Howdy. Exploring California for a long time now.

[Lost4Fun]

And just finally getting to caving.

My wife and I have spent over 10 years exploring the wilderness offered to us by this beautiful state. We've also spent nights in the 4x4 exploring FL, AL, GA, LA, KS, MN, NV, AZ, TX, OR, and ID.

Most of our trips are with the 4x4, off road. We're very respectful of the trails and we're happy to report that we're seeing a lot more nice folks out that are picking up after themselves and not destroying the vegetation.

We sometime backpack, too. We're always camping or renting out cabins in the mountains. We've fished and caught just about everything under the sun, releasing 99% of everything we catch. (Sometimes we'll keep a halibut or striper from the bay.)

Exploring is our main quest in life. We've seen a lot of ocean, forests, mountains, deserts. But we have yet to see the world of the underground.

We had been thinking about looking for caves for some time. But after seeing "Decent" last night, it's time to take the next step.

So hello, and thanks for being here.

[Wayne Harrison]

Welcome to the NSS forum. Depending on where you live the next step might be to attend a local Grotto meeting. Grottos are the local caving chapters of the NSS. You'll find them listed here:

http://www.caves.org/io/iolookup.php?state=CA

Grotto members can get you squared away, tell you about caving trips coming up, and teach you proper caving safety and conservation.

If you saw The Descent, one thing I should warn you is we don't use flares... Did you notice in the movie she was always lighting flares but you never saw her carrying any?

[Lost4Fun]

I figured any type of fire would be a bad idea in a cave? Well, that's why I'm here. To learn.

Priority #1 is safety so I don't get us in trouble.
I'm gonna dig around the forum and see what I find on doing it right.

We live for adventure, no doubt about it. I can tell you right now we're the type to try and find a new cave, rather than to visit a tourist attraction. Something special about it when it's we discover new beautiful places.

If anybody here is into 4x4 and camping, I have plenty of data on pretty much any area in CA. I'm not talking about places where you come across people, either. The good spots - scenic, full of life, and all to yourselves. Ahh...

I also work for the major utility companys, so my job actually takes me on private lands almost every day. And yes, during a break I'm allowed to take pictures of the scenery. I've come across one cave so far that I found completely on my own. If I could upload pics directly, I'd be happy to share, but I do not have them online.

Cheers.

[wendy]

Ya I second what wayne said bout finding the grotto nearest you. CA is full of real nice cavers, I just got back from an event that the Western Region of the NSS holds.

Also in the the general caving forum (i think that's the name, its the top one on this message board) there is a thread about getting started in caving