Kee Cave with JMU Caving Club!! (Intermediate)

OVERVIEW

Aidan and I have been wanting to do a collaborative trip with another university for a while now, and we have finally made it happen! I’ve planned this trip in coordination with the Vice President of JMU’s Caving Club, Erin. She is bringing a group of JMU cavers and we will all do the trip together! Although this is a cave Aidan and I haven’t been to before, Erin has led many trips there and therefore we are making it intermediate instead of advanced. Also due to the unique circumstances, we ask that you have been on one prior caving trip. This is just because we might not be as focused on the group as we will be learning a new cave through potentially completely different methods from what we’re used to.

I honestly don’t know a lot about Kee cave but I believe there’s nothing too tricky and it should be super fun to meet some other cavers!

Schedule:
8:30am – Leave Echols
11:00am – Enter cave
3:00pm – Finish caving and head back to car
5:30pm – 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, INCLUDING GLOVES
– Close toed shoes that can get dirty/ripped/ruined (I recommend boots, but hiking/running shoes with good traction will do)
– Caving helmet (please don’t use the club’s climbing helmets; the caving helmets are the old Petzl Ecrin Rocs or new Petzl Boreos)
– No fewer than 2 working headlamps with spare batteries
– At least 1 spare light in addition to your 2 headlamps (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)
– Knee pads (optional but highly recommended)

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 get priority off waitlist!