How to Get into Caving

 One of the best and safest ways to get into caving is to find a local Grotto!! Check out the National Speleological Society's website, caves.org, with the list of grottos in every state in the US, including traveling grottos! A Grotto is a group of new and old cavers who get together to explore caves and rappels. Cavers know what they are doing and can help anyone get out of the cave in case of an emergency. Look up a local grotto on Facebook or just email the grotto directly. I am a part of 3 Grottoes currently and I get many chances to get into caves I've never been in before. There are also cave events that happen all over the states. The NSS (National Speleological Society) Convention happens every summer in a different state. In 2019, convention happened in Cookeville, Tennessee, the state of 10,000 caves. That year I drove down a week early for pre-convention and camped out with fellow cavers. I had 2 weeks full of caving.  NSS Convention this year in 2023 is happening at another caving events campsite in Elkins, West Virginia. Most caving events happening in the Eastern US are during spring and fall seasons, like Spring/Fall MAR (Mid appalachian Region), Spring/Fall VAR, or Spring/Fall NRO (Northeastern Regional Organization).  Most events are run by a different grotto in the area every year so they happen at different campsites and are only a weekend long. There's usually a Saturday dinner and party, so we all can get together after caving all day and telling stories around a campfire. Many Colleges have adventurer groups or work with local grottos to get beginners underground. Looking at the list of local grottos on the NSS website and emailing them directly and becoming a member is a great way to jump right into it, but just talking to them about a beginner cave trip and getting as much information as possible, or going to a local Commercial cave is a way to dip your toes in the water. Commercial caves are not fully natural and made accessible so people who aren't comfortable crawling around in the mud and dark can still get into a cave to see its beauty. Examples of commercial caves are Carlsbad Caverns, Mammoth Cave, Laurel Caverns, and many more! Caves are everywhere and completely different due to water carving into rock, making every cave unique in its own way. Caving is a very unique activity and caves also give us information about Earth's past! Exploring underground is a completely different kind of experience and I try to introduce it to more and more people, but keeping in mind that not everyone is as comfortable crawling in muddy small spaces as I am so bigger caves are better for beginners!

What to Wear When Caving

First let's start with what caving means. A lot of people ask me the difference between caving and spelunking, so let me clear this up! The definition of Spelunking is the hobby or practice of exploring caves and while that does sound like the definition of caving it's not fully the same. I identify as a Caver because it's more than a hobby or practice for me, and many cavers like me, it means so much more to me since it's a part of my family outings, vacations, and friendships. I am an experienced caver and us cavers have a joke going around that is "Cavers save Spelunkers!" Second, let's get to what we have to know about the cave to figure out what to wear. I wouldn't wear the same thing caving in New York than I would in Tennessee. Caves stay the same temperature all year round and that temperature depends on where in the world the cave is! The average cave temperature in Minnesota can range from 37 to 57 degrees, in Tennessee it's a cool 56 degrees all year long, and in New York it could be 32 degrees or below. My most common outfit choice while caving is wearing wool socks, leggings (nice thick ones), a flannel with a t-shirt underneath, gloves, my cave suit, which is water resistant, and a helmet with a headlamp on it. If the cave is colder, or a wet cave, I will wear a wetsuit under my cave suit. If the cave is warmer, like in Tennessee, I will just wear thicker water resistant cargo pants and a T shirt. I always like to be as safe as possible and sometimes caving has a lot of crawling and climbing, so I always wear good knee pads and sometimes elbow pads. Finding good pads isn't always easy since regular ones are too tight, and ones made just for cavers are expensive. My mom and brother are smart and have the knee pads sewn into their cave suit, but sewing cave suits requires very thick needles and some sewing skills. I wore the struggle suit a lot and went through a lot of duck tape to be comfortable, but as I am growing older and growing up, I needed to make sure I wore better cave gear. Starting from the bottom is fun and full of cool bruises from my experience, and struggling with borrowed gear at first helped me to enjoy what I have now. Now boots all depend on your comfort and what you prefer. I have hiking boots that have more traction and are better to wear for dry caves and climbing, but I also have a pair of Welly's that are great for wet caves and keep my feet dry and my cave suit tucked in nicely. Finding what gear you need is trial and error and honestly takes time and figuring out what works best for you, that includes your rappel gear. Adjusting your gear is a necessity especially when rope and bungees go bad over time and lots of use. What you wear doesn't matter as much as what you pack in your cave pack. You could be caving in a t-shirt, jeans, and sneakers since every cave is different, but having things like water, an extra light source and batteries, snacks, and extra gloves are necessities. I like to pack extra things like socks and gloves in case they get wet because I get cold very easily and if anything would happen, keeping my hands and feet dry is key to staying warm. Other people have their own ideas of what they need in a cave, like my leader that took us to Mexico always carries around a poop kit in his cave pack because sometimes nature calls while we are underground and its not good to go to the bathroom in caves since it messes with the cave life and bacteria. You always want to prepare for anything to happen since caves are dangerous places and you never know what could happen. Most cave leaders know the cave and its history, so if it's still an active cave they wouldn't take you through it, or would let you know what not to touch. There are spots in caves where the owners want to preserve formations or keep people away from dangerous spots like sketchy edges or drops. There was a cave that my brother and I were helping map and the entrance was an old mine shaft and it wasn't fully settled, so we had to crouch and make sure we didn't touch the ceiling or layers of rock could fall. It wasn't difficult or something that could kill us, but it would injure us and possibly ruin the entrance to a beautiful cave. Every cave is different in many ways and being as prepared and safe as possible is the most important thing, but also to have fun! Prepare for the worst and expect the best!

