# Would you enter a dark cave?



## Bretrick (Dec 2, 2021)

You're out walking in the countryside and come across a cave. Would you enter and what would you expect to find?
I would if I had a torch with me. I would expect to find plenty of spiders.


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## Gaer (Dec 2, 2021)

Oh, i used to do that ALL THE TIME when I was a kid!  I'd crawl in until I heard rattlers.  Then I got scared and would ease out.
I wasn't too smart!


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## RadishRose (Dec 2, 2021)

No.


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## Murrmurr (Dec 2, 2021)

I've entered many dark caves. You gotta check out a few things first; Any chance it'll collapse? Make some noise to ascertain if something big and bad is in there. Pace back and forth at the entrance for a few minutes.


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## timoc (Dec 2, 2021)

Would you enter a dark cave?​
*Every day*, yes every day, it's my house! I wish someone would invent electricity to light my abode, then I wouldn't keep banging my knee on that bloody old sideboard.


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## WheatenLover (Dec 2, 2021)

No. Bats, bears, spiders, bugs. I think I'd be better off not encountering those.


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## JustBonee (Dec 2, 2021)

Have been in two different National caves in the country  .... many years ago,  Mammoth in Kentucky,  and more recently Carlsbad Caverns in  New Mexico. 
 They were both huge,    and not all that dark at the entrances as I seem to recall.  But the scary thing is the bat life once you get inside!


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## WheatenLover (Dec 2, 2021)

Bonnie said:


> Have been in two different National caves in the country  .... many years ago,  Mammoth in Kentucky,  and more recently Carlsbad Caverns in  New Mexico.
> They were both huge,    and not all that dark at the entrances as I seem to recall.  But the scary thing is the bat life once you get inside!


I always wanted to take the kids to Mammoth Cave. The bat thing, though, makes me glad I didn't. It was hard enough to pretend not to be afraid of snakes, bugs, spiders, etc., when my sons were kids.


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## hollydolly (Dec 3, 2021)

Probably not but I love to visit old Caves which are made into Tourist places.. this one we visit every few years in Nerja, Andalucia  Spain...its beautiful


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## caroln (Dec 3, 2021)

Mammoth Cave is amazing, and they have several different types of tours.  On one tour they take everyone into a large "room" called the Rotunda and turn off all the lights for about 60 seconds.  The tour guide said the total blackness is comparable to what a blind person experiences.  There's no word to describe how dark it is deep inside a cave.  _Total _absence of light.

Anyway, no bats or crawly things that I've ever seen.

But would I walk into a cave I found in the woods?  No!


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## Lewkat (Dec 3, 2021)

Nope.


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## StarSong (Dec 3, 2021)

I'm on the same page as some other posters. I enjoy visiting caves that have been made into tourist attractions and national parks.  Most notably, in Belize I floated down lazy river that went in and out of several caves.  A group of about eight of us were in inner tubes while a tour guide explained what we were seeing as he walked alongside.   

But would I go into a cave that I stumbled upon? Absolutely not. To me, the risk of encountering a problem would be far greater than the reward.


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## Pappy (Dec 3, 2021)

If I had a flashlight yes. Went through Howes Caverns in NY state 3 times. A little spooky but not to bad.


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## feywon (Dec 3, 2021)

Yes, but no point if don't have a flashlight to be able to see both potential danger and/or things of interest.  Unless of course something outside was a definite threat, then i'd take my chances.

There was a time when it being dark probably would have eased my claustrophobia because just as a window to look out of eased it in small rooms not being able to SEE how close walls are would ease it. But i got over that some 2 decades ago.


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## Alligatorob (Dec 3, 2021)

Bretrick said:


> Would you enter a dark cave?​


Sure, have done many times, caves and  mineshafts.  Including a few underwater caves.

Done mostly in my youth, a bit less adventuresome today.  But I may not yet be done!


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## AnnieA (Dec 3, 2021)

Nope. Claustrophobic.


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## timoc (Dec 3, 2021)

*I wish* that all these people would stop traipsing through my kitchen, they've left all kinds of muck on my nice clean floor.


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## JustBonee (Dec 3, 2021)

Carlsbad Caverns,     and the flight of the  bats


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## helenbacque (Dec 3, 2021)

Yes if I had a good flash light but I would first toss in a large rock to rouse anything that might be hiding or sleeping.  No surprises.


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## StarSong (Dec 3, 2021)

helenbacque said:


> Yes if I had a good flash light but I would first toss in a large rock to rouse anything that might be hiding or sleeping.  No surprises.


That wouldn't necessarily be a good strategy...


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## Remy (Dec 3, 2021)

By myself, probably not. I'd want to leave the critters there alone anyway.

There are caves at Shasta Lake in California. I should do the tour some day.


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## Gary O' (Dec 3, 2021)

Would you enter a dark cave?​
No

Snakes are in there

Hate snakes


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## palides2021 (Dec 3, 2021)

I have gone into a couple large, caverns in Ohio and elsewhere as a tourist and saw the stalagmites and stalactites. They were awesome with the colorful lighting used.

But I would never ever go into a cave alone. Like others here, I'm worried about what's lurking in there, and I've read horror stories where people have gone into caves and ended up with some mysterious virus infection that killed them (think it came from bats?).


