Intermediate Caving at Crossroads (with cake?!)

OVERVIEW

Join us this Saturday underground! This is an intermediate trip, so we’re expecting you to have prior experience caving (at least a trip). Crossroads is a maze cave with a lot of different avenues to explore, so you never know what you might stumble into (even some cake? that’d be crazy, wouldn’t see that coming…)

Schedule:
9:00am – Leave Echols
11:00am – Arrive at cave and go over safety/conservation information
11:30am – Start caving
3:30pm – Finish caving
5:30pm – Return to Charlottesville

Gear we have:
– Caving helmet
– Headlamps with spare batteries (If you have headlamps of your own, bring them and let us know)
– Gloves
– Knee pads (optional)

Gear to Bring:
– Water
– Snack/Lunch
– 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 at the gear room as well)
– Clean clothes/shoes for the car
– Trash bag for dirty clothes, shoes, and backpack (make sure it’s big enough)

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)

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 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, 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