new caver from southeastern ky

[xericx]

first time poster, long time viewer.
im from whitesburg, ky.i have really wanted to get into caving for quite a few years and was wondering if anyone could point me in the right direction?i know there are quite a few caves here in letcher county in good ol pine mountain, and quite a few in wise, va as well but im having horrible luck finding anyone who actually 'caves'.
is anyone from the nearby area or have any contacts who someone who might be?

[Scott McCrea]

Try contacting Mike Crockett, if you haven't already. He is the project manager for the Cumberland Gap project. They are mapping Gap (Cudjo's) Cave. They have trips on the last full weekend of the month--that's next weekend. It's a great cave with lots of virgin booty to be discovered. Mike's email: cumberlandgap@gmail.com. His Cavechat profile.

[MoonshineR DavE]

I don't know anything about the area but Welcome to the forum.

[Jimmy Nelson]

Hello xericx,
You may want to contact The Pine Mountain Grotto http://www.caves.org/grotto/pmg/homepage.html. They are the closest Grotto to you.

[wendy]

glad you finally started posting. welcome to the board

[rbryant]

Hey.welcome aboard. I live in London, about two hours from you. There are tons of caves near this area (Rockcastle co, Pulaski co). I'm not sure about any grottos close to you in Virginia, I can tell you that Pine Mt Grotto is near Corbin. I'm not sure how active Pine Mountain is, I have left emails inquiring about meetings and have never received a response. I can relate to what you're going through, I'm pretty new myself and have found it pretty hard to find a network of caving partners. The best bet is to join a grotto, but don't expect them to start inviting you on trips. I think the key to getting in to the caving community is being seen, volunteering (cleanups) and I guess persistence. Good luck to you and I would follow up on that lead regarding mapping at Cudjo Cave. I might look into it myself.

[xericx]

thanks for all the responses thus far!

i have tried contacting pine mountain grotto in the past and havent had any luck with getting a response nether.
i will shoot about cudjo's cave and see what results that'll bear.

[Tony Anders]

is anyone from the nearby area or have any contacts who someone who might be?


Hey, we try to cave alot and have started a small club. We are wanting to get affiliated with the NSS as soon as we can have enough members. Presently we have 5 members all NSS members as well.

You can check us out if you wish.

[rbryant]

thanks for all the responses thus far!

i have tried contacting pine mountain grotto in the past and havent had any luck with getting a response nether.
i will shoot about cudjo's cave and see what results that'll bear.

I'm curious if you ever found anything about trips to Gap cave. I emailed a couple days ago and still have not received a response. Unless you have heard something, this would appear to be a dead end.

[Crockett]

The survey of Gap Cave is a Cave Research Foundation project in partnership with Cumberland Gap National Historical Park, Middlesboro, Kentucky, Lincoln Memorial Univerisity in Harrogate, Tennessee, and the Virginia Spleological Survey. The project is in year 5 and the length of the cave is now 12.6 miles. Over 90 cavers have been involved. Project updates were given during the U.S. Exploration Sessions of the NSS Conventions 2003 through 2006. A 2007 project update was given at SERA. Experienced cavers with survey and vertical skills are invited to support the project. Mike Crockett is the Project Coordinator and Bob Gulden is the Cartographer. Association with the Cave Research Foundation as a Join Venturer is required. Information about the Cave Research Foundation can be found at http://www.cave-research.org

Pine Mountain Grotto has meetings scheduled on the third Saturday of each month at the home of Dr. John Taylor of Union College in Barbourville, Kentucky. For directions and the latest information about PMG contact Dr. Taylor at jtaylor@unionky.edu

Both the CRF Cumberland Gap Project and the Pine Mountain Grotto are active on the north slope of Pine Mountain as far north as Whitesburg, Kentucky. Jimbo Helton of Pineville, Kentucky coordinates the Pine Mountain Survey which has identified more than 60 caves and karst features on the north slope. Most of the activity on Pine Mountain and Cumberland Mountain (also known as Stone Mountain) is restricted to winter months for safety. These two long ridges represent the north and south slope of the Pine Mountain Fault Block where caves are formed in the Newman limestone, usually across the strike but some down the ~30 degree dip. For information about winter caving on Pine Mountain contact Jimbo at kykver@hotmail.com or heltonattorneys@gmail.com

On the north end of Pine Mountain the Secretary of the Kentucky Speleological Survey Anita Spears has a lot of knowledge. Contact Anita at triocavers@hotmail.com

In Rockcastle County, Pulaski, or other counties to the south the most active groups seem to be the Greater Cincinnatti Grotto and the Bluegrass Grotto. That contact information is available at the NSS website.

I hope this helps. Some day I hope to make it up to Pine Mountain near Whitesburg for caving. With 125 miles of Pine Mountain and 90 miles of Cumberland Mountain there are just so many death marches and so little time. No time for spelling or grammar checking....just Submit.

Mike Crockett
cumberlandgap@gmail.com

[xericx]

thanks for the info mike.i'll shoot those folks a email.