Raccoon Mountain Caverns: Into the darkness

[Wayne Harrison]

By Lisa Meyers McClintick, Special to the Star Tribune

Last update: July 06, 2007 – 12:48 PM

<img src="http://media.startribune.com/smedia/2007/07/05/15/849-3968633.standalone.prod_affiliate.2.jpg" align=left>Deep in the heart of Raccoon Mountain Caverns, we paused to take a break. With three other women, I'd climbed and crawled through what felt like an underground obstacle course near Chattanooga, Tenn.

"Are we steaming?" I had to ask. Backlit by another caver's headlamp, my breath swirled around my head.

It's just one of the funky special effects that occur amid 100 percent humidity, assured our guide, Patty Perlaky, who calmly and expertly guided us on this new challenge: a wild caving tour.

<a href="http://www.startribune.com/1513/story/1286599.html">Full story in Minneapolis Star Tribune</a>