NRGE 2019: Cave Camping (Beginner Friendly)

OVERVIEW

Come check out the 69th annual New River Cave Extravaganza! For this trip we will be camping overnight in the New River Cave. This cave has a good mix of open caverns, little crawls, and fun climbs. It’s about a mile long and has some really beautiful open spaces. We may possibly even see a waterfall depending on rain and whatnot.

Basically the plan is to leave from Echols on Friday afternoon and drive 2 hours to the cave. Then we will explore the cave as usual before we eat dinner. Food can be either prepackaged stuff or we can cook something at the entrance with a backpacking stove. After that we’ll find some nice cozy rocks to sleep on. In the morning we’ll depart for Ray’s campground to unite with the rest of the NRGE crew.

Beginners are welcome on this trip – I’ll teach you what you need to know. As always, come prepared with all your gear. All the info you need is in this trip description and in the caving checklist. Note that nothing on the equipment list is optional. Please bring along all the gear you plan to take for the whole weekend at NRGE (we can leave stuff in the cars overnight if we don’t need it for caving).

** Drivers Needed! Club Reimburses ALL Gas + 50% tip!

Logistics:
– Leave from Echols at 1600
– Drive two hours to the cave
– Gear up, talk safety, and adventure through the cave for a few hours (1830 – 2130).
– Eat and sleep.
–Wake up sometime in the morning (we can choose what time depending on whether people need to be at the campground early to lead Saturday trips)
– Arrive at Ray’s campground around 0900-1000 Saturday

Equipment list:
– 2 headlamps
– backup batteries for your headlamps (I do not supply batteries, so if you want to be able to see stuff you should bring batteries.)
– helmet [go for the caving helmets (dirty white or red suspension helmets)] – 2 trash bags (one for hypothermia kit; the other for dirty clothes/gear)
– gloves
–wearing pants/long sleeves is highly recommended
– water
– snacks/emergency food supply
– sturdy closed toed shoes
– backpack that can get dirty
– change of clothes
– container for human waste (pack it in, pack it out)
–sleeping bag/pad (we wont need tents in the cave)
– optional: money to grab food on the way there – may or may not happen depending on how we’re feeling

Important notes:
– You MUST read the Caving Checklist provided by the club. It can be found under the Member Resources tab (policies > officer policies > caving checklist).
– 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
– It is a good idea to not have anything important scheduled for the evening of the trip just in case we are delayed.