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## Pinky (Dec 3, 2021)

Took a guided tour through a cave in Australia, but, a cave in general - no thanks!


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## feywon (Dec 3, 2021)

palides2021 said:


> But I would never ever go into a cave alone. Like others here, I'm worried about what's lurking in there, and I've read horror stories where people have gone into caves and ended up with some mysterious virus infection that killed them (think it came from bats?).


Bat guano (feces) is the health risk to humans as it decomposes it releases pathogens into the air, Histoplasmosis specifically.
So unless someone who means mean imminent violent harm is stalking me outside, i wouldn't enter a cave i knew bats were using.

For those interested link to CDC info about it:

https://www.cdc.gov/fungal/diseases/histoplasmosis/index.html


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## Marie5656 (Dec 17, 2021)

*Have any of you heard the Nutty Putty cave Story?  I have heard the story a few times, sad and facinating





*


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## Bretrick (Dec 17, 2021)

Marie5656 said:


> *Have any of you heard the Nutty Putty cave Story?  I have heard the story a few times, sad and facinating
> 
> 
> 
> ...


So sad. I would never go into that kind of cave. I am sure I would be claustrophobic.
People who do this sort of exploration are certainly more adventurous than I.


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## Furryanimal (Dec 21, 2021)

Only been in caves that are managed tourist attractions...so Goughs cave in Cheddar and Wooky Hole.
Not sure I’m going in a cave I just stumbled across...


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## Jules (Dec 21, 2021)

Ex SIL was a forester.  One day he and his partner decided to explore a cave they found.  Just started in and heard what sounded like something big.  They high tailed it out and took off.


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## JaniceM (Dec 29, 2021)

Pappy said:


> If I had a flashlight yes. Went through Howes Caverns in NY state 3 times. A little spooky but not to bad.


I went there on a class field trip in 6th grade.  Was kinda interesting.. but was also another example of how field trips usually meant more time on a bus than at the actual destination.


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## Judycat (Dec 29, 2021)

My dad took me inside a mine once. The flashlight wasn't much good once we turned a bend and there was no more outdoor light coming in. Yes the flashlight was working fine but it was dwarfed by the total black darkness all around. I ran out of there.


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## IFortuna (Dec 29, 2021)

Yes!  If I had long sleeves, a good flashlight and my .380 I would! LOL


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## dseag2 (Dec 30, 2021)

We did, in Bat Cave, NC.  The bats all flew out at once and that is the last time we will try that.


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## Tish (Dec 30, 2021)

With my trusty torch, I would.


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## dseag2 (Dec 30, 2021)

Try watching this.  It was a great movie, but if you hate caves it will not be for you.


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## Linda (Dec 30, 2021)

No way, not even with a big flashlight (torch) or in the day time.  Nothing in there for me!


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## oldpop (Dec 30, 2021)

Yes, with a flashlight or torch.


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## Judycat (Dec 30, 2021)

Supposed to have at least three independent sources of light if you are going spelunking.


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## mrstime (Dec 30, 2021)

Nope, I don't like spiders or snakes and I hate bats!


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## Alligatorob (Dec 30, 2021)

In high school in Utah some friends and I tried finding caves and mines to explore.  The only semi-impressive cave we found went on for a very long ways, tight close quarters.  A few times we spent hours trying, unsuccessfully to find the end.  It was mostly crawling and tight climbs, some places laying in bat guano.  Don't know if the cave had a name, we called it "Fat Man's Misery".  It was not developed or open to the public, just a steep climb about an hour up a mountain side, no real trail.  We also found a number of old silver mines, long abandoned.  Years earlier the Forest Service had blasted the entrances closed, but we still found a few ways in.  Pretty scary. 

In Florida before moving to Utah (age 16) friends and I explored a lot of underwater caves.  We had little diving gear (all unsafe by today's standards) and no reliable underwater lights, so that was a bit limited.  But exciting. Kmart sold a waterproof flashlight that seemed to work to a depth of about 50 feet, for a few minutes anyway.

These days I stick to developed caves with trails and tours, much easier on my body...


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## Ruthanne (Dec 30, 2021)

If I had a light and someone with me, maybe.  I might only go in a foot tho.


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## Rah-Rah (Jan 16, 2022)

Yes if I had a flashlight or a torch.


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## Shero (Jan 16, 2022)

I love caves but I have enough sense to know not to enter a dark one. Also entering one without knowing the terrain is a risk and always have someone waiting outside if you risk it.


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## JonSR77 (Jan 16, 2022)

When I was younger, probably.  I did a bunch of hiking in the National Parks.  That was literally 40 years ago.  Now?  Nope, don't think I would.


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## JonSR77 (Jan 16, 2022)

feywon said:


> Bat guano (feces) is the health risk to humans as it decomposes it releases pathogens into the air, Histoplasmosis specifically.
> So unless someone who means mean imminent violent harm is stalking me outside, i wouldn't enter a cave i knew bats were using.
> 
> For those interested link to CDC info about it:
> ...


I had not thought of that.  Sound warning.  I remember some similar warnings about going under a bridge that had a great deal of activity by pigeons.  That their feces was also very toxic.


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