claustrophobia and caving

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Re: claustrophobia and caving

Postby Sara » Apr 8, 2008 1:52 pm

Ernie... I know Rick!!! We got drunk together with my hubby in northern NV on a survey trip! He was the one who got me the drink after going in that cave! Ha! Been to his house for cave meetings and such too! The pictures he takes are amazing! And his wife is a sweetie too...i was at there house for a cave meeting the summer i was pregnant with my daughter and it was like 120 that day, and she was so sweet, kept bringing me water and fanning me and such (i was about 7 months pregnant)... they are great people! Rick keeps an eye on my hubby too lol! :tonguecheek:
Oh and Lost Wages is so right! I don't we have ever been this poor in our lives!!!! lol But it isn't gambling that gets ya anymore... it doesn't have to! :doh:
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Re: claustrophobia and caving

Postby caveflower » Apr 8, 2008 2:59 pm

Yes Sara you can hold me to it! I love helping people get thur the same things I had to get thur to enjoy all parts of caving!
I still get butterflies at the top of every pit I drop. But that dose not stop me anymore.
I will even take you to a cave in Indy that not very many people have seen very pretty! Only one short tight spot and a short exsposed climb down then nothing but big open cave! It's my favorite cave of all time. It's not a very big cave as how long it is but big rooms. So many cave pretties and crystals gymson flowers. This is the cave I took my sons wife to and she loved it. And If you get the lease bit nervous your always 15 minutes to the entrance.

Well make it a date! I'll pm you my home email! Here a teaser!
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Re: claustrophobia and caving

Postby Sara » Apr 8, 2008 3:04 pm

Oh so exciting...and very pretty pretty (as my baby says)!!! LOL Now all i have to do is sell this dang house!! I dont think it will be too long... we have had quite a few nibbles but no bites
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Re: claustrophobia and caving

Postby wyandottecaver » Apr 8, 2008 7:13 pm

sara,

when I was 15 I was scared driving over 55. Now I struggle to stay below 80. As you gradually spend more time in caves you may find things get better. One thing I have found is when you start caving try not to have a "goal". go as fast and as far as you want and then stop. Once you stop having fun leave. Now, you *will* probably be uncomfortable at times, but you shouldn't be miserable the whole time unless your surveying or helping a photographer :)

Also, I cave regularly and have been for nearly 10 years. I still get the "pit / cave willies" every now and then, even to backing out. So don't worry if you get some bad juju every now and then and just hang out at the entrance.

Since Caveflower showed off her cave picture I'll show you what S. Indiana can offer. The picture is by Gary Berdeaux, my only claim to fame is I'm in it :)


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Re: claustrophobia and caving

Postby Sara » Apr 8, 2008 7:27 pm

That picture is also very amazing... see seems to me Indiana is the place to be for caving...i dont think that something that huge would bother me... but what do you have to do to get to such a place? :question:
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Re: claustrophobia and caving

Postby wyandottecaver » Apr 8, 2008 7:41 pm

well....to get to *this* place you climb down a ladder in a culvert pipe, crawl on your hands and knees for a bit in muddy goo, crawl (or walk bent over if your short) in a flowing stream for a bit, then climb over some big piles of big rocks and big sand banks in big rooms and finally start walking in the river you see. Actually it's not that bad, in fact it used to be used for commercial "wild cave" trips.

But there are other passages / caves here of similiar size that you can walk right into from your car.

BTW caveflower, we still need to get you into jewelbox
I'm not scared of the dark, it's the things IN the dark that make me nervous. :)
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Re: claustrophobia and caving

Postby caveflower » Apr 8, 2008 7:47 pm

Yeah! I've been busy cavin. But I still want to go.
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Re: claustrophobia and caving

Postby Sara » Apr 8, 2008 10:01 pm

see that doesnt sound too bad i think i could do that...especially with a room that size and with water! LOL i still don't know why but that does seem to make it more inviting!
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Re: claustrophobia and caving

