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Thanks for the kind words, I just should have done better. There are no excuses.

Also...
Ugh, gross. Cold. Turtles don't like the cold. I'll make it out to Houston next week to pick up my gear. I'm so sad my insulated hunting suit has a gigantic hole in the seam that just dumps all the heat out of it.

I can't wait to go caving.

Be careful when grabbing "insulated" clothing. Make sure the clothing will retain heat if it gets wet if theres any chance the cave you are going will be wet. I know alot of people will wear "poly-pro" as it will still work to an extent if it has gotten wet.

I know for a fact that we will be going into a wet cave, but I thought that was what the wetsuit was for. Will I have to wear a sweater or something over my wetsuit and coveralls? Not to mention if there is a cold front incoming that means rain too. I'll look up that ...stuff. I just hate hate hate being cold.

it is, sorry I didnt understand that the coveralls were going to be going over the wetsuit....but a lightweight cheap pair would do you just fine....when all the insulation gets wet it will get really heavy.

Tito the Turtle wrote:I know for a fact that we will be going into a wet cave, but I thought that was what the wetsuit was for. Will I have to wear a sweater or something over my wetsuit and coveralls? Not to mention if there is a cold front incoming that means rain too. I'll look up that ...stuff. I just hate hate hate being cold.

How thick is your wetsuit? Overheating can be a problem while caving in a wetsuit.

5 ml

Tito the Turtle wrote:5 ml

That seems plenty warm for TX. Too hot if you aren't in water a lot of the time.

I think this thickness was recommended by the doc, but I could be mistaken, it could have been three. Either way, I only have one wetsuit that fits and it's the one I'll wear. Picked it up and examined it yesterday, no tears, still looks baller on me. Two more days! I'm super stoked, especially since I've grabbed my long johns. I hate the cold, it's supposed to get in the thirties or something. The high for the weekend will be seventy seven and the low will be thirty seven. I want my summer back. :<

Haha! Wifi at restaurants, what an amazing thing!
I've got pictures that are in need of developing, but before I get ahead of myself ....
well, Today I caved Dead Man's Cave - my first wet cave and my personal favorite so far! I loved it!!! Afterwords we went to Cricket Cave but my bust was to large to fit. Couldn't even get to the squeeze!! Oh well, the cave isn't going anywhere! After that, we went to Cave Without a Name, which was gorgeous. I loved all of the various speleothems but I used my camera up in Dead Man's, so, all the pictures I have are taken by a cruddy camera phone. Anyway, my battery is dangerously low. I'll update everything I can tomorrow!!

much love to the caving community!!

Tito the Turtle wrote:Haha! Wifi at restaurants, what an amazing thing!
I've got pictures that are in need of developing, but before I get ahead of myself ....
well, Today I caved Dead Man's Cave - my first wet cave and my personal favorite so far! I loved it!!! Afterwords we went to Cricket Cave but my bust was to large to fit. Couldn't even get to the squeeze!! Oh well, the cave isn't going anywhere! After that, we went to Cave Without a Name, which was gorgeous. I loved all of the various speleothems but I used my camera up in Dead Man's, so, all the pictures I have are taken by a cruddy camera phone. Anyway, my battery is dangerously low. I'll update everything I can tomorrow!!

much love to the caving community!!

I'll look forward to your pictures.


Was the suit the right thickness?

Yes, it worked perfectly! I was worried that my toes would get cold because I forgot my SCUBA booties and was wearing my old pair of vibrams but I had no discomfort at all! It was amazing, I just got back to town. I think I should have everything developed by late today or some time tomorrow, though I'll have to find a CD drive to plug into my mini-note.

The Doc just told us that we will be spending the first three days of our TN trip in MAMMOTH CAVE!!!

so excited! You have no idea! (or maybe you do!)

Hello there.

I'm also new to caving but have the time and inclination to get into it in a big way.I live in Highland County Va and have 2 very small caves on my property. Since I just retired and was bored I decided to dig them out to find out if they will turn into decent sized caves.

I participate in organized digs as often as possible. And that's pretty often since we have lots of projects in my neighborhood. I want to learn vertical techniques but haven't yet.

Funny how caving can consume all your free time.

Cheers,

Mark