Wake up babe, New Map Just Dropped (Beginner Caving @ Paxton’s)

OVERVIEW

If any of y’all have spoken to us before, you probably know about our year-long quest to obtain a good map of Paxton’s cave. And guess what!? We’ve finally done it! ….aaaand turns out we were reading the really terrible unlabeled map we had before upside down. No, I’m not joking. So we’ve spent the past year going the wrong direction to try to get deeper into the cave.

This trip is the beginning of our redemption! We’re going to try to get into some of the deeper areas of the cave we haven’t been to before. On the way, there’s a bit of everything: belly crawls, vertical scrambles, tight passageways, massive chambers, decorated rooms, waterfalls, etc. etc. It would probably take days to explore the whole thing, so each time we come back we discover something new. And this time we will almost certainly end up somewhere new.

This is a really fun cave to explore if you’ve never been caving before! Just remember “beginner” does not mean “easy,” especially when it comes to caving, so be prepared to come across some potentially tricky climbs or crawls.

Schedule:
10:00am – Leave Echols
12:00pm – Arrive at cave and go over safety/conservation information
12:30pm – Start caving
4:30pm – Finish caving, return to car
7:00pm – 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
– Caving helmet
– 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, 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

***Need drivers! You’ll get priority off the waitlist & gas reimbursed.