Hey all! Newbie from NJ here - caves rule

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Hey all! Newbie from NJ here - caves rule

Postby BillRigg » Aug 8, 2017 7:10 pm

Hi everyone! My name is Bill, and I've considered myself an amateur caver ever since my long-time girlfriend Jenny introduced me to it. I've been in three caves so far, each very commercialized and tame, but oh boy do I love it. I've also been with Jenny on each of my cave ventures, so we're sort of a caving team - the more cave history I read, the more I see this isn't very uncommon.

I want to build up my experience and maybe someday do some wild caves. I have a long term goal to see the Master Cave System (not sure about capitalization there, as it might have an actual name) under Howe's Cavern NY, to be honest, but every journey starts with a single step.

My journey started in Ruby Falls, TN, when I was on a road trip through the state with Jenny. It was a magical experience for me full of wonders scientific, historic, and utterly, awesomely natural. That waterfall is crazy. Then, years later at Jenny's suggestion again I found myself drawn to Howe Caverns and Secret Cavern in upstate New York. They were fantastic, beautiful, and just the right kind of spooky - it all came together in me and I knew two things: that I needed to be in more caves, and that I had a lot to learn and experience. I have a lot of questions, and a lot of interest, so thank you all for this store of experience and information!

Looking forward to posting with you all,
Bill
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BillRigg
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Re: Hey all! Newbie from NJ here - caves rule

Postby ohiocaver » Aug 9, 2017 10:52 am

Check out the NSS Home Page (above or at caves.org). There will be a link to a nearby grotto (local cave club). Get in touch with them, go to a couple of meetings, and take a trip or two with them. They will help you learn to cave properly, safely, and gently. See you underground! :cavingrocks:
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Re: Hey all! Newbie from NJ here - caves rule

Postby CaverScott » Aug 9, 2017 11:49 am

And they will invite you on some really awesome cave trips. :bananabat:
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Re: Hey all! Newbie from NJ here - caves rule

Postby BillRigg » Aug 9, 2017 1:44 pm

Thanks, both of you! I'm sure the local grotto will be able to give me tips, tricks, and a heads up on good local caves to start with.

And really awesome cave trips are what I'm here for!
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Re: Hey all! Newbie from NJ here - caves rule

Postby Caving Guru » Aug 10, 2017 3:29 pm

If you want to get an idea of what caves in New Jersey are like, then I would suggest typing "Caves of New Jersey PDF" into Google and clicking on the first result. Most of the caves in NJ are pretty small and restricted. The 3 longest NJ caves are all gated. If you want to get in a NJ cave, then I would suggest signing up for the next NJIRT OCR. NJIRT held an OCR this year in May & they usually host an OCR every year or 2. During the Orientation to Cave Rescue, you go to Leigh Cave, what used to be the most popular recreation cave in NJ before it got gated. NJ cavers also do a bunch of traveling to get to caving events including OTR (held September 1-3 in WV), NRO (held September 10-12 in VT), VAR (held September 22-24 in WV) and the TAG Fall Cave-In (held October 6-8 in GA). You could probably find someone to carpool with for any of these events. The closest open access wild cave to you, that I am aware of, is probably Wind Cave which is a short distance across the NJ/PA border in Amish country.
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Re: Hey all! Newbie from NJ here - caves rule

Postby BillRigg » Aug 10, 2017 5:49 pm

Wow, thanks for all the tips! I have a good pdf or two of such nature already downloaded, and while they have some good information I figured it would be smart to supplement that with the collected experience of the forum first. I'll be sure to make note of all of this, especially those caving events.
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