Have you ever skipped caving to save gas?

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Have you ever skipped caving to save gas?

Postby Sean Ryan » May 29, 2007 4:16 pm

To get to decent caving areas, it costs me a tank of gas to get there and back. There's no reason why I have to do it. I can afford the tank of gas even at three bucks and change a gallon, so I do it. I don't rush at every opportunity to go caving, and some of that is because I don't want to burn up a whole tank of gas easing my weekend boredom. I can carpool with people and split the money, but it's still gas being burned for an unnecessary purpose. Is it environmentally selfish to go caving - or more generally, to do any sort of leisure travel by car?

This holds doubly true for any sort of conservation trips. I might be burning a tank of gas to scrub a wee bit of algae off a formation or sit at a meeting for a few hours and say very little. Is there a net environmental gain from getting rid of that algae, or is the planet better off if I just read a book that weekend?
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Postby tallgirl » May 29, 2007 4:32 pm

if you are carpooling with someone who would have made the trip regardless of whether you tagged along or not the only environmental cost from you is what it took to get to them.... and if your close enough you should not feel bad about it.

if you think just going to one cave is a waste of fuel plan a whole weekend of caving where you can camp near the cave sites to maximize your in cave time for a single commuting trip

just some thoughts
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Postby Wayne Harrison » May 29, 2007 5:22 pm

I'm in the same boat as Ryan. Three hours each way = one tank of gas = $50+

I have skipped caving due to high gas prices.
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Postby NZcaver » May 29, 2007 6:47 pm

I have never skipped caving because of gas prices - which is not to say it won't ever happen. :shock:

My longest road trip specifically to go caving was 4500 miles - Connecticut to New Mexico and back, four years ago. Another caver and I carpooled in a mid-size SUV to an NCRC weeklong. We were there about 10 days, and no smaller vehicle would have fit all our gear. Can't remember the total gas cost, but it was sure cheaper than it would be now! I have about a 4000 mile road trip coming up this summer (not specifically caving), so it will be interesting to see how many tears I shed at the gas pump... :cry:

Anyway, after sharing that big marathon 36-hour caving road trip (each way) I now much prefer flying to any cave further away than a day's drive. :wink:
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Postby Teresa » May 29, 2007 7:05 pm

We skipped MVOR because of gas prices.
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Postby fuzzy-hair-man » May 29, 2007 7:30 pm

I ride my pushbike Monday to Friday so I think I'm justified driving to caves on the weekend (we still car pool as much as possible).

Is it possible to make adjustments to your weekday routine so that you save fuel and help the environment then you might be able to reward yourself by going caving on the weekend.

If you save more fuel than you use going caving it's still a good thing. :grin:
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Postby Scott McCrea » May 29, 2007 7:42 pm

fuzzy-hair-man wrote:If you save more fuel than you use going caving it's still a good thing. :grin:

:exactly: I skip mowing the grass to go caving all the time. I've heard that lawn mowers spew more yuck than most cars. Driving to a cave is a lot better than what many non-caving people do on their weekends. Save the Earth. Go caving!
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Postby NZcaver » May 29, 2007 7:44 pm

fuzzy-hair-man wrote:I ride my pushbike Monday to Friday so I think I'm justified driving to caves on the weekend (we still car pool as much as possible).

Is it possible to make adjustments to your weekday routine so that you save fuel and help the environment then you might be able to reward yourself by going caving on the weekend.

If you save more fuel than you use going caving it's still a good thing. :grin:

Good point. Although I'd love to get a new hybrid/green vehicle that can hold all my caving stuff and a few people, and still traverse difficult terrain - it just isn't an option for me right now.

On the plus side, this year the two of us have driven an average of less than 50 miles a week in our tiny 1.3 liter car. So I guess we're saving our green points too. :wink:
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Skipping caving

Postby pacaver » May 29, 2007 8:20 pm

I'm a motorcycle commuter so I rarely drive my 4 wheeler except for a heavy load of groceries or a cave trip. 55 mpg on my daily driver makes me fairly immune to high gas prices. It's good for the wallet, keeps a little money out of the hands of people that don't like us, and it guarantees that no matter how lousy my day at work was, I'll be smiling by the time I get home. :grin:
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Postby Wayne Harrison » May 29, 2007 9:27 pm

Yeah but you'll have bugs in your teeth... :banana:
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Postby MUD » May 29, 2007 9:54 pm

The price of gas hasn't stopped me from any trips....not yet anyway! It would take alot to stop me from cavin'....we won't get into what I've missed because of a cave trip.... :hairpull: When ya got CAVES ON THE BRAIN, ya got to go! :driving:
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Postby MoonshineR DavE » May 29, 2007 9:59 pm

Cavemud wrote:The price of gas hasn't stopped me from any trips....not yet anyway! It would take alot to stop me from cavin'....we won't get into what I've missed because of a cave trip.... :hairpull: When ya got CAVES ON THE BRAIN, ya got to go! :driving:




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Postby caverd » May 30, 2007 9:05 am

I, and several of my friends, skipped two events this year that we normally attend because of the price of gas. Very tough decisions! We're not skipping SERA this weekend though!
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Postby Carl Amundson » May 30, 2007 10:05 am

Short answer is NO.
and I usually drive by myself because I like to enjoy a cigar on the drive home.

Hell I'm making an 8 hour round trip this weekend just to spend a few hours practicing for the NCRC weeklong with an instructor I know.
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Postby Ralph E. Powers » May 30, 2007 10:33 am

A couple of years ago the Utah Grottos had their turn to host the annual regional for the RMR. Everything was going fine until right up to the night before Labor Day weekend (thursday) and gas prices shot through the roof and a good number of great folks had to cancel at the last second because the cost exceeded their budget for the trip out to where we were holding the regional. We still had a great regional just not as big as it could've been.

Interesting dynamics I'm experiencing living out here in TAG country after moving from Utah. With caves literally 10-25 minutes of my house getting to the caves isn't that big of a deal. Especially since a vast majority of them are off paved roads so having a four-wheel drive vehicle isn't necessary.
Whereas out in the west the nearest cave could be an hour to an hour and half drive and requiring at least a high ground clearance/4x4 vehicle to get to where one would start hiking. I dunno if the folks out west are going less because of the rising gas prices or not.... There are other pursuits out there besides caving :shock: (yes it's sad but true) but gas pricing also can affect the decision to do them or no.

Then again it all depends upon how much you "take home" from your paycheck doesn't it? :-)
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