Hey all - hope today finds you well.
I'm posting today about something I learned recently in Howe Caverns, NY. I went on a pretty commercialized cave tour of both Howe Caverns and Secret Cavern, which are right next to each other. On these trips I learned that the Howe Caverns tour ends pretty early into the cave system, which continues downward following it's oh-so-cleverly named River Styx (sidebar - I wonder how many River Styxs there are in caves around the world, and if their namers think they're being original
) so naturally I was curious about what was further down.
There are so called "adventure tours" down that way where you can tour with an experienced guide assuming you have sufficient gear and can demonstrate your seriousness and capability to them. Apparently though Howe Caverns' sister cave has a similar feature - the nearby Secret Cavern also ends with a watery descent to lower caves.
Some research showed me that the caves below Secret Cavern were owned by some cavers who bought them to preserve it. I've heard them referred to as Benson's Caves but can find no information online about them. Additionally, I've read a mention or two that the lower portions of Benson's Caves lead to something called the
Master Cave System, which apparently runs deep beneath the earth and connects the two caves among potentially dozens more.
I want to know everything I can about the Master Cave System - has it been explored? Has anyone made the connection from Howe's Caverns to Benson's Caves to Secret Cavern, or vice versa? Is the lack of information about the Master Cave System because it's only theoretical? Or is it because it's too dangerous to explore? And how might one explore and potentially map such a deep, sprawling network of caves?
It's a bit of a goal of mine to get down into those super-caves, and as such I need to know all I can about it. Any offhand mentions or insight would be greatly appreciated, as well as connections to anyone who might know more about this alluring mystery.
Thanks for your time!