Caves + Waterfalls = Awesome; Caving at New River Cave (Beginner Friendly)

OVERVIEW

The New River cave is a sweet place to be. With its classic cave terrain and combination of open caverns and climby/crawly bits, it’s a great representative for caves in the VA/WV area. However, the New River cave has a secret: an in-cave river and waterfall – if you’re lucky enough to find them. The New River cave is magical that way – sometimes you find the waterfall, sometimes you don’t.

The route through the cave can be somewhat extensive, with one main channel and several passages that branch out from the main channel. There are certainly hours of fun to be had in this cave, so we will plan to spend a good 5-6 hours in-cave.

The New River cave is a beginner-friendly cave, so this is a great introduction to caving if you’ve never been before. I will be imparting all the usual safety, conservation, and technique info for this trip, so feel free to sign up as a beginner. A brief note: caves are dark and are enclosed/confined spaces. I always encourage people to challenge themselves and try new things, but if you think you would have a major issue with darkness or being underground, consider sitting this one out.

Note: if you are interested in becoming a caving trip leader, please sign up for as many of the caving trips this week as you can, and either let me know in the trip questionnaire or shoot me a text. I have set up these trips in series to give potential caving trip leaders as much exposure as possible to different cave terrain, and will integrate a good amount of education and hands-on practice.

Schedule:
8:00 – Leave Echols
10:00 – Arrive at cave, go over safety/conservation information, and hike to the entrance
10:45 – Start caving
4:30 – Finish caving, return to car
7:00 – Back at Echols

Gear to Bring:
– Water
– Snack/Lunch
– 24 hour emergency food supply
– A trash bag for hypothermia kit
– A container for any human waste – pack it in, pack it out
– Clothes that can get dirty/ripped/ruined (GLOVES, long pants, and long sleeves are mandatory); note: clothes that go into Glade cave will likely be unable to be recovered for future, non-caving use.
– Close toed shoes that can get dirty/ripped/ruined (trust me, you will not want to be in chacos); see note about clothes
– Caving helmet (please don’t use the club’s climbing helmets; the caving helmets are the old Petzl Ecrin Rocs with a suspension system instead of a foam system)
– No fewer than 2 working headlamps with spare batteries
– At least 1 spare light (can be a headlamp or flashlight)
– A bag or backpack that can get dirty/ripped/ruined; see note about clothes
– Clean clothes/shoes for the car (please please, I really like my car)
– Trash bag for dirty clothes and shoes

Important notes:
– You MUST read the Caving Checklist provided by the club. It can be found under the Resources tab on the website. I have also linked it here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Lv1Hz8qOIvGb0BgVwFrU6NH1EyT3wPqt/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=115487946960226883937&rtpof=true&sd=true
– You are responsible for gathering all of your own equipment. Most of the gear is available at the club’s gear room.
– You should be comfortable crawling around in tight spaces and being in the dark.
– Because caving is such a dangerous sport, I will be very strict in ensuring you have the proper equipment (i.e., if you are not properly equipped with EVERYTHING mentioned above (even trash bags and spare clothing), you are not entering the cave).
– It is a good idea to not have anything massively important scheduled for the evening of the trip in the unlikely event we are delayed