I am a Princess!

Bean and I Walking through Aquismon

 My favorite part of Mexico, and traveling to other countries in general, is how different the animals live! Walking around the streets of every town, village, and even on the highways are dogs, cats, chickens, and others everywhere!! In certain places, like Mexico, a lot of animals get neglected or don't have much to eat around, so being able to see how scrawny and boney they are wasn't rare on my trip to San Luis Potosi. Nevertheless, I saw a lot more shops this year selling big bags of dog and cat food, and the dogs walking around town weren't as skinny as the dogs I saw in 2019, which made me happy! I am an animal lover, so my family made sure to tell me not to pets every dog I see, knowing full well I am going to try! I have always had a love for animals and if giving them pets and dog food is all I can do for them, then I will pet and feed every dog with whatever food I have to give, including delicious beef jerky and beef sticks! The dogs and cats that are free range are the sweetest animals and want to be pet and loved more than wanting to eat. There was one specific dog that will hold my heart after this trip to Mexico. His name, well what we called him, was Bean! He would always hang around the town all day living his life, then when we came around he would follow us around town, and eventually got comfortable enough to walk us home! Bean would follow us while we were shopping and sit out front of the store waiting ever so patiently. Everyday, when we would first see him, he would get so happy and wiggle his broken tail and jump around! So his name got a little longer and became our Mexican Jumping Bean! He was adorable and happy and just wanted to be pet and loved. One of my fellow cavers who was on the trip with me, eventually became a good friend and the first night Bean followed us home and sat outside all night, him and I decided to sit out there with him while he ate his pile of dog food. Bean didn't want to eat, and was disinterested in the food altogether. What Bean really wanted was to be pet and not alone, so Andy and I sat on the ground outside for about an hour just talking as Bean went back and forth between us. We waited until Bean ate all his food and was settled with all the pets he could get. After that night, the whole group had many conversations about bringing Bean over the border! He became protective of me and when other dogs would come to say hi to me in town, they would have a standoff and yell at each other, in dog language of course, but Bean always skurried behind us if we got too far away inevitably winning the ruff argument. That crazy pup would wait outside our front door all night, until the morning and when we would pack into our cars to go do our activity of the day, Bean would sometimes follow our cars into the town! Seeing him made my trip so much better, and I wished every day that he could come home with us, but walking back to the hotel one night I saw him go back to, what I think is his home, and there were kids there, so I would never want to take away the happiness Bean brought me from someone who owned and loved him more than I do. He wasn't mine to take, but I was happy to have enjoyed the time I did with the Pup. There were so many other dogs I pet and fed and many cats that in fact yelled at me to pet them, so I just had to! I love helping others and animals in any way I can. Learning about others and how they think is very interesting to me, and meeting pets who live differently to learn how they act is an experience in itself. I am lucky enough that lots of animals trust me enough to come near me and let me pet or feed them, but not all animals trust humans enough to do that. Even when I traveled through Thailand for a month the monkeys were curious enough to let me be very close to them and I ended up surrounded by young monkeys grabbing my hands and phone. They all wanted my attention, and my rings, so the more comfortable they got the more daring they got, so I had to take a step back so they wouldn't get aggressive. I had the monkeys following me, hanging on my arms, hugging my legs, and taking selfies with my phone! That was also a life changing experience I was lucky enough to be a part of. So many reasons why I love animals, and so many chances to see them in their own cultures. 

