Intramural participants were suited up in old clothes, a helmet with a light, knee and elbow pads and ready to explore.
Last year on the same trip to Buckner’s Cave, Holden Metzger got stuck in a very small part just out of a room called the “kings grotto.”
He was pulled through by other participants to make it out. It is about a 60 foot long stretch that continuously gets smaller. In order to make it through the passage, cavers turn their helmets to the side and pull with their arms.
That particular passage in the cave gets as small as 16 inches, and is the narrowest part of the cave.
“It’s a challenge for me, because I’m just a bigger person,” Metzger, a USI junior, said.
The cave is about 60 percent crawling and 40 percent walking. It started out with a 700 foot army crawl into the cave, which is Metzger’s favorite part. Participants army crawl and roll into the cave.
“I like to roll, but on the way back that part is just miserable,” he said. The 3.5-mile long cave USI students explored was a challenge and an adventure to many on Nov. 13. Another USI junior, Dustin Biggs, thinks the trip is a good idea because it challenges the participants to push themselves and experience something they haven’t before. The small passageway was a challenge for him. “I felt claustrophobic, unable to breath and not in control of my surroundings,” Biggs said. While the trip was a challenge for all, it created a lot of laughs for many. USI French exchange student Nina Feuillye added humor to the trip. Often in the cave, one could hear Feuillye laughing and yelling at the next challenge. When in the narrowest part, she continuously screamed ahead, asking when the end was near. The next day was hard for Feuillye, she was sore from the cave trip. About halfway through the cave, guide Nathan Holmes asked the cavers to turn off their headlamps to see how dark such a cave could be. Holmes said it would be near impossible to make it out of the cave without a light. It is suggested that a caver takes three lights with them when entering a cave, not just batteries. Holmes said it takes a group between 4 to 7 hours to make it through Buckner’s Cave. “As the group leader, the students’ safety is always a major concern,” he said. For Holmes, his other concerns are making sure that he doesn’t forget any of the equipment or food. It took all 14 people five hours to make it through the loop of the cave and back out into the rainy day. udent Nina Feuillye added humor to the trip. Often in the cave, one could hear Feuillye laughing and yelling at the next challenge. When in the narrowest part, she continuously screamed ahead, asking when the end was near. The next day was hard for Feuillye, she was sore from the cave trip. About halfway through the cave, guide Nathan Holmes asked the cavers to turn off their headlamps to see how dark such a cave could be. Holmes said it would be near impossible to make it out of the cave without a light. It is suggested that a caver takes three lights with them when entering a cave, not just batteries. Holmes said it takes a group between 4 to 7 hours to make it through Buckner’s Cave. “As the group leader, the students’ safety is always a major concern,” he said. For Holmes, his other concerns are making sure that he doesn’t forget any of the equipment or food. It took all 14 people five hours to make it through the loop of the cave and back out into the rainy day.