"Jeff Findley" wrote in message
...

"Pat Flannery" wrote in message
dakotatelephone...


Greg D. Moore (Strider) wrote:

We have a winner, though didn't quite narrow it down to the town, but
close enough, details below.

The actual town I was in was Bedford itself (and that's the specific
area I was thinking of, not the entire state. :-)

Seriously this time, does going into a cave environment sound safe?
Considering that entire species of invertebrates and vertebrates have
evolved to live in this particular environment, why does any spelunker
feel safe considering what forms of fungi and bacteria may have also
evolved there also?
IIRC, there is at least one cave that has a potentially dangerous form of
bacteria living in it that should not be inhaled, requiring the use of
breathing gear during the entire stay in the cave.
And what the Hell was the "White Nose Syndrome" about?

The caves in Bedford Indiana aren't terribly dangerous. I've been through
one of them when I was in high school. Naturally it's good to be with a
"trained" spelunker on such a trip and have the right equipment and watch
the weather... That said, Boy Scout groups go through Indiana caves "all
the time" and the Boy Scouts of America has become rather paranoid on the
activities they allow or don't allow. They have an entire book on the
subject called The Guide to Safe Scouting.

Jeff

I assumed Pat was being his usual self with the question. But yes, caving
in general is fairly safe.

I'm the co-Captain of my cave team. The last time my time was called out
was I believe about 2-3 years ago.

Other parts of the country are a tad busier.

The reality is, the bulk of the people we train will most likely never be
called out to a formal rescue.

Now, there's one place of caves I'd like to go that I doubt I'll ever get
the chance. They're lava tubes. But not the ones in Hawaii, but the ones
about 250,000 miles "that away....."

That would be quite the trip.

Sorta like cave diving in terms of air limits, but unlike it in many other
ways. Would be different, that's for sure.


--
Greg Moore
Ask me about lily, an RPI based CMC.