October 11-13, 2013
If you are a caver, one of the biggest events to look forward to every year is the annual trip to the “TAG Fall Cavein”, held in early October. There are other trips to the Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia (TAG) area during the year, but the annual TAG Fall Cavein is always special. Georgia’s Dogwood City Grotto hosts the largest get-together of cavers in the world. There are fantastic facilities, vendors with discounts on all sorts of gear, food, a great band, a raffle, a climbing contest, 5K monkey-butt run, activities for kids such as movies and a playground, and one of the most spectacular bonfires ever seen. Adding to the fun, Bill Birdsall and Jon Singley mysteriously appear every year. If none of that gets you excited than there are also CAVES. Lots of caves. This area has the highest concentration of caves anywhere in the United States. There are horizontal caves that one can actually walk through (which is nice for Florida cavers). There are vertical caves. There are formations large and small. There are dry caves, wet caves, small caves, and large caves. There are caves to fit everyone’s skill level and desire.
This year the FSS had 14 participants that made the trip.
Every year this event gets better, we can hardly wait until next year. Some of the caves visited were Big Mouth, Buckets of Blood, Tate, Jess Elliot, Horse-Skull, Jacks, High-Hole, Rusty’s, and Tumbling Rock. This year was the best ever, but we already have plans to go back next year to see if this year can be topped.
Story and photos by
Philip Walker