Cave Exploring

If you were to ask the counselors why on earth would they would leave the relative comfort of Camp Van Dorn to drench themselves in the icy waters of Pickett’s Cave the boys would have a hard time coming up with an answer to that question. They were on the cusp of manhood and needed to challenge themselves with some sort of trial. The counselors never articulated it that way; for them, it was just something to do. Exploring the cave was a way of breaking up the monotony of the summer and sure, it was dangerous, but they were young and bulletproof and welcomed a way to prove their mettle.

Part of the fun of exploring Pickett’s Cave was preparing for the expedition. The counselors bought special water proof flashlights, for example, and knee pads because we knew that we would be on our hands and knees as we made our way through some of the tighter spots. Scott went so far as to buy rope and practiced repelling by throwing the rope over a tree branch, attaching himself to a harness that he had learned how to make in the Boy Scouts, and pulled himself up to twenty feet off of the ground.

The cave was about a half mile away from the camp so the counselors had to hike with all of their equipment with them. They met at the lodge, checked and rechecked that their waterproof flashlights still worked, and then made sure that the rope was in good order. Even though they were teenagers, they took cave exploring seriously.

The water was cold but because they were over heated from the long walk over, the counselors didn’t mind. The problem was that it had rained recently and the water level was high. Scott was always the practical one and he suggested that the counselors wait for another day to try an exploration to give the cave water a chance to recede. George said, “let’s put it up for a vote and let everyone decide together.” All seven voted to go into the cave, mostly because if they didn’t vote for it then they would be called a “Pussy! Pussy! Pussy!” Besides, testosterone coursed through the veins of all of the boys and they were unwilling to wait another day to go spelunking, so they waded into the cave.

After just a few steps the ceiling of the cave dropped and there was only two and a half feet worth of crawl space. They continued on, moving on their hands and knees, but the water continued to rise. Instead of admitting defeat and going back to the entrance, the boys floated on their backs with their faces turned toward the ceiling. Now there was only inches of space between the water and the ceiling and, if any more of the rain water ran off into the cave, then the boys would be stuck in the cave until someone had pieced together what had happened to them. Fr. Early had told them before they left that it hadn’t rained in a few days so the water was receding, not getting deeper. That was why he allowed them to go. Since he was so much older, and the head of the camp, the boys put their complete trust in whatever Padre said.

Put clothes into a water-proof bag. Most of the cave was dry and the entrance was the only place where you would get wet. Zolo and Bill seemed to be taking their time so Polk, always impatient, yelled at them. “Let’s keep moving you swinging dicks.” It was a line that he learned from reading novels about the military life. Zolo, undaunted by Polk’s prodding, said “my dick has recessed so far up into my body that I think that I might be a girl now!” Even the usually dour Bill laughed at that and said, “Good one,” to Zolo as they made their way to the depths of the cave.

The primary objective of this expedition was to find their way back to the Cathedral Room, which got its nickname because the room went straight up and the counselors had to bend over backwards to see the top of it. It was the furthest that anyone at Camp Van Dorn had been and they were determined to find a passage that would take them back into the undiscovered parts of the cave. The only way to do that was to climb the three stories high waterfall where they had noticed a hole that looked like another entrance to the waterfall room. That is way it was so important that Scott bring a rope and that he had practiced repelling to that he could make it to the top of the waterfall.

One of the challenges of getting back to the Cathedral Room was that the spelunkers had to get on their bellies and shimmy through a portion of the cave that was only three feel tall. Polk led the way, Scott carried the rock climbing gear, and George stayed in the back in case anyone needed help. Zolo was in the middle and he had not yet learned to leave nature alone. When he saw what looked like a bunch of black balls attached to the ceiling he thought that it would be a good idea to throw rocks at them to see if it was a living thing. They were bats and sensing danger, they wanted to get out of the cave. Zolo was the only thing in their way and they flew right into his face. He screamed at the assault and, still on his hands and knees, turned around with a dexterity that his chunky body had never performed before, he scrambled towards the exit. Only when all of the bats passed by could Scott convince Zolo to stay with the group. For the rest of the summer the other boys reenacted this scene, punctuated with the high pitched scream as Zolo was hit in the face with the flying rodents, and they never tired of retelling the story.

After several tries of throwing his rope stalagmites that had grown out from the wall at the top of the cave, Scott was able to make a loop around the rock. Just like he had done while practicing on a tree, he pulled himself while the others watched. There were a few hair-raising moments where it appeared that Scott was going to lose his balance but his made it to the top with little difficulty.

As it turned out, the hole that they mistook for another entrance turned out to be nothing but a false promise. There was no extension to the cave. Scott had climbed the thirty foot wall of “The Cathedral” only to discover that, for all of his efforts, his only reward was a dead end. It didn’t matter. For the rest of the summer, and throughout the years, Scott got to brag that he had climbed the waterfall; something that no one else had been willing to do because of the danger involved. He took the risk but also gained all of the glory.

In order to get out of the cave the counselors had to go through the exact same obstacle course that they had entered the cave. Zolo, who was cold and tired and had enough of spelunking. As they got back on their backs to float out to the cave’s entrance, Zolo said “Ain’t this fun, boys? Ain’t this fun?” He spit out the words so everyone knew that he was being sarcastic. This was the one and only trip that Zolo made to the Cathedral Room, or any other cave for that matter. If anyone asked him to go on another cave run, Zolo just glared at them and said, “Of course I’ll go because it was so much fun the first time!”

The air that filled their lungs once they were out of the cave was dry and warm as opposed to the stale and freezing air of Pickett’s Cave. They made their way back to camp, tired and damp but filled with glory. Exchanging high fives and still feeling the rush of excitement from exploring the cave and the fun of watching Scott climb to the top of “The Cathedral,” they realized that this adventure would act as a bonding experience for them that they could share for years to come.

There was only one shower for the counselors to use and it was at the back of the mess hall. Rather than wait in line in their wet clothes, the counselors decided to use the communal shower in the latrines. It was meant for the campers but it had six shower heads and plenty of hot water. They stripped down, still laughing and enjoying the adrenaline rush and looking forward to dry clothes and a nap. They were barely even aware that they were a group of boys who were standing naked in a shower when suddenly Polk turned to Zolo, looked down, and said, “You have a small penis.” For once in his life, Zolo could not think of a come back. Everyone laughed, especially Danny, who was still smarting from having Zolo spit in his face.

Zolo began to sulk. He had suffered through the freezing water and having bats fly in his face. He knew that he was going to take some good natured grief for their exploration of Pickett’s Cave and now he had to worry about small penis jokes. While the others went back to their cabins to nap, Zolo went to the lodge for a Coke and a candy bar and a movie on the VCR to reward himself for surviving what he thought was a quixotic adventure.