These are the monkeys I met in Phangna, Thailand! I have so many pictures I could post of me and animals, not even counting the ones of my own pets! My love for animals is deep rooted within me and the animals know they are safe and loved when I'm around!

My Latest Adventure

 My Latest Adventure just ended. I drove from Pennsylvania, United States to San Luiz Potosi, Mexico and back. It took us two days to get to Brownsville, Texas to stay in a hotel overnight, then crossing the border and driving approximately ten hours through Mexico to get to Aquismon, the town we were staying in. That town is growing every year into a full blown tourist town for Sotano de las Golondrinas, translated to Basement (Cave) of Swallows. Three days of traveling is rough on the body and mind, so I did a lot of reading and listening to audio books when it was my turn to drive. We were staying at a fellow cavers' house who is building it up to be a mini caver hotel for his amigos. It has many beds and rooms and the house is absolutely beautiful with a courtyard to eat in and a blooming garden with trees and plants everywhere! We arrived just before dinner time, so we unpacked the cars, picked rooms, and walked to the town square to get food and explore. 

The First Day: For our first day there the best thing we like to do is rig what we call the three sister pits, which are in very close proximity to each other, to check everyone is comfortable with their gear and ready to progress to taller pits throughout the week. This year we only rigged the 380' pit called La Linja, and decided we didn't need to rappel the two smaller sister pits; approximately 120' and 175', since there was only 6 of us and we are all very competent rappellers. Most of us adjusted our ascending gear since there was a long period where we weren't on rope due to covid and hadn't had a rope long enough to fully fit it to us. Practices consisted of loops or a short height with a rope rigged through a rack and letting them ascend in place on rope. To be safe us cavers have a couple Amigos in town, since many groups of us travel to Aquismon, Mexico to rappel the pits and waterfalls in the area, so our mexican guides help us get to and from the rig points in the jungle! We are happy to help locals, especially ones who help us get around safely and find delicious places to eat! Our first rappels and ascents went very well and small adjustments were made to our ascending gear. 

The Second Day: This day was the most breathtakingly beautiful because we rappelled something we have never done before, The Waterfall called Tamul! We were lucky since there was a nice trail to the viewpoint, all the way past the rig point, to the bottom of the waterfall. Since the rappel was against a cliffside the whole time and was not a free drop we thought it would be easiest to hike back up the mountain instead of using our ascending gear and going back up the rope. The edge we rigged was dangerous and it had a small nuisance drop we had to climb down to get on rope. I helped my brother do the edge rigging while our leader did the anchor rig. Every one of us rappelled, as we got past the ledge to a free hanging spot we saw the most beautiful waterfall in the perfect position with the sunlight hitting the valley ever so perfectly, and stopped on rope to admire it loudly! All of us started rappelling down, then yelled "WOW LOOK AT THAT!" We had only caught a glimpse of the top of the waterfall before getting on rope, so we had no idea of the view that was to come. I spent a lot of time at the bottom of the waterfall taking pictures. One of the guides hiked down to take pictures, watched us rappel, and made sure we knew where we were going to get back up! This was one of our easier days since we did a lot the first day. Our plan was to do a more difficult pit, then something a bit easier, then bigger the next day to build up to Golondrinas, which is 1200'! So after rappelling and hiking back up the mountain, on some seemingly sketchy ladders, we took a dip at the top of the waterfall in a crystal clear pool! It was cold, but to be able to swim in January was definitely worth the coldness, since it was in the 90s that day. We quickly changed after swimming then we were on our way to dinner. A lot of the pits are far drive, since we have to go up and down the mountains, on sometimes dirt and rock roads, or having to slow almost to a stop to go over the many speed bumps on highways. We drove over the rocky road to go to dinner, filled our bellies, took our guides home, then I went right to bed to rest as much as possible for the next day ahead of me!

