FINAL CAVING TRIP OF THE SEMESTER (CAVE PROM)

OVERVIEW

Attention all mud lovers!!!!
Come join me, Jack, and Josh for the most whimsical caving trip of the semester!! If you’re unaware, cave prom is a trip to Glade Cave (aka mud cave) but you wear the fanciest outfit the thrift store can provide. The plan is to stop at Goodwill on the way to Glade to find your perfect prom outfit (or you can wear an outfit from home). Your outfit must work for caving (long pants, long sleeves, gloves, sturdy shoes, helmet). I suggest bringing appropriate caving base layers and throwing some formal wear on top. This is (NOT) my first cave prom and I am STOKED! Glade is a beginner friendly cave, so this would be a great first caving trip!

Schedule:
10:00am – Leave Echols
10:15am – Arrive at the thrift store
10:45am – Leave the thrift store with your formalicious fits
12:00pm – Arrive at cave and go over safety/conservation information
12:30pm – Start caving
4:30pm – Finish caving, return to car
6:00pm – Back in Charlottesville

Gear we bring:
– Caving helmet
– Headlamps
– Gloves

Gear you bring:
– Water
– Snack/Lunch
– A trash bag for hypothermia kit
– 24 hour emergency food supply (just anything that can last you a days worth of meals, worst case scenario kind of item)
– A container for any human waste – pack it in, pack it out (like a screwable Tupperware, old water bottle, etc.)
– Clothes that can get dirty/ripped/ruined (long pants and long sleeves are mandatory); note from Renee: clothes that go into Glade cave will likely be unable to be recovered for future, non-caving use. I was able to fully wash out my clothes but it took a lot of time and a frankly embarrassing amount of water. *If you buy a thrift store outfit it can become your go-to Glade outfit and you don’t have to try very hard to wash it!
– Close toed shoes that can get dirty/ripped/ruined; see note about clothes
– A bag or backpack that can get dirty/ripped/ruined; see note about clothes. I use a cheap drawstring bag. Very easy to clean and not a big problem if something happens to it.
– At least 1 spare light (can be a headlamp or flashlight)
– Clean clothes/shoes for the car
– Trash bag for dirty clothes, shoes, and backpack, (make sure it’s big enough)
*** I know this gear list looks intimidating, so feel free to reach out if you cannot get everything on this list / if you have any concerns ***

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 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.
– 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.*