Caving

The caving done at Cheerio Adventures is in wild caves. There are no sidewalks, lights or cute stories about the formations. What we do provide is a helmet, headlamp, guide and a true adventure into the subterranean world. Of all the activities that are done at Cheerio Adventures caving is probably the most requested and least understood. Why? Simple, most people have never done it before and have been raised to perceive caves as mysterious and forbidden.

The caves that are used in our programs range from a beginner level cave used by programs such as the Samplers to intermediate level caves used by groups like the Cave/Raft, Kayak/Climb/Cave and Mountains to Sea.

The beginner level cave is simple enough that participants may think that they are walking down a sidewalk. It is mainly level with very little up or down. The crawls that are present are optional for those that don't feel that they are ready to crawl on their hands, knees and/or belly to get through a passage. All the crawls loop back to the main passage and are very short, with the exception of one, so that the participants are never separated from the group. The longest crawl is approximately 50 feet long. Time spent in the cave is usually around 1.5 to 2 hours.

The next cave up, which a program like the New River Adventure uses, is more along the lines of novice level. The novice cave is about the same time length as beginner, 1.5 to 2 hours. However the difference is that participants must crawl. There are no optional routes to get around the crawls. The crawls are longer and the passages do rise and drop, sometime enough to require a hand line. Although the usual time spent in the cave is 1.5 to 2 hours some groups will spend up to 3.5 hours exploring the cave.

The intermediate level cave that is used by the Seekers and Mountains to Sea is far different from the others. The normal time spent in the cave is 5 hours, but some groups may spend as long as 12 hours or more in the cave. It has all the aspects of the first two caves but on a larger scale. Everything about this cave can be termed huge. Some groups may even spend the night in the cave, although the leaders determine this after getting to know the participants.

All the caves have natural formations, bats and mud. The amount of each differs in each cave, which make each very unique. One of our goals is to teach participants about the caves and their delicate environment. At times we have groups help remove trash left by others and we never leave any of our own trash. We also teach the participants to observe but not touch the formations as well as the wildlife so that nothing is damaged.

The following is a list of all Cheerio Adventures programs that include caving:

2009 Schedule | Activity Descriptions