The Third Day: My mom decided to stay home this day and rest since she was having lots of trouble physically and with her breathing. She made the smart choice for herself not to push too far and ruin the rest of her trip. We were doing a pit called Socavon and it wasn't an easy day. Socavon is approximately 680' and it is not a full free drop. The drop is sort of cut in half to get down the pit, you have to push off the wall and walk down the wall and loose rocks safely against the formations. We decided since it isn't a clean drop and there are many things that could be brushed off the side and fall into the pit, it was best to not have a belay that day. The rappel wasn't the cleanest for me because I am small, I struggle sometimes having enough weight to go down the rope with a rack, since it uses friction it was causing too much friction for the rope to move through the rack at a nice pace, but luckily I have big spacers to help me! The bottom was very dark and more cave-like than just an open pit, like some of the other pits we were doing on this trip. The bottom was a giant room filled with massive formations like flowstone, cave bacon, soda straws, and so much more! There wasn't much time for us due to the road being too rough for one of our vehicles, our leader having digestive problems, and soon to be others of the group, a miscommunication with our guides in the morning, and the 2 hour drive from our hotel to the pit. So our leader decided it was best to stay at the top and let us who haven't done the pit before to get to do it and have enough time at the bottom to explore! The ascend was very difficult and honestly I struggled a lot. My ascending gear wasn't working as well as it had been two days prior and I could not make enough progress up the rope for the amount of energy I was exerting. I was suffering, but with my brother on rope below me, as we were tandem ascending, I had to push through. I was the first out of the pit, bruised and exhausted, my brother and I had to get back to our car on the side of the mountain to make sure we could get back to the main road, the paved road, in the daylight that we were rapidly losing. So our leader drove us to our car as the last two in the pit were ascending out. We safely made it to the paved road before nightfall and sat under the stars for about 2 hours while the rest of the group had to de-rig and hike out in the dark. It wasn't too long of a hike, but I hated that I couldn't help them and had to just sit there and wait. My brother and I drank a couple beers, listened to music, and talked for the time we were waiting there. It was both nerve racking waiting and the best time being surrounded by nature and family. The roughest day physically seemed to be one of the best days overall. It was a long tiring drive home then straight to bed for me!

The Fourth Day: A rest day was needed for many of us and as a group we decided it was best for us to not rappel Golondrinas the last day as to many health issues (poop problems), but no one in the group minded because health and safety always comes first. Our plan for the fourth day was to rappel Rio Choy, a cave with a drop of about 180', not including rigging any one of the skylights that adds height, but we can never seem to find a good rig point for the sky lights so the bolt in the cave was good for us! There were many changes at the bottom area around the river coming out of the bottom of the cave system. They added a whole area for food, a bar, and a cute little store FULL of beautiful hand made items. There were signs and safety ropes everywhere, and there is a path up the mountain to the railroad tracks, which we had to hike 2 miles on the previous time we had been there, to cross a bridge and climb up the the opening of the cave. All of the changes made it easier for us cavers to get to and from the cave, and opened the area up to so many more people to see! We (me) got distracted in the shop for a little bit before hiking up the mountain to the cave and I ended up buying my favorite item I got there, which was a clay sun and moon hanging sculpture! It's hand painted black and white. After getting yelled at by my leader to hurry up, the hike up wasn't bad and we were rigging the rope quite quickly, so we all got to rappel and have time to swim after. My brother was the only one who hasn't done Rio Choy before and he wanted to experience short rigging the rope to drop off the end! My mom and I had done it in 2019, the first time we were in Mexico and rigged the rope about 20' short, dropping into the turquoise blue water! This year my brother was the only one who wanted to short rig the rope, so we all rappelled first, then I stayed at the bottom to tell them how short to make the rope to be short rigged. It's such a magical experience and swimming with my mom after the drop is so much fun. Then, we went back to the town to have enough time to walk around and shop, since we've been too busy rappelling every other day. Dinner was always delicious and I got a nice hot shower, my first of the week, and went to bed early yet again!

