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Taxicab Caving in Monkeytown
By The Sleezeweazel, first published in The Florida Speleologist September 2023 Issue Know my children that Ecuador, like all Andean nations, is a place of extremes. There, tectonic cataclysms have created the world’s greatest mountain range. Don’t believe that hype about Everest being the tallest, for the peak of Volcan Chimborazo is the farthest place…
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Cave Conundrum: Knot Your Average Day! Tackling the Great Warren’s Rope Swap
Written by Maggie Brosky, first appeared in The Florida Speleologist September 2023 Issue Those who know me know that I’ve been spending a significant amount of time in Warren Cave recently. On a recent trip, Alicia Bateman pointed out a section of the rope that she thought was concerning. Upon inspection, it was evident that…
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April Fools Trip
Skies were clear and sunny, with a slight breeze out of the east on April Fool’s Day 2023. FSS President J. Fletcher set up a morning work day for the group, with an afternoon exploration of Catacombs Cave. No one was really sure if we would get underground–it was April Fools Day. After working in…
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FSS does SERA
Five true go-getters from the FSS drove up for the April 21-24,2022 SERA Cave Carnival. Background: The National Speleological Society (NSS) was founded in 1941. The NSS is broken into 11 different regions depending on geographical region. The four grottos in Florida, including the Florida Speleological Society (FSS), are part of the Southeastern Regional Association…
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Let’s Go Cavorting Again
After two years of waiting, and 4 months of planning: meals, ticket sales, tee-shirt design, band, cave permissions, guide book printing, port-a potty rental, raffle, and area preparation–the March 4-6, 2022 weekend for the Florida Cave Cavort had arrived. According to the Britannica Dictionary, a Cavort (kəˈvoɚt) is: 1) to jump or move around in…
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A NEW POLE BARN
After two years of Covid precautions-things are moving forward. Two things that had been put on hold were the Florida Cave Cavort and a new pole barn. Fortunately, now the time was right. The forecast was for a beautiful day on February 26, 2022. It was only one week before the Cavort, but the supplies…
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A Brand New Gate on Warrens Cave
Selfless Dedication: South Dakota is beautiful in the summer, Florida is ridiculously hot. So, why would two semi-retired gentleman voluntarily get in a truck and drive 2,000 miles from South Dakota to Gainesville, Florida to do hard manual labor for a week, without their family, and without getting paid a single dime. John P Schelten…
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Caves are Not Just for Exploration
Being a caver is not just about exploration. Cavers also have an obligation to the conservation of caves. While we normally bring trash bags to pick up occasional litter on our caving trips, certain caves are trashed so regularly that we must organize dedicated cleanup events. Jennings Cave is an example of a cave that…
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New Years Cave Resolution
Many people make New Year’s resolutions: eat less, lose weight, exercise…Kat and Fletcher are no different, but their resolution was to go caving. After contacting Dave and Phil who came down from Jacksonville, we went to Whitcliff Cave on the beautiful morning of January 16, 2021. We had a little trouble getting into the cave,…
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Underground Oasis
Sometimes its just nice to get away. With COVID looming, trips have been down. There have also been a few new members that were looking forward to getting underground. Natalie rose to the challenge and put together a small group to explore Florida’s underground oasis on Septeber 26, 2020. All photos taken from Kat Newell’s…