Into the Unknown: A Caver’s Journey

Chris Beckstrand

How and when did you get into caving?

My first real experiences in caving were in the mountains and deserts of Utah during high school. My first legitimate caving experience was to the infamous Nutty Putty cave, and my group of friends and I would frequently visit the system. It wasn’t until I moved to Tennessee in 2011 that I realized how many caves there are for us to explore. I had no idea what real caving was about until I moved to Tennessee.

Are you able to share your love of caving with anyone?

I share my love of caving with my friends, Rob Cuthbertson and Devan Griner. Our group is also known as the Crystal Brooke Grotto. The three of us, from about 2016 to 2018, probably went on 50 different trips together.

Tell us about your most memorable caving trip.

I love every single trip and cave we have done together. It is hard to choose a favorite. One of my favorite trips though was our very first time finding the entrance to Ellison’s Cave. With the caving community being so tight-lipped about cave locations (something I have grown to respect), we had to explore for ourselves. Once we found it, we didn’t really come prepared to explore the cave, but the temptation was too strong. With nothing but cell phone lights, we made it all the way to the warmup pit and back. Not very smart, and definitely not recommended, but quite memorable.

What is your favorite thing about caving?

Caving to me is the ultimate form of exploration. Everything about it is unknown. Around every corner could be a place where light has never shined. It is the ultimate combination of physical exertion, controlled danger, unexpected surprises, discovery, and beauty.

What is your proudest caving-related accomplishment?

Not dying the first time we descended Fantastic Pit in Ellison’s Cave. Devan rigged the first rappel and checked the knots for 20 minutes to make sure he had it right. After he offloaded his weight from the ledge onto the rope, it was a giant step for the Crystal Brooke Grotto.

Eric Ashburn

How and when did you get into caving?

My father was the national training coordinator for the National Cave Rescue Commission. As he taught classes for them and other rescue organizations, he would often take me with him.

What’s your funniest caving story?

I took a film crew on a trip for their TV show. They really wanted to spend the night in the cave. So, me and the other guides got them set up in hammocks hanging from the ceiling. One of the hosts was a good candidate for a CPAP. A few hours into our slumber, I woke up to some other young cavers making their way through the passages. We quietly hung in our hammocks and just listened to them. For a moment, they stopped talking, and one of them heard the rhythmic night sounds of our host. These boys were positive that they had just come across a slumbering bear. They ran out of that cave with such fear you couldn’t help but giggle.

What makes Chattanooga and the surrounding area a great spot for caving?

The limestone that covers most of the area makes for lots of caving. Because there are so many caves in the area, many of the best cavers find their way here. That builds an amazing community for support and friendship with people who share a similar passion.

Do you have any advice for those looking to get into caving?

Attend a grotto meeting. Grottos are groups of cavers that share their knowledge and experience. They can help you get the gear, find the caves, and most importantly, learn the sport in a safe way. They also really help teach good etiquette to keep the environment pristine for others generations. In the Chattanooga area, the Chattanooga Grotto meets at Outdoor Chattanooga on Monday nights at 7 p.m. All are welcome. The Pigeon Mountain Grotto that meets in Northwest Georgia is another great organization.

Hannah Andrews

How and when did you get into caving?

I got into caving in 2018 when I started working as a tour guide at Ruby Falls. I loved sharing not only the history of Ruby Falls but also the science behind the cave and its formations. During my time there, I made many wonderful friends, one of whom was Drew Thackston. He invited me on my first cave expedition to Animal Farm Cave located near Monteagle, and I’ve been hooked on caving ever since!

Tell us about your most memorable caving trip.

It was my first trip to Tumbling Rock in Alabama. About a mile into the cave, we could hear faint rumbling in the distance. As we got closer, the faint rumbling got louder and louder. Finally, we approached a small 6- to 7-foot-tall waterfall coming out of a hole in the ceiling. Past spelunkers had stacked large rocks underneath the waterfall, making it easier to lift yourself up into the hole. After getting up through the hole, I was greeted with a large, beautiful waterfall. The area we were in was known as the Topless Dome, home of the 400-foot-tall King’s Shower waterfall. It was breathtaking; when you looked up, it was as if the water droplets were moving in slow motion as they fell, as it took what seemed like forever to reach the bottom.

Have you been able to share your love of caving with anyone?

I’m part of two grottos: an all-girls grotto and Pigeon Mountain Grotto. My partner, Justice, and I have been caving ever since we first visited Animal Farm six years ago. I have introduced caving to quite a few friends over the years, and anyone who knows me knows how much I love caves.

What do you wish people knew about caving?

Caves are the reason why I got a bachelor’s degree in environmental geology at UTC. When people think about pollution, a lot of people might only think about the how the ecosystems on the surface are affected. Pollution can also impact the fragile ecosystem of a cave through contamination of groundwater and irresponsible caving practices. When you go caving, it is important to only take pictures and leave nothing but footprints.

