EXTREME NAPTIME (sleep in da cave)

OVERVIEW

Have you ever wished you had extra-thick blackout curtains? Or that the world would go absolutely silent when you wanted to meditate?
Maybe you’ve been caving before and experienced the meditative bliss that is “lights out.”
But have you ever wanted to do that for a really long time?
We have.

Introducing underground naptime & meditation! Come experience the absolute darkness and silence of a cave for perhaps as long as two hours. While we usually only do lights out for 10-15 minutes, I frequently nearly fall asleep or enter a lovely meditative trance. I’ve always wanted to just take a while to chill in one spot in a cave and take the most epic nap of my lifetime. And now I will.
Here’s the plan: Go to Paxton’s cave. Make our way to the Big Room (about 150 ft long, 70 ft wide, with a 50 ft ceiling). Spread out. I set a 2-hour timer on my phone and the lights go off. We meditate, we nap, we face down existential crises in the blackness. We leave, feeling centered and rested.

Some important safety notes for this trip:
1. Even though this is a nonstandard caving trip it is still potentially dangerous and all of the usual safety protocols will be followed. Yes, this means you must keep your helmet on during naptime (I promise it’s not that bad).
2. We are hoping to find the route without any significant climbs or crawls, but we do not have the path exactly memorized. It might take us longer than expected or we may run into some slightly more difficult sections. We will do our best.
3. Caves are about 55 degrees. The ground is damp. We will be not moving much for an extended period of time. BRING LAYERS!! We do not want anyone to get hypothermia. I highly recommend bringing a sleeping mat to help protect you from the dampness and coldness of the ground. Also it will be more comfy, the ground is rocks and rocks are hard.
4. Your eyes will never adjust to the darkness in a cave. If you keep your eyes open and stare into the darkness for too long (perhaps as little as 10 min), you will begin to hallucinate (and no, not fun hallucinations, your brain will just try to put together an image of what you last saw before the light went out, but usually it’s wrong). If this goes on for too long you will become convinced you can, in fact, see and you might try to move around, which will likely end with you running into something. PLEASE DON’T KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN FOR EXTENDED PERIODS OF TIME! On that note, generally please do not get up and walk around once the lights are off. Again, you will probably run into a rock.
5. If you feel like the darkness is too much and you need the lights back on, we will respect that. Please just turn on your light and call out to us so we know what’s going on. We will not force anyone to stay in the dark panicking.

Schedule:
9:00am – Leave Echols
11:00am – Arrive at cave and go over safety/conservation information
11:30am – Start caving
12:00pm – Arrive at big room
2:00pm – Leave big room
2:30pm – Finish caving, return to car
5:00pm – 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)
– 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 white Petzls 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
– Clean clothes/shoes for the car (please please)
– Trash bag for dirty clothes, shoes, and backpack (make sure it’s big enough)
– BONUS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED GEAR: sleeping pad, some form of layers (extra clothes, blanket, sleeping bag, etc)

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

**Drivers needed! Gas will be reimbursed**