Glory Hole, GA

South Georgia; the objective, Glory Hole and Maloy's Waterfall. First stop, Glory Hole. The entrance is at the bottom of a fairly large sink. The heavy gate is welded from what looks like a wheel from a farm tractor. Upon dropping through the gate, we descended between boulders in a corkscrew fashion and then lowered ourselves through fissure cracks. While the cave does not require any rope work, it has a good deal of technical climbing to get down to its main corridors. Most of the passages are low and narrow with a lot of sand crawls. Our destination was the formation room first to get some photographs. Our route took us through some small passage, into the sand room and through the "Regal Wiggle" to the good stuff.

After entering the main formation room, it did not take long to realize why this is "Glory Hole." The ceiling is covered with thousands of brilliant white "Angel's Wings." The translucent dripping decorations made for a wonderful photography session. After shooting photos in the main room and Pelham Palace, we went to see the other formations that the cave has to offer. Strolling through the large passages in the back took us past the "Loch Ness Monster" and the "Turtle". These passages were low on formations but large in size. We took the "FSS shortcut" back to the sand room and passed another group in the cave to cleaning formations. Then we headed to the "Diamond Room" and observed the "Christmas Trees," and E.H.Polleys signature on the back wall, (first explorer of the cave back in 1955). Back out through the sand crawls and on to find the "Granny Star" formation. Not many people go back to this formation, as the passage to get there is small and tight.

We slipped through the "Birth Canal" and crawled in zigzagging sandy tunnels to the "Tomb Room." This section feels like it could have been inside a pyramid. After a short crawl to a rocky waiting room, we took turns climbing in to see the infamous "Granny Star." To get to the star, we had to climb a slope upward, and then drop down a narrow hole headfirst. The Granny Star is a very unique crystal formation that has an orange tint and sprawls out in all directions. It's a bit of a challenge to get twisted around just right getting in and out of this passage. Lot's of grunts and groans.

About 13 members of the Dogwood City Grotto were in the cave at the same time to do some clean-up work on the formations. They were there to help keep this cave a real visual treat. We managed to make it out just ahead of their group led by Bruce Brewer and Tom Stodd. Glory Hole is indeed a glorious cave worth a visit anytime you are passing through South Georgia.