CAVING EXTRAVANGANZA?!?!?! Caving- INTERMEDIATE (3 caves?!)

OVERVIEW

****I WILL BE DOING THE LOTTERY METHOD TO GET OFF THE WAITLIST (aka its just randomized)**** I may increase the amount of people to attend but I won’t know until like mid March.
Do you thrive underground? Do you sit in class dreaming about bats and salamanders? Do you wanna push your limits and see how much caving you truly can do? Do you want to be part of the BIGGEST CAVING EVENT OF THE YEAR? If you answered yes to any of these questions, BOI you want to sign up!!!

Caving Extravaganza is a trip where we do an overnight and try to squeeze 3 caves into 24 hours. That’s right. We are upgrading from last year and not only doing 2 caves but 3! I am besties with the cave preserve manager who got us the very limited, very lucky opportunity to enter Trout Cave which is only open for 1 week a year and only a select few groups can enter! This cave holds the very rare bat called the Virginia Big Eared bat which is a super cool-looking guy.

Now serious part. While all three caves are relatively easy (no hard crawls or climbs) you will be testing your endurance. This will be a total of 12 hours underground. You will have multi-hour breaks in between each cave but it will be tiresome (but SO worth it). That being said there are limited slots and I need to submit our names ahead of time so clear your schedule and sign up ASAP! This is not a beginner trip so you have to have caved with ODC AT LEAST once in the past. Don’t worry I’ll be doing a lot of trips before then. So if you have never been caving with ODC but still wanna do this trip, SIGN UP! I will make sure you get on a trip before then.

ALSO, I am offering slots to the Cville Grotto so you will also have the opportunity to meet some sick cavers!

Schedule:
FRI
5:00 pm – Leave Cville (time is tentative might be earlier or later depending on ppl’s schedule)
8:00 pm – Arrive at campground (probably will stop at a store along the way for food)
11:00 pm- Go to Trout Cave, look at cool bats, flex about being special
SAT
3:00 am- Leave the cave and head back to the campground, sleep
10:00 am- Start caving at New Trout- get dusty, see cool bats, see a saltpeter mine
2:00 pm- Finish caving, breathe fresh air, eat snacks, absorb sunlight, a quick nap
4:00 pm- Start caving at Hamilton, do some crawling, desperately try to find the air blower, see which victims it will claim, do some more crawling
8:00 pm-Finish caving, wrap up everything and head out, maybe stop for food
10:30 pm- Back in Cville, sleepy time

Normal Gear list BESIDES KN95 masks and buffs/ bandanas. I will provide these unless there is one you like and want to use. Also, bring camping gear!

Gear we have (if you have your own great but you don’t need to):
– Caving helmet
– No fewer than 2 working headlamps with spare batteries
– Gloves
– Tent
-Stove
-Pots, pans, lighter, kitchen stuff

Gear to Bring:
– Water (bring TWO water bottles at least)
– Snack/Lunch (bring more than you think)
– 24 hour emergency food supply (just anything that can last you a days worth of meals)
– A container for any human waste – pack it in, pack it out (old water bottle or screwable Tupperware)
– Clothes that can get dirty/ripped/ruined (long pants and long sleeves are mandatory- please try to avoid cotton)
– Close toed shoes that can get dirty/ripped/ruined
– At least 1 spare light (can be a headlamp or flashlight or even your phone )
– A bag or backpack that can get dirty/ripped/ruined (can be found in the gear room as well)
– Clean clothes/shoes for the car
– Sleeping pad
-Sleeping Bag
-Something to sleep in
– Food for camp: dinner, breakfast, maybe second dinner (not including cave lunch)
***If you cannot afford food for the weekend, please let me know! This will not prevent you from joining the trip, and we will make sure you get enough food!***

Gear we have extra but please first try to bring your own. If you cannot get your own please notify us ASAP:
– A trash bag for hypothermia kit (hefty trash bags are good)
– Trash bag for dirty clothes, shoes, and backpack (make sure it’s big enough)
-knee pads (Please try to check them out, Hamilton is a lot of crawling. Not hard crawling like super roomy but your knees will hurt)

NOTE ON CAVES:
Trout- I know very little about this cave and its conditions but YOU MUST decon your gear really well. I will also spray the bottom of your shoes with Clorox before we enter. We absolutely cannot bring WNS into this cave! So please please triple clean your gear before you arrive.

New Trout: This cave used to be a saltpeter mine so it is SUPER ashy and dusty. That being said we wear KN95 masks and bandanas. That worked pretty well but if you have more sensitive lungs, think about either skipping this cave or bringing a stronger mask. But I saw the Virginia Big Eared bats in here last year and it was SO COOL.

Hamilton: Ok so lowkey most people hate Hamilton. It’s very bland and you do a lot of annoying crawling. But there’s a cool 20′ semi-tight squeezy crawl called the Airblower (cuz it blows air ikr crazy). This is totally optional but a good challenge. This cave has cool formations as well! I personally like Hamilton so don’t listen to the haters.

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 should be at least semi-comfortable crawling around in tight spaces and being in the dark (there is no super tight spaces in this cave so no worry about that).
– 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, you are not entering the cave so please tell me beforehand if you cant get certain gear).
– 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

If you have any questions or concerns or are unable to pick up gear, my phone number is (970) 294-8781 (Allie)