Cavechat.org

Howdy!

I'm new to this board and relatively new to caving.

A few months back, a group of friends from my church decided to visit Buckner's near Bloomington, Indiana. I really had no idea what to expect. I had a cheap little belt with a bunch of zippered pouches on it, a hard hat, and a few flashlights. I had the time of my life! I must say that the crawl through the entrance was pretty grueling. And there was one spot where we crawled for what seemed like forever and there wasn't even enough space to lift our heads. It was such a rush!

This weekend we are heading to Sullivan's. I've got some new gear (army surplus belt with a bunch of alice-clipped magazine pouches) and a few other odds and ends. I can't wait.

That said, I'd like to be a little more prepared this time. We got a bit turned around in Buckner's and didn't always know where to go or what to look at.

Is there any information to be found on specific caves and the things to look for in them? Maybe maps? I'm having a really hard time finding this kind of stuff!

Nice to meet you all.

Hey SteveH,

You need to join a grotto if you haven't already. The Central Indiana Grotto meets in Indianapolis, The Bloomington Indiana Grotto meets in Bloomington and there are others, depends on where you live. Grottoes usally have monthly grotto trips. To get maps and locations, you'll get that from cavers. The Indiana Cave Survey keeps a database of all Indiana caves. That's where most maps and location info is kept. But you have to be a member to get any info.

Welcome to the forum! BTW, locations are not passed out here either.

Hi Steve!
As batrotter already indicated, you should join a grotto! The Bloomington Indiana Grotto (BIG) is meeting this Thursday (8/9) at 7:30pm in the Geology Building at Indiana University. If you're around...join us! I've enjoyed both Buckner and Sullivan. I hope you have a great time, if I don't see you at BIG!

Welcome to Cave chat. I like buckner, its a great cave to break a new person in on without much worry about damaging the pretty stuff.

As for the craw way, it gets easier every time you do it. Wait until you start carrying a pack just to make it harder on yourself.

Hmmm...Monkey-boy...
I haven't seen you do the crawlway in...almost a month!?!?

I will have to look up some local grottos here. I am in the northwest indiana area. I can't wait to get back in this cave. I'm not sure why I liked it so much, I really have no rational explanation!

Thank you guys for the tips and the welcome. I have a feeling I will be exploring this forum for many many hours to come.

Hi Steve,
This weekend an event called "Cave Capers" is occurring not far from Sullivan Cave. You will likely run across a few experienced cavers during your visit to Sullivans. I recommend you not be shy and introduce yourself to anyone you see who looks like they know what their doing. I think you'll know em when you see em! You just might meet the one person you need.

If your interested in Cave Capers, here is a link... http://www.cavecapers.com/index.html
Explore the links home page (NSS) and you'll find a wealth of information about caving.

Here is a list of Indiana Grottos... http://www.nssio.org/find_grotto_overview.cfm?state=IN

Feel free to PM me for more info.

steveh_131 wrote:I'm not sure why I liked it so much, I really have no rational explanation!

Give up! Been wondering that myself for over 40 years.

Welcome to the forum, Indiana is a great place for caving.

Welcome aboard. It's always nice to get a new caver in the midwest.