Thanksgiving Caving at New Trout Cave – Beginner Caving 11/28

OVERVIEW

Do you hate being in roomy, well-lit, and clean places? Did you see the movie The Descent and think wow that looks really fun? Do you secretly wish to live underground as a mole-person?

If you answered yes to any of those questions, come explore New Trout Cave! This cave has a great variety of features, everything from low crawls to tight squeezes to big caverns and a lot of rock scrambling. New Trout cave is a great cave for beginners as it offers a lot of variety but nothing that is particularly dangerous or difficult. This cave also has a lot of fossilized sea shells scattered throughout the rocks.

Logistics:
– Leave from Echols at 11:00am
– Drive two hours to the parking area
– short hike to the cave
– Gear up, talk safety, and adventure through the cave as far as we can go (~3 – 5 hours)
– Hike back, clean up/change clothes,
– Stop for food on the way back if we want to
– Arrive back in Charlottesville around 8:00pm

You bring:
– *2 headlamps
– Additional backup light (phone or flashlight work)
– backup batteries for your headlamps
– *helmet
– 2 trash bags (kitchen size)
– *gloves (these are mandatory for protection of the cave and geological features)
– water (2 liters)
– snacks/emergency food supply
– lunch for in the cave
– sturdy closed toed hiking boots
–small backpack or drawstring bag that can get dirty
– change of clothes and shoes for the ride back, everything you wear in the cave will get very dirty.
– container for human waste (pack it in, pack it out; we’ll be in there for a good long while). I recommend bringing used disposable water/Gatorade bottles so they can be used first as your water bottles and then as your piss bottle so you are carrying less.
-*knee pads, not necessary but highly recommended
-wear lightweight longsleeves and lightweight pants, it is in the 50s in the cave, and remember everything you wear will get dirty
— all gear with an * you can get from the gear room

Important notes:
-You MUST read the Caving Checklist provided by the club. But since it is currently MIA, you instead MUST read this https://caves.org/safety/safety.shtml (you can skip vertical caving and cave diving) AND https://caves.org/conservation/cavingcode.shtml . They are both short, should take like 5 minutes total.
– You are responsible for gathering all of your own equipment. If you have any trouble/questions concerning the gear, please text me at 7037132682.
– You should be comfortable crawling around in tight spaces, being in the dark, and being in a cave for 5+ hours.
– 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 important scheduled for the evening of the trip just in case we are delayed.

**drivers are reimbursed +50% tip and will be given priority.