A is for Adventure

Buffalo National River

May 30, 2004 by Nathaniel Bluedorn

Three of us explore Boxley Cave and Indian Creek, and are almost washed away by a flash flood.

From 2004-05-30 Buffalo River, Flash Flood

The cave waterfall as we first see it.

From 2004-05-30 Buffalo River, Flash Flood

The same cave waterfall after the flash flood. You can see two of us walking along the ledge to retrieve our walking sticks.

From 2004-05-30 Buffalo River, Flash Flood

We spend thirty minutes finding a way to get back across the torrent.

From 2004-05-31 Buffalo River, Caving

Inside Boxley Cave we find a drop into another level of the cave. We wish we could climb down, but it is too dangerous.

From 2004-05-31 Buffalo River, Caving

Squirming in a tight spot. We feel air blowing on our faces, so we know there must be a way through.

From 2004-05-31 Buffalo River, Caving

Later that day at the first waterfall in Indian Creek. We think this waterfall is very interesting . . . little did we know . . .

From 2004-05-31 Buffalo River, Caving

The water has cut a hole in the rock making it look like a Roman bath.

From 2004-05-31 Buffalo River, Caving

The last waterfall. We can not find a way beyond this point without using ropes.

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We arrived Thursday evening just before dark and rushed to set up before the storms hit. We set up within 15 minutes; just as we got the last rain fly on and the final tent stake in it started to pour down rain and the skies began to roar. Thankfully the storm past quickly and the rest of the evening was pleasant. The only other family that came Thursday evening was the Wilcox family.

The next day Leon and Kelli took the Wilcox family spelunking. Our first cave, Sheep’s Cave, had an entrance like a giant throat and the passageway led us to the stomach of the hill. Fortunately the cave was not carnivorous so we did not find any skeletons there. We went into a second cave called Lone Hill Onyx. It was a bit wetter than the previous cave and its passageways were a bit tighter so we didn’t go very far. Before we left, however, Leon squeezed into a small passageway just as large as his body and found that it opened up to where he could stand up. He was itching to explore further but the Wilcox family had already turned back and it is not safe to explore a cave with only two people.

From Misc Images

Later that afternoon Leon and I hiked to and explored a third cave, Indian Cave. As we were coming back we were met by Eric, a naturalist in the park. We got to talking about spelunking and he offered to take us into Fisher Cave, a large tour cave in the park. He was taking a small group of people in past the tour route to the waterfall room. There were two small passageways, he told us, into the waterfall room, both of which were really tight squeezes. On our way out Leon discovered a third passageway that Eric was not aware of; it too was tight but it was still neat for Leon to have discovered it. Fisher Cave was beautiful; by far the grandest cave we saw this weekend. We arrived back at camp late after everyone had gone to bed. We had caved from 8 pm to 10:30 pm. The latest we had ever caved. It was really neat to be caving in sections that the public rarely sees.

The next morning we took another group back to Lone Hill Onyx. The group was of more experienced cavers and we were able to explore the entire thing. Lucas and Jason and Adam Stanford had arrived while we were in Fisher Cave the night before. We met the Reynolds, Joe, Mary and Zach, at the visitor’s center. It was a very grand cave; much larger than I had expected. After lunch we wanted to cave in Bear Cave, but were unable. We instead went hiking in a creek to find Little Hamilton Cave but were unable to find it until it was time to return to camp. We arrived back at camp and Leon and Lucas were immediately summoned to go on a rescue mission to rescue one of the families that had gone inner-tubing and were believed to be lost. Everyone returned safely from that ordeal just in time for the potluck. We had the most beautiful evening fellowshipping with the rest of the camping club.

The following day a canoe trip was planned. Leon and Lucas did not join us; they were not interested after their rescue mission the evening before. Kelli, Jason and Adam Stanford came, however. They practiced flipping canoes at one point. The Stanford’s weren’t exactly sure what Kelli had in mind and she had a little trouble getting them to shove off without paddles (the current was pretty strong) but she finally convinced them that they did not need paddles. So there they were out in middle of the river paddling furiously with their hands and Adam and Jason still didn’t know what was going on. They were still looking to Kelli to tell them what to do when she leapt out of the canoe head first and completely flipped it. One of the bystanders described their faces as shocked as Kelli hurled herself from the canoe flipping them in. They all enjoyed it very much. The power of the river was learnt to be very strong.

Lucas, Leon and another young boy named Nathaniel Schmidt hiked down Hamilton Creek to the Meramec River and tubed down to Green’s Cave while everyone else was canoeing. We then explored this cave and floated the rest of the way back to the campgrounds.

The next day, Monday was the final day. We returned to Sheep’s cave with some camping club families. After lunch, Leon, Jason, Adam and Kelli returned to explore Little Hamilton. Little Hamilton has the best formations that we had seen at Meramec State Park. The soda straws were really impressive. At the back of the cave is a clay sculpture that looked like a sitting man. We then left for home.

From Misc Images

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Rock Climbing

May 8, 2004 by Kelli Hedding

Rock climbing at Upper Limits went very well. Everyone enjoyed themselves and many are interested in going climbing again. I believe rock climbing can be such a good analogy for daily life. I have personally learned that when you are climbing you have to push yourself beyond what you think you can do or you will regret it later. I had climbed a few weeks before this trip and gave up on a wall that seemed too tough for me. It drove me crazy for the next few weeks thinking that I had given up. Saturday when we climbed, the very first thing I did was go to the wall I had given up on and climb to the top. I was glad that I got another opportunity, but we don’t always in daily life. Make the most of every opportunity. You have to push past your fear and your fatigue. If you don’t you may miss something important God has for you.

From 2004-05-08 Rock Climbing at Upper Limits

Reaching for a hold.

There was something for all skill levels: from the short and simple 30’ climbs in the main room to The Cave. The Cave was a big hit, especially among the guys. The Cave consists of, well, not very many walls to climb, but there are an abundance of hand and foot holds on the ceiling to cling to if your heart so desires. Some of the girls even tried it, though they weren’t as successful as some of the guys. Some of the guys were so good they just kind of crawled across the ceiling like spiders. By dinner time everyone’s muscles were hurting and everyone was ready for dinner.

Besides the physical challenge, this latest “adventure” enabled me to get to know the other young people a little bit better. I find that physical activity like climbing and caving and simply “adventuring” with others is a great way to get to know people. Everyone is pushing through the same tight spot together or attempting the same climb or freezing their toes off in the same icy water. Everyone is in the same boat together…and maybe the water is rising?
Trip Photos