Who Turned Out the Lights?

ONE LONG DARK TUNNEL

For the past two days I have been hampered by an illness that is more annoying than threatening. Nausea, stomach cramps and the general feeling of floating through life in a haze. My thought is that I picked up a lovely parasite when I ventured into the Chattahoochee for an early morning swim a few days ago, but I can not be sure. All I know is that it is slowing my pace and will cost me my visit to Jack's River where I intended to run the full loop, 22 miles - something I have always wanted to do. Instead I set my sights on getting to Mammoth Cave a day early and exploring what some people have called "One of the 100 Places in the World to See Before You Die". That is a pretty tall billing for a place in rural Kentucky.

(National Park #32, Mammoth Cave)

After eight hours of driving that included stops in Northwest Georgia, Nashville, Tennessee (my favorite city so far on this trip) and dinner in Bowling Green, Kentucky I arrived at Mammoth Cave National Park under the cover of darkness. I slipped into the park and spent the night curled up in a ball in the back of the Pilot, fighting stomach cramps and trying to stay cool in the warm moist air of the Kentucky night. By morning the pain had subsided enough for me to venture into the visitors center and sign-up for a tour of this world renowned cave.

I arrived early and took my place in line with a handful of other early morning spelunker's who were all eagerly awaiting the opening of the park so that they too could purchase their tickets and explore the network of cave that lay just below us. I purchased the cheapest ticket available, $5 for the ranger led Discovery Tour which departed at 9 AM. There was a $4 self-guided ticket, but that tour did not leave until 10 AM, so I splurged and spent the extra dollar to save an hour. At 9 AM me and 32 other weary souls followed the ranger into what I thought would be a lame, dark hole - boy was I wrong.

(Inside the Rotunda Room)

We entered the cave through the gated and heavily locked Historic Entrance. At over 360 miles, Mammoth Cave is the largest cave system in the world and our ranger, Autumn, told us stories of early adventures and settlers that explored this network of tunnels with little more than a fat burning lantern and a spirit for adventure some 4,000 years ago. Before we actually entered the cave Autumn asked us if anyone was scared of the dark - a question that I thought was odd since the cave was fully lit with up lights and LED lamps. It was not until we reached our first stop along the tour, the Rotunda, that I realized why she has asked this question. Only 100 yards from the entrance sits the sixth largest room in the network of tunnels and a place that most archeologists believe was a homestead for early Native Americans. Autumn stopped the group here and told a fictional story of a young boy chasing a bear back to it's den.

"Armed with only a torch and a rock ended spear, the boy followed the bear into the cave with the intent of making a heroic kill. As the boy walked further into the cave he yelled 'come out bear!'. His voice echoed in the large room and suddenly his torch went out".

Just then she shut all of the lights off in the cave. A few people screamed and you could hear the scurry of small children looking for their mommies in a short lived panic. As we sat there in the total darkness she told us to try and imagine recounting our steps and search for an exit, remembering to duck under the low hanging rocks, and trying to avoid tripping on one of the thousand unassuming pebbles at our feet. It was so dark that you had no bearing as to which way was out and which way would send you deeper into the cave. Luckily, Autumn flipped the lights back on so we would not have to plan our escape route. We continued our tour through the cave before being led back out into the daylight.

(Self Portrait inside Mammoth Cave)

I left Mammoth Cave National Park in awe. The shear enormity of the cave system is overwhelming and I can only imagine exploring the depths of the cave on a multi-day trip. Although I am not an underground person, I can truly appreciate the beauty and solidarity that comes with exploring the "under world". After experiencing it first-hand, I would have to agree; Mammoth Cave is one of those place that everyone should see before they die.

By 11 AM I was back on the road and headed West towards Colorado. The goal for today is to make it to Kansas, leaving me only a few hours of driving in the morning to make it to my ultimate destination, Rocky Mountain National Park. Hopefully the weather will hold because it looks like there is a huge thunderstorm on the horizon.

Until Tomorrow.