Underground Slot Canyon Maze: Paxton’s Cave

OVERVIEW

Paxton’s cave is one of the largest and most popular maze caves in Virginia. It has many miles of complex, tightly wound passageways that often feel like you’re walking through a giant slot canyon maze. We are super excited to go back and take more people this time. I have marked this cave as intermediate because there is one fairly tricky climb on sandy rocks immediately and a 15-20′ belly crawl in a very tight and narrow passage close to the beginning. It might be possible to get around these elements but from what we could tell it was necessary to do these in order to get into the main deeper level of the cave. If either of these features concern you, you might want to sit this one out. That being said we are not restricting this trip to only people who have experience caving. If you have never been but you are confident you would be fine, you are welcome to sign up.

Schedule:
10:00am – Leave Echols
12:00pm – Arrive at cave and go over safety/conservation information
12:30 – Start caving
4:30 – Finish caving, return to car
7:00 – 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 (GLOVES, long pants, and long sleeves are mandatory)
– Close toed shoes that can get dirty/ripped/ruined (trust me, you will not want to be in chacos); see note about clothes
– Caving helmet (please don’t use the club’s climbing helmets; the caving helmets are the old Petzl Ecrin Rocs with a suspension system instead of a foam system)
– No fewer than 2 working headlamps with spare batteries
– At least 1 spare light (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)

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 needed! Gas will be reimbursed**