Picture of the day - November 30, 2005

Caves Near DeBusk Mill

Wild caves near DeBusk Mill.

As I was driving to DeBusk Mill in rural Washington County, Virginia the other day to take some pictures, I happened to remember a couple of caves near there that I had explored during my college years. They were easy to find because they're located on the face of a rock bluff right beside the road.

I carefully climbed up the steep cliff to the entrances to the caves, then steadied myself against a tree while I took several photos - one of which is today's picture.


I was rather adventurous back when I was in college. I was fascinated by caves and loved exploring them. Along with my cousin Rocky and friends Delmar, "Pee Wee" and several others, I spent many hours exploring several of the wild caves that are scattered throughout southwestern Virginia and northeast Tennessee.

Caving certainly isn't for everyone - most caves are wet, slippery and slimy in places and they are all pitch dark. And many of the passages are small and claustrophobic. But there are also beautiful underground streams & pools, stalactites, stalagmites, columns and other interesting rock formations to be found in many of them. There is always a unique kind of thrill that goes along with exploring a new cave.

Although we were amateur spelunkers, we schooled ourselves well on the essential safety measures of caving:
  • Be in shape! Caving is a very strenuous endeavor, and the belly of a wild cave is a terrible place to have a heart attack or other serious ailment strike you.
     
  • Tell at least one person who isn't going with you exactly where you're going and when you expect to return. And be very specific, going so far as to draw a map if possible. That way if you fail to return on time he/she will know where to begin searching for you.
     
  • Take along enough food and water to last for several days in the event that you get trapped and have to wait for help to arrive.
     
  • Never, ever go into a cave by yourself. If you do and something goes wrong, there will be no one to help you.
     
  • Each person should always carry a minimum of two sources of light - even better, take along three or more per person. If you enter a cave with just a flashlight and it stops working, you'll never make it back out alive. Without a light source it is literally impossible to see anything at all inside a cave!
     
  • Don't split up the group to explore separate parts of a cave. It is essential that everyone know where everyone else is at all times.
     
  • Don't bunch up - stay several feet away from one another. That way if a rock falls and blocks the path, not everyone will be trapped...and those who aren't trapped can help rescue the ones who are (or they can go get extra help if needed).
     
  • Don't take chances. If a ledge appears to be too narrow and/or slippery to negotiate, it probably is. The same thing goes for thin rock shelves - stay off of them.
     
  • Don't take anything with you that was already there when you got there, and don't leave anything behind that wasn't there to begin with. God created his caves just right and He doesn't need our help in making them better!
It has been over 20 years since I last set foot in a wild cave, but my memories of those caving expeditions are very special to me. God created beauty in all the earth, and much of that beauty is underground!
 

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