The Underground Scene (Missouri Caving)

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The Underground Scene (Missouri Caving)

Postby Wayne Harrison » Aug 2, 2007 7:50 pm

The Underground Scene
By Alison Sieloff
Published: August 1, 2007

Missouri has a cornucopia of options for the cave explorer. You could practically cool off in an underground cavern every weekend during the summer. There’s only one problem: Many of these cave tours aren’t exactly for the adventure seeker, which is fine, but you’re looking to really explore. So sign up for the Wild Cave Tour already! This spelunkers’ special takes folks beyond the normal tour of Fisher Cave in Meramec State Park (115 Meramec Park Drive, Sullivan; http://www.mostateparks.com/meramec.htm). There will be some crawling and some crawling through water -- now, that’s more like it! Plus, you get to wear that wet suit and hardhat you never use. To sign up for the tour, which runs from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., call 573-468-8155. Admission costs $6 for adults and $5 for eighteen- and nineteen-year-olds.

via <a href="http://www.riverfronttimes.com/2007-08-01/calendar/the-underground-scene/">Riverfront Times</a>
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Postby Teresa » Aug 2, 2007 11:14 pm

Oh boy oh boy...a four hour round trip to the Hugh Dill room, with the description of 'some crawling'.

Won't those tourists be astonished? Can you say "ear dunker"? How about "claustrophobia"?

I've never done the trip. My husband got part way down the chert crawl, crawling in a wetsuit some years back, and then he said, 'lemme outta here.' Shredding a wetsuit doesn't appeal to me.

Hope they have fun. It will be interesting to hear if they actually make it all the way. Even more interesting to hear it advertised in the 'alternative' St. Louis weekly paper. Not exactly my idea of a good place to find caving clientele for such a trip.
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Weeping willow crawl

Postby kasi » Aug 8, 2007 10:24 am

Our group that spent last weekend doing restoration in Fisher cave saw some two of these unfortunates coming out of the weeping willow crawl led by their tour guide. I don't know what they were thinking - they only had short wet suits on, no coveralls, no kneepads, no elbowpads, and one of them was wearing sandals!!! Needless to say they were bleeding (a lot) all over the place (I had fun cleaning blood off flowstone) and shivering when they came out, but I guess they made it none the less. Jon led 4 people later that night down the crawl. I didn't have a wet suit, so the cold got the better of me halfway through and I turned around. Maybe next time! :oops:
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Postby cob » Aug 8, 2007 4:38 pm

You gotta be kidding me....
If fate doesn't make you laugh, then you just don't get the joke.
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Postby kasi » Aug 9, 2007 9:14 am

I wish I were. It kind of made me feel like a baby - I bring along kneepads (and everything else) everywhere I go, even if they say it's going to be all walking passage. The one time I didn't bring some, my knees looked like hamburger afterwards.
Last edited by kasi on Aug 9, 2007 12:50 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Postby Spike » Aug 9, 2007 10:53 am

I've only been to the Hugh Dill Room once. It was a survey trip, but that day there was the wild cave tour. I was amazed that the park offers the trip. I personally felt the water crawl was fun and easy floating along, but it is an earwash in several places. I just wish I had my wetsuit that day, or at least a dry bag for poly. It was COOOOLLLLDDDD!!!
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