So You Want to Go Caving
I started caving as a kid in Huntsville, Alabama around 1970. We did everything wrong. We used flashlights gathered from glove boxes or hall closets, knotted ropes, and even a rope ladder made from household electrical cable (fortunately, I was hanging from a tree in the backyard instead of over a pit when that ladder finally broke). We were lucky. Nobody got seriously hurt or embarrassed by having to be hauled up a pit we couldn't climb with our knotted rope (although there were some close calls).

In some ways caving is far different today than when I started. The gear is far better, and far more expensive. There are more cavers, and fewer landowners willing to provide access. Some of the caves are seeing far more traffic than they can support. We don't particularly need any more people going into caves. But at the same time, there are never enough people who understand the fragile beauty of caves, and why they need our protection.

If you're sincerely interested in caving, consider the following:

Join the NSS and its local chapter (called a grotto). Your chances of doing any real caving without joining this organization or one of its chapters is practically nil. You won't be able to find many caves, and if you do, you won't have the equipment or knowledge to see the best of them.
Go caving with organized cavers. Many grottos have regular monthly trips where you can learn the best ways of doing things. Be cautious about going caving on your own. Most rescues I've seen--including a couple of fatalities--could have been prevented if at least one experienced person had been along to provide counsel.
Don't jump into vertical caving without specialized training and equipment. Most people today are smart enough to know that knotted ropes only work for Batman. Still, lots of rock climbers and ROTC-trained rappellers get into trouble because they don't appreciate the very real differences between rappelling a cliff or building on the surface and doing an in-cave drop.
Cave water is cold! If you don't think you can die of hypothermia in a southeastern cave, ask one of the several people who already have. On second thought, I guess you'll have to take my word for it!
Treat the caves and their owners with the respect they deserve. Pick up trash, erase graffiti, leave no trace. Keep your caving low-key. Resist their urge to turn all your friends into cavers (the "evangelist" phase will pass).
Give something back. If you're an active caver in the Southeastern U.S. and don't belong to the Southeastern Cave Conservancy, take a moment to kick yourself before entering any cave.

After looking at an updated list of American Caving Accidents, it occurs to me that I should mention that despite my own nonchalance about easy caving can be, you can still get yourself killed. People are still dying in caves every year, usually from making the same cliche mistakes. Want to die in a cave? Try climbing a pit in a waterfall (doesn't have to be a big pit or a big waterfall, either) without proper gear or training. Rig a rope that's too short for a pit and rappel right off the end. Stand in the rockfall zone at the bottom of pits, or under ice formations in the entrance. If every would-be caver would just read the accident reports (unfortunately, the complete reports are mailed to NSS members but still not published where the public can see them), almost no one would ever die caving.

Here's one for free: Don't ever, ever put a rope down a cliff or a pit without putting a knot in the end first, even if you can see the rope on the bottom. Make it a habit and tell people why you're doing it. This is so simple, and yet every year someone dies because they didn't do it. If you've ever "trained" someone to rappel or climb and did not emphasize knotting the end, better call them right now and set them straight. End of free lesson.

If you need specific help or advice (other than cave locations, which I probably won't give you even if I do remember), e-mail me at rling@stationr.org and I'll try to help.

Caving Links
National Speleological Society
TAG Caving Resources
Lost Mountain Grotto, Georgia
Southeastern Cave Conservancy
American Caving Accidents
What Rodger Hated About the TAG Fall Cave-In
First Caves by Terry Hamrick
Cave Divers Corner

Photographs:
Top Right: Author in Cannon County Blowhole, 1982
Left Side #1: Self Portrait, 1986
Left Side #2: Balcony Sinks Cave, 1988