is there such a designation as a "paper caver?"

[maryhelen]

i'm not a caver but i love to read about caves and peoples' caving experiences. i think that makes me a paper caver, if such a category exists. the things that i like to do outdoors are hiking, backpacking, car-camping and campfires, and white-water canoeing. long ago i loved to explore the boring old caves that were relatively easy to access, didn't involve rappelliing or rock climbing gear anywhere, but usually insured getting covered with mud and crawling on my back. more recently, i spent some winter week-ends ridge-walking with a friend who is an active caver, looking for new caves. she would check out just about anything that looked like it could be a hole in the earth. i stayed where i was and waited for her to report what she found! to her credit, she eventually found a new cave here in georgia and it was named after her.

now, for why i'm here: i know there are many issues among cavers, such as wanting to keep the name and location of a cave to oneself, having caves closed for various reasons, protection of caves and critters who live in caves, etc. those boring, muddy caves i once explored were in the great state of mississippi (horrors!!). i understand that there are a suspected number of approximately 30+ caves in mississippi. i have been browsing the internet--and this forum--without much luck trying to find a list of the caves in mississippi and maps of those caves. a long-time friend is visiting and we have been reminiscing about our "caving" days in mississippi, a place neither of us even visits anymore, and we can't recall the names or locations of any of the caves we once explored. we agree they were inevitably wet, close to a stream or river, unremarkable, usually in wooded areas, and once in a while, contained a 10-40 ft cravasse or pit that had to be traversed. can anyone help me out? how do i find out the names and locations of mississippi's caves? surely, they have been surveyed and mapped at sometime by someone, even if they aren't particularly interesting?

in addition to not being a real caver and in spite of having spent hours browsing the internet for the information i want, i am also a ludite, so my research may be incomplete; however, if anyone can pass me some information or point me in the right direction, i'd greatly appreciate it.

thanks--

maryhelen
former resident of mississippi and explorer of boring caves

ps--has anyone ever come across sasquatch in a cave?

[pub]

Welcome to cavechat maryhelen...

A more common term is "Armchair Caver" although there may be some pauper cavers around.

Try contacting the JUST Cavers Grotto in Brandon, Mississippi.

So where do you live now?

[wyandottecaver]

Mary Ellen,

local cavers will of course be the most knowledgeable. However, Richard "Dick" Blenz maintains the NSS cave files and would likely be willing to provide names and counties (not directions or locations) of the caves he has on record, 50 last time I asked. In a disscussion on here local folks listed just over 30 and the "Caves of Mississippi" lists 44. I belive a copy of this out of print book can be found at the University of Southern Mississippi. The different numbers most likely represent differences in what a "cave" is defined as.

I do more paper caving and computer caving than real caving now that I have 2 jobs, but am still involved in 1 active exploration project.

[Mirth Beneath the Earth]

As I see it, you are one of us. We all 'armchair cave' when we can't physically cave.