Laying in the darkness, surrounded by walls and mud, you listen to nothing. You hear a drop of water falling in the distance and making an echo that would put the splashing of the waves to shame. You turn your light off to save the power and wait. Slowly, you see a light in the distance. Is it a light, or is it your imagination? Then you start hearing voices in the distance? Is that all in your head? But the voices grow louder, and the glistening of the light tells you that your team is returning and your rest time is over. It’s time to take your pack and continue your journey.
When asked why caving, most cavers emphasize that it takes you where no one has been before, enables you to explore the ultimate frontier in the world, and discover what no one has seen before. Although these are fair reasons, there is so much more to caving. Keep on reading to learn what drives us to go where several don’t dare to go.
Caving, particularly exploration caving, requires you to become a climber, mountaineer, hiker, rope expert, surveyor, prospector, explorer, contortionist, rock expert, geologist, hydrologist, and most importantly, team player.
Caving also requires you to practice patience, persistence, and perseverance. Sooner or later, it brings you to your limits and forces you to overcome them and carry on. Since if you don’t, you will remain in the cave.
Caving makes you realize you are so small and insignificant yet so important. Without cavers, no one would ever know what lies underneath, and without cavers, several crucial resources would go unnoticed and unused.