By Lambe Lamis 
In 1984, while visiting relatives in Tennessee, they explained to me of their water source. A pump home at the base of a significant hill where by they pumped h2o from a cave lake positioned down below. A previous owner experienced employed cinder blocks to block the entrance to a cave in the side of the hill and created a little dam to again up the stream flowing from the cave. As caving was my hobby, I turned quite intrigued and at after preferred to look into this underground lake. This was to great to go up, I persuaded a person of my family members to go with me and hold out at the entrance when I check out out the cave.
With no caving equipment and just a flashlight I believed that I would just see if it amounted to something. Increasing the plywood door at the bottom of the pump property, I entered the cave by wading in 10 inches of h2o for a number of feet and looked for a way to proceed. The ceiling came down to the h2o, but to the left together the again aspect of the cinder block wall was a 20 foot long crawl that led to a 4 foot large space at the edge of the drinking water. Soon after wading via about 100 feet of very low drinking water loaded passage, I was equipped to stand up in a larger area with the stream flowing alongside one aspect. This space experienced two columns in the center and quite a few modest holes foremost off in unique instructions. I followed the stream for about 40 toes and then reentered the stream which ongoing in a 6 foot significant by 5 foot vast passage. The drinking water was now deeper, up to my waistline and was about 55 degrees. I ongoing to navigate more than the rocky base about three turns by being to the sides the place the mud and h2o was not so deep. On your own and with confined light, I referred to as it quits for the working day. It would be two a long time right before I could return to thrust this tantalizing guide.
First Trip, October 25, 1986
About once a thirty day period, a tiny group friends and I would go caving in effectively regarded caves in northeast Alabama, northwest Georgia and east Tennessee, referred to by the caving culture as TAG state. This place is well recognised for deep pits and prolonged caves. On each individual journey I would explain to them about the cave on my cousins house and we would go over examining it out. We at final set a day and drove up from Marietta, Ga on a Saturday. There experienced been a weighty storm the evening just before and my cousin mentioned that he had witnessed the plywood doorway pushed up totally open up by the h2o speeding out of the cave soon after a hard rain.
Right before acquiring dressed in our caving gear, we walked down to the entrance to verify the h2o amount, it was jogging normal, on the other hand it is not abnormal for caves to flood hrs after a hefty rain. The temptation was to great, so we suited up for caving. Each member of the group carries 3 resources of light, with one attached to a challenging hat with chin strap. Gloves are required if you prepare to choose any notes or study. In addition to the study equipment consisting of a Sonic Tape evaluate, digital Intelligent level with a Laser pointer connected and a Info Scope compass, just about every member carried h2o and a snack. We adopted the map as you go process exploration. This calls for fantastic restraint on the section of each and every member not to scoop passage. Scooping passage is when a couple associates would prevent the survey and start off discovering on their possess. This commonly outcomes in explored passages not becoming fully mapped.
Our to start with mapping bash consisted of Buddy Davis, Roger Garratt, John Wallace and myself. We entered the cave and made the decision to see if it amounted to a great deal prior to setting up to study, then we would survey our way out. We adopted the stream all-around several turns for about 300 ft coming out of the water in close proximity to a T-junction. We adopted the primary stream via walking passage till it grew to become blocked by breakdown with the stream flowing from beneath the rocks.
At this place, there had been no footprints or other signs that any individual experienced been this significantly into the cave. We started out the study at the breakdown, performing again down stream to the junction. We then took the study up the facet passage checking out as we mapped. We climbed up about 3 feet with a smaller stream flowing under, we mapped on to the base of a massive pit and then about 50 feet additional ahead of the passage became also tight.
Returning to the pit, Buddy and I climbed up and ongoing the study even though John and Roger retreated back together the passage to check out a direct likely up at a formation on the left. Following mapping a development place at a person amount, we climbed to the leading of the pit and identified significant strolling passage going in both equally directions. We explored in just one direction for a number of hundred feet, then returned to the major of the pit, in which we were shocked to hear John and Roger coming up the passage from the other route. They had identified a connecting passage about the pit.
We mapped down the big passage going southeast then turned again to the left to a significant breakdown home just about immediately in excess of the level in which the stream began and wherever we experienced to start with started off our study. Likely up over pretty free breakdown, we entered a different large passage blocked at the finish by a compact pit with a stream flowing throughout the base. We decided to give up for the day and went back to map the relationship John and Roger had identified.
This link passed two of the greatest formations in the cave, which I named Clark Columns, in honor of my initial cousins relatives identify and operator of the assets. On a afterwards journey we uncovered a significant development area at a increased level. We exited the cave soon after six several hours, having mapped 2,380 toes, all typically walking passage with numerous prospects to be checked.