The entrance to Horsehead Cave is no larger than a VW Beetle, excavated by the relentless dripping of water and shifting of the earth's crust. Hunkering down to get past the geologic gargoyles that guarded the front entrance, we entered one by one into the blackness. The dry coolness was the first thing that greeted us on the inside, feeling it before we even got all the way inside. It was a pleasant reprieve from the sticky conditions we'd been living with in the outside world.
Our eyes took several minutes to adjust to the inky dark, the native smell of dirt, rock, water and dust filling our nostrils. I fumbled for a short time looking for my flashlight, finally retrieving it from my backpack. Clicking the switch, I brought it to life, shining a light saber beam on the limestone walls. In their turn, each spelunker did the same until the room was nearly as light as if we were outside.
"Once we get down into the cave," said Bobby, one of our guides, "remember to keep as close to the walls as you can. There are some deep holes down here and we don't want anyone falling into one of them."
Looking over at Brother Jackson I smiled and winked. I had given such warnings myself many times, but I always enjoyed the faces of the uninitiated when such admonitions were given. A mixture of apprehension, anxiety and anticipation made for a great expression.
The deeper we climbed the more apprehensive some of them became. It was obvious to me that several of them had never stepped foot even remotely near a cave, much less inside one. A couple took off their helmets while others shined their lights in their buddy's eyes, two absolute no-no's in a dangerous cave.
"You're not going to take those helmets off once you bang your heads on the ceiling," I warned. "It only takes one time for you to learn." A couple of the boys laughed nervously. "It won't be funny once you're hurt." I sounded like an adult.
Toward the back of the cave is a passage called Fruit Loops. It's a circuitous passage that wraps around in a loop so that you come straight back to the same place you started. It requires you to crawl on all fours, wriggling your body through smaller and smaller passages all the time. You get very dirty in Fruit Loops. It was the halfway point of the expedition.
"Everyone needs to go through this tunnel," said Bobby. "Once we finish here we'll start heading back to the front of the cave, unless..." He stopped for just a second for the drama to set it. "...anyone wants to go through Ballbreaker."
Ballbreaker was a very small passage that barely allowed one person at a time to go through. Once inside that room there was a flat, nearly vertical rock that created a small upward-slanted passage that was barely a foot from the ceiling. To get through, you had to push yourself through on your stomach to the top of the 15-foot-long incline, where a somewhat larger room awaited.
Ballbreaker was preceded by another small hole in the wall called The Birth Canal, thus named because of your resemblance to a baby being born as you slithered through. Because of the size of the hole, your hands had to be kept above your head, only allowing you to push yourself through with your feet. You had to go into Ballbreaker through The Birth Canal and then you had to come back through it on your way out.
After finishing Fruit Loops, Bobby looked around and said, "So, who's in?"
"What's it like," asked one of the boys, nervously.
Melissa, another of our guides, smiled broadly. Once she explained in detail about how small The Birth Canal and Ballbreaker really were, most of the boys said no. They wanted no part of it. "We'll wait for you out here," they said.
But Larry, our fearless leader, said he was in. So did another boy or two. And then Scott Jackson, James' son, said he was in, too. Then they all looked at me.
Now, I must confess that I suffer from terrible claustrophobia. Being in the cave itself isn't bad at all, but when I have my arms confined at my sides or if I am unable to move, I start to feel it, and feel it badly. One time I'd gone caving with Reed Lambert and he'd gotten stuck in a particularly small hole, trapping me inside the room, with no way of escape. I felt it really bad that day.
This day, I was not anxious to go through The Birth Canal nor Ballbreaker, but I didn't want to let Scott down, either. He was the Senior Patrol Leader of our troop. A future Eagle Scout. One of the few boys I have ever looked up to. And so I said I was in, too. It was nearly a mistake I couldn't live with.
Coming soon - Part III - The Conclusion
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