent care did a tick panel and it supposedly was negative for Lyme and all associated infections. Dermatologist is doing lab work on two biopsies from the bite/rash locations. We’re expecting that back in a week or so.
  
  TIL ticks can transfer rabies.
- Even though a bat or other animal could always carry them in from outside, they're far less common in the actual caves.

My introduction was Mammoth Cave in Kentucky. I've never had any training or anything, but I agree its got a kind of cool fascination to it. I thoroughly enjoy it.
That lack of training is why I never pursued it a whole lot though. It's pretty clearly obvious while you're doing it that it's an inherently dangerous activity. Not a lot or anything, but it is at no time completely safe. Just cuz rocks can move, and we all kinda know that. Respect to the people that do it though, I totally would if I had more caves, and maybe a professional to learn a few things from first.
- If you're wearing the right equipment, it's mostly a matter of watching one's step and knowing small bits of advice (for example, never light a match in a cave, ever). It should be remembered people mine in caves for a living. The two friends aren't even that athletic, usually going off in different directions depending on their skills (one of them I've never seen so much as climb a hill).

Only spelunking I do is in Spelunky 2 lol
- I'm something of a caving expert in Minecraft...
  
  Same. Not as into true caving as my friends who'll go so far as to leave flags as proof of having been in certain parts (though even passive connection/involvement is fun), but you can easily get me to sit for Minecraft.
- I looked that up just now and already I see the first red flag on the game cover. Torches are advised against in caves because the fire can heat up surrounding rocks which can cause a pressure buildup.

This is just in, they say they've explored what has been called the Everest of caves. They say they'd definitely recommend it.

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