The Fifth Day, Last day before we embark home: For the first time in Mexico I woke up before the roosters! Since we decided not to rappel Sotano de las Golondrinas, we had plans to go to Xilitla, Huastecas Potosina, but still wanted to see the phenomenon of the swallows flying out of the pit, so we woke up at 4:30am and drove up the mountain to see the swallows. The birds did not exit the cave fully due to rain and cold weather, but it was still beautiful seeing the pit. We got back to the hotel at around 9am and had breakfast at 10am, some of us took a nap, and we honestly debated going to a hot spring spa, but still wanted to see the concrete playground in the middle of the jungle high up in the mountains. Xilitla, Mexico was supposed to be a crazy experience, but we only got to see it from the ground because we mixed up times and couldn't get tickets. We (me) also did a lot of shopping because the village in the mountains got a lot of tourists , so they had a whole line of vendors on the road. Even some selling ice cream in banana leaves and little clay bowls you got to keep! I got mango and jack fruit ice cream and it tasted like nothing I have ever had before. We found ourselves at a garden with a big orange gate and signs about a waterfall so we paid the 75 pesos and saw bridges made out of stone and sticks, a triple waterfall, a giant turtle rock sculpture, a brick oven with a face made of rocks on the front of it, and there was a half built house with a round metal door that lead to nowhere. Even though none of our plans worked out, I experienced many new things and it was an even better day than i could have imagined! After the loads of walking and shopping, we headed back to have dinner, then packed the cars up to leave first thing in the morning. So that meant we had time to enjoy our last night with many cervesas (beer)!

This journey changed my mindset on a lot of things in my life. All the people we met in the different towns were so kind and helpful. With the language barrier, the guides were trying to teach us more words in Spanish and we were returning it in English so we all could learn more. Being active everyday, eating healthy, being surrounded by amazing people, and actually being totally disconnected because my phone didn't work the whole time we were there. I had so many enlightening and deep conversations with my group individually throughout the trip. For as much as we did, and didn't do, the journey to Mexico was a long lesson about myself and others around me and I implore you to travel, or at least disconnect from your phone when you can. Experience the world around you as much as possible, and see the beauty that's right in front of you. :)

Me, My Mother Brenda, My older brother Josh, Andy, Our trip leader Carl, One of our guides Cesario, My oldest brother Trevor in front of the map mural painted on the wall of the house we stayed in Aquismon.

Hello and Welcome!

 Hi everyone! I'm starting this blog to share my experiences of traveling, caving, rappelling, and many other things. I've always wanted to share with other people what caving is and give others the chance to experience something new! First things first, I'm Rocky Rhodes and I have been exploring caves since before I could walk. No really! My mom would put me in a backpack or carry me through commercial caves until I could do it myself with my two older brothers. I grew up where our vacations were in tents and we were happy if we ended up covered in mud, in fact i would try to get as muddy as possible. I liked to call it my spa treatment because I would bath in mud. As the youngest, and the only girl besides my mom, I got all the hand me downs which made it more fun and toughened me up. My first cave suit was also my mom's first, my brother Trevor's first, and the brother between us, Josh's first. So by the time it was mine, it didn't have much protection, especially in the butt area! I was the smallest and since i got it last I used a lot of duck tape to keep the suit going. By the end of the suits life I was making a duck tape diaper every time I would cave. As my brothers and I got older, we bought our own suits and gear. All three of us went through a dry spell where we were growing up and life got in the way, but all of us came back to caving and will forever be cavers. Comparing bruises became the usual dinner talk and that hasn't changed, but how often we get to cave has been affected by many things throughout our lives, Covid being the biggest road block. I have been in so many caves I couldn't even tell you how many or the names of most of them. I've traveled to many states on the eastern side of the US, Mexico twice, and was in Thailand for a month just for caving! 2018 was a time of growth for my mom and I, since we had an opportunity to go to Mexico for the first time in January 2019 and rappel into pits ranging from 150' to 1200'! We learned to become Vertical, bought all our gear, went to many events to practice, learned knots, and got as comfortable as we could with heights and being on rope. Before learning to be vertical, it was all crawling, climbing, squeezing, and even boating through caves, and adding ropes into the mix opened up so many more caves for us to do. There is a giant caving community and as many events there are for cavers, many people don't understand what caving is. Exploring caves , in its simplest form, is hiking underground with headlamps. There are many necessities required to cave, but mostly you just have to know someone who knows the cave, a leader. For me, it was a lot easier than for most since I grew up in a caving family which is a part of a caving Grotto. There are grottoes all over the US which are a part of something called the National Speleological Society; a group of experts, scientists, geologists, and many others who protect caves, create maps, and expand the caving knowledge and community. The NSS has been around since 1941 and hold a convention every year in a different state and many travel all over the world to be a part of it! This is only the start of what is out there and how my love for caving started. I hope to show how much more is out there and maybe grow my caver community!!