Small cave enjoyed extensively

This week we would do a small cave. And we were already on our way when we realised how small it would be! Half of it requires a rope or a ladder. And Dave would bring these, but his workload at the moment is enough to drive anyone mad, so it was miraculous enough he made it to the cave, but he had forgotten the kit. So that would restrict us even more. But would that mean we would not have fun underground? Of course not!

We crawled in, and spread out. Richard had soon found the part where you need ropes and gadgets and the likes, and had a try at how far one can go without these. Coming back down proved a bit of a challenge, and we had something to do because of it; Lionel provided guidance, and sent me up and down the slope bringing unnecessary karabiners and carrying Richards bag. The Daves below offered verbal support from a distance.

And beside Richards scurrying around, we also observed creatures with equally long legs, but more of these, negotiating the rocks. And they were willing to pose!

After that I explored a crawl somewhere. I reported a dead end, but Lionel thought it was hilarious to assure me the passage continued. And I didn't buy that, but Lionel took his words further, and started clearing out some rubble in order to assess if that passage indeed could lead somewhere, provided one made some effort. It looked like it could do so...

Richard then scared everybody by pursuing another high road, while Lionel took a low road which proved more interesting. Within no time all three of us were down there, upon which Richard figured out there was a narrow gap that snakes could pass through, and end up back at the Daves. So he did! And I tried it too. And managed. Lionel saw me struggle and doubted if he could follow, but he made a brave attempt anyway.

Lionel in a narrow gap. Picture taken vertically down.

By the time he gave up he was faced with the challenge of coming back out the way he had come. He eventually did, of course, which cleared the way for Richard the Tireless who wanted to try it in the other direction as well; he found out the hard way that rock faces can actually perform "wedgies" on people. He needed a few minutes to recover from that, mentioning some involuntary amputations. We have faith all parts of Richard made it out of the cave, though.

We felt we really had enjoyed this cavern to the max when we walked back to the cars. Climbing, digging, squeezing, wildlife observing: check! And now we were even in for a bonus: Mike and Jenny would be waiting for us in the pub. They had not wanted to come out with us, but Mike was needed for maintenance on Dave's light. And a cool pint brought this evening to a rather splendid end!