NSS-CDS Workshop

On Sunday, May 27, Adam, Sullivan and Caren of the FSS led a trip of 24 NSS / CDS workshop attendees on a trip into Bat Cave in Newberry. The cave, owned and managed by Santa Fe Community College, now comes complete with boardwalk, spiral staircase to the lake room, and easy access to bathrooms (ah, if wild caving could always be this cushy! Next we will be asking to float weightlessly through the cave system:)).

The group caravanned to the cave following Adam, while Sul and Caren dropped off waivers and picked up the key. Once inside the complex, the large group assembled, made final adjustments to their hard-hats, and headed into the cave. Guides weren’t really necessary and this adventurous group didn’t wait to be shown a good time, they were out to discover it for themselves! The larger group broke off into several mini groups. Since the cave goes off in several directions from the central Lake Room, it was easy for groups to go exploring separate passages without bumping into each other.

Adam, Rafael, Sullivan and Phil were especially adventurous and tempted some climbing in the Root Cellar. We didn’t tell Phil it didn’t go anywhere until after he had made it up. “Sorry, Phil, we thought you knew.” Will’s group from Chicago did some interesting tricks, as he hoisted his mom up a small solution pit near the entrance. (Nobody told her it didn’t go either.) I was privileged enough to get some fantastic pictures of the Meyers family, especially little Katie, their smallest and best caver! I can’t help it, as a photographer I gravitate to the best pictures, and kids make the best models in my opinion.

After a couple of hours the cavers had had enough new experiences (and enough of the effects of gravity and knees being worn from crawling) and the group returned to the surface to rest their new found muscle-groups they never knew existed. It was fun to guide cave divers into a dry cave. They really enjoyed themselves and so did we! Thank you for the opportunity to meet some wonderful people. I hope we can continue this tradition at future workshops.