David Dehart

How and when did you get into caving?

I went caving a couple times in the Boy Scouts and some commercial caves growing up. I really started caving in 1993. Some friends next door to the place I worked in Atlanta at the time asked me if I wanted to join them on a caving and camping weekend in Tennessee. I was excited to go. We caved both Saturday and Sunday in this nice, long wet cave that had an upper horizontal entrance and a vertical entrance. I just did the horizontal trip. It wasn’t until a few cavers came out with ropes hanging off of them that I found out about the vertical caving. This piqued my interest even further. We went again two weeks later, and I was hooked!

What’s your favorite thing about caving?

Challenging myself and going places that only a very small percentage of the population will ever go or even know about.

What’s your funniest caving story?

Teaching my friend to always look where they are about to land when rappelling. She always had a hard time with that, and I kept telling her she was going to get hurt one day. She never seemed to listen. So, I had the opportunity to really teach her a harmless lesson. I went down a pit first and discovered at the bottom, right where you would land, a dead possum. I kicked off the wall, landed, looked around, and very carefully got back on rope and climbed out. When I reached the top, I told her to go next and that it was a beautiful pit and she would love it. She got on rope and started down. I started laughing because I knew what would happen. My friends were asking me what I was laughing about, and I said, “Y’all will hear in just a minute.” Sure enough, she started yelling things at me. But, to this day, she always stops and looks down to check her landing zone now.

What are your go-to essentials for a caving trip?

Extra batteries for my lights, my phone, and extra light for photography. Also, a balaclava, protein bar, and fluids for hydration.

Buddy Lane

How and when did you get into caving?

In December 1969, I had a friend in school that had just joined the Chattanooga Grotto of the National Speleological Society (NSS). I attended my first meeting in January 1970 and joined the Grotto and the NSS that same month. Later that month, I went on my first caving trip, which was led by longtime Grotto member Don Black. Black was one of the early members of the NSS. After that, I knew I was hooked, and it was my life calling.

What makes Chattanooga and the surrounding area a great spot for caving?

It’s a hot bed of caving because it is located in a heavily deposited limestone area. Within an hour and a half of Chattanooga, there are over 10,000 caves. Some of the deepest pits in America are located nearby Chattanooga.

What’s your funniest caving story?

Back in the days before GPS was invented, we would search for caves using Topo maps and points that were not always located correctly. Sometimes it became more work to find the cave than to explore the cave.

What’s your proudest caving-related accomplishment?

Being able to help build a cave rescue team for the area that has accomplished saving many lives of cavers and others in distressing situations. Being part of the early development of the Southeastern Cave Conservancy, Inc., and having seen the organization grow from ownership of one cave to owning and managing over 180 on 38 preserves in seven states.

What’s your favorite thing about caving?

It’s one of a few places you can make a discovery and be the first person to ever have been there. There’s a calming solitude about being inside the Earth, not knowing about anything that’s going on outside.

Do you have any advice for those looking to get into caving?

If you’re interested in learning to explore caves, the best way to start is attending Grotto meetings of the National Speleological Society (NSS). Chattanooga Grotto of the NSS meets the first Monday of each month at The Chattanooga Outdoor Center and is an excellent place to meet people and learn caving techniques.

Mike Hills

How and when did you get into caving?

As a kid, armed with a handheld flashlight, some string, and no helmet, I started spelunking in Knoxville, Tennessee. Any mud hole in the ground  I could find along the Tennessee River, I explored. As the saying goes among cavers … “Cavers rescue spelunkers.” I was extremely lucky enough to never require rescue, though one particular cave required us to find our way out using only the light from my watch.

It was not long that I was reformed of my spelunking ways after bumping into several actual cavers in some of the same caves that I was exploring. I was introduced to safe techniques, like the importance of multiple light sources, helmets, and the real advantage to joining a local grotto or caving club.

What’s your funniest caving story?

I like to put rocks in people’s cave packs when they’re not looking. Always seems funny at first, but somehow, they tend to get back at me in ways that probably should not go into print.

What’s your proudest caving-related accomplishment?

That would be my time with the Chattanooga Hamilton County Rescue Service’s cave/cliff rescue team, being a member of a highly-trained, high-functioning, and professional organization of rescuers. This team does some of the most difficult technical rescues imaginable, and yet they see very little press or acknowledgment from the outside world. You literally have to see it to believe it. It is those times working with other professionals in tight spaces, dangerous heights, or frigid water conditions, knowing that it may be hours or a day or two before you even see the sunlight, but your number one priority is the patient.

What’s your favorite thing about caving?

My current favorite thing about caving is sharing it with my kids and their friends. The underground world is unlike anything above ground. Over the years, however, I might have said I enjoyed caving because I was part of a community of cavers who shared adventure together. Within the world of rescue, we did extremely difficult things, amazing things, that no other person will ever see unless you are willing to work hard and have the physical capacity to be able to achieve it.