Postby David Grimes » Apr 8, 2008 10:18 pm

I actually have the same problem with my wife. I like the more difficult caves with tight crawls and pits basically the sporting caves but my wife would not last 2 seconds in those caves but she wants to share something I enjoy doing so I generally make special trips for her to attend to caves that are very opens and mostly walking passage (theres not oo many of those in Indiana though) really what most cavers would call bunny caves and then I have my trips with other caver friends to my caves and it seems to work okay for us. I don't know how much that will help if you are uneasy even in a show cave but if you could find a cave with large walking passages maybe you could slowly adjust to the slightly smaller caves.
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Re: claustrophobia and caving

Postby ek » Apr 8, 2008 10:40 pm

Sara wrote:see that doesnt sound too bad i think i could do that...especially with a room that size and with water! LOL i still don't know why but that does seem to make it more inviting!

Here's another idea for why that is...water, like air, flows. Seeing the water flow may make the space seem less enclosed. But, did you say that seeing a lake in a cave also calmed you?
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Re: claustrophobia and caving

Postby Sara » Apr 9, 2008 12:02 am

ek wrote:
Sara wrote:see that doesnt sound too bad i think i could do that...especially with a room that size and with water! LOL i still don't know why but that does seem to make it more inviting!

Here's another idea for why that is...water, like air, flows. Seeing the water flow may make the space seem less enclosed. But, did you say that seeing a lake in a cave also calmed you?

Yes actually, seeing a pool in the cave.... completely calm, soothed me... thats why i am not sure why... i mean flowing water and air to me means...another way out... yeah know? But something about any pool of water...i mean we were walking through a narrow hallway that you had to duck down and sort of bend around the walls, and as the ceiling got shorter, i could feel my heart about ready to pop out of my chest...i was about to go into a panick attack... but as soon as we got into that room with the water, i stood there are just looking at it... and the leader said he was going to check something out in there, but i think he knew all along that i was starting to calm down... he is a bit claustrophobic himself so he understood, and i guess after i saw a ripple in the water from a chunk of dirt falling into the water, he said i looked better... i think that my blood pressure was so high that even though i was trying not to panick, the blood pressure was making my face turn very red, and i guess my normal pink was coming back... i just felt better, and the room was not very big, and the only place you could stand straight up was right by the entrance and by ther water....
~Sara~
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Re: claustrophobia and caving

Postby Sara » Apr 9, 2008 12:04 am

dark_storm83 wrote:I actually have the same problem with my wife. I like the more difficult caves with tight crawls and pits basically the sporting caves but my wife would not last 2 seconds in those caves but she wants to share something I enjoy doing so I generally make special trips for her to attend to caves that are very opens and mostly walking passage (theres not oo many of those in Indiana though) really what most cavers would call bunny caves and then I have my trips with other caver friends to my caves and it seems to work okay for us. I don't know how much that will help if you are uneasy even in a show cave but if you could find a cave with large walking passages maybe you could slowly adjust to the slightly smaller caves.

I think that if i could walk right in and if there were no really tight spots, and if it were airy i think it would help... i think starting big and then working my way down would help for sure... but i think not being rushed in the process would help too.
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Courage is not the lack of fear. It is acting in spite of it.
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Re: claustrophobia and caving

Postby robcountess » Apr 9, 2008 12:36 am

"Go big or go home" takes on a whole new meaning now :big grin:
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Re: claustrophobia and caving

Postby Sara » Apr 9, 2008 12:43 am

robcountess wrote:"Go big or go home" takes on a whole new meaning now :big grin:

LOL you are too funny!!! You got it!! LOL :lmao: That sure gives me a better way of looking at it doesn't it...
~Sara~
Courage is not the lack of fear. It is acting in spite of it.
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Re: claustrophobia and caving

Postby Sara » Apr 10, 2008 2:36 pm

Thank you everyone, for your help and advice! I think I am more determined than ever to get out there and try caving again. But, I do have one question, and I think it is important for my sanity, to get some feed back from all of the experienced cavers.... if caving is a somewhat safe sport, and people don't get stuck that often, what has happened to those who have lost their lives in caves? Were they alone? In un or under- explored caves? I just want to get an idea so that I can relax a bit more when I do go caving next time....
~Sara~
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