Cave Cricket
by Nathaniel Bluedorn, Copyright March 9, 2004, all rights reserved. 1279 views
7:30 – We leave the Russell’s house in Cincinnati and drive to London, Kentucky. We talk to a lady at the Kentucky tourist center about where Wells Cave might be, and we figure an approximate location based on where Buck Creek crosses highway 192. We have a map to the cave that was printed in the National Speleological Society News, but it is not clear. The NSS recently bought the cave and operates it as a public nature preserve.
1:00 – We arrive at Buck Creek, and start looking for a side road with the NSS kiosk. After meandering around for half an hour, I work up the courage to knock on someone’s door. A nice old gentleman directs us to a different road that we’d passed earlier.
1:30 – We arrive at the Wells Cave Preserve parking lot and suit up our caving equipment.
2:00 – We descend into the sinkhole that is the main entrance to Wells Cave. We see a passage to the left and take that route.
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| From 2004-03-09 Wells Cave |
Johannah in the entrance to Wells Cave.
I’m in a bad mood because it took so long to find the cave and because . . . well, I’m just in a bad mood. So Hans and I call a truce on bad moods, and proceed further in the cave.
The map from the National Speleological Society shows Wells Cave as a maze, but doesn’t give enough detail to get from one place to another. As we descend into the cave we discover many side passages and large rooms with many exits. We are looking for a way towards the main stream passage marked on the map. In one side passage, Johannah sees a creature we’ve never encountered before: a cave cricket.
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| From 2004-03-09 Wells Cave |
A cave cricket colony. They have long legs, even longer antennae, and they jump.
We try every side passage and all of them pinch off, or are blocked by cave crickets.
3:00 – We return to a second entrance to reconnoiter and look at the map. We realize our fear of cave crickets is somewhat irrational. We wish we had other people with us.
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| From 2004-03-09 Wells Cave |
Hans and Johannah looking at the NSS map to decide where to go from here.
3:30 – We find our way to a small hole leading down into a pit. We feel air flowing up from the pit and we hear water running down below. But we decide it is unsafe to chimney down the hole since we don’t know how to do this properly.
4:00 – We decide to make friends with the cave crickets. So we make a video of us going though a passage with crickets. They’re more afraid of us than we are of them.
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| From 2004-03-09 Wells Cave |
Hans and I sitting next to our friend, Mr. Cave Cricket.
4:30 – We haven’t found a way to the stream on the map and we are about to call it quits. Hans notices a small crack and suggests I go down it. It keeps going, and after descending a hundred feet or so, it opens into a big room with a noisy stream rushing though the middle. We follow this to a waterfall and a canyon passage that seems to go on forever.
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| From 2004-03-09 Wells Cave |
Crawling down low passage.
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| From 2004-03-09 Wells Cave |
Johannah and Hans next to the waterfall.
6:00 – We turn back because it is late and we left our extra batteries at the opening to the small crack. (Lesson: never leave your pack behind.) Our only regret is that we explored less than a fifth of the cave. We resolve to come back some day.
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| From 2004-03-09 Wells Cave |
Group photo after Wells Cave.
Lessons
We learned that it is much more enjoyable when other people come on adventures with us, and we learned that we must overcome our fears early on if we want to get anything done.
Comments
1 • Ralph • September 10, 2008 • 10:02 AM
Let’s go!
2 • Mandy M. • September 21, 2008 • 7:50 PM
Kelli, I’m assuming you wrote this? Just wanted you to know, at this point in my life, this is very encouraging to me. Thanks for sharing. It’s amazing how God can worth through a simple blog post.
3 • Johannah Stanford • September 24, 2008 • 3:00 PM
The quality of this video looked good to me, and it didn’t take hardly any time to download on our computer. Did you get more climbing equipment? 
4 • Kristen • October 04, 2008 • 3:39 PM
Sounds like tons of fun. 
Ryan took me rock climbing indoors for the first time a couple weeks ago and I loved it! (I’m his sister.)
Colorado looks and sounds like a very fun place.
5 • Mandy M. • October 04, 2008 • 5:49 PM
Great post Heidi! You sure are brave. I’m glad you had such a great time!
6 • Nate • October 13, 2008 • 5:23 PM
Thats awesome….
Sounds like something I would do. :p
7 • Heidi Reiman • October 20, 2008 • 4:47 PM
Hans, You poor thing. I’m sorry you couldn’t get a wi-fi connection. By the way what is a wi-fi?
Is it like wiffer cookies with fine milk?
8 • Kelli • October 29, 2008 • 8:03 AM
Oh sheesh, Nathaniel, you’re hilerious! That was really roughing it.
9 • Nathan Nasby • November 04, 2008 • 11:28 AM
If you want a really creepy expirience stay at the Imperial Hotel in London! Wow, we had blood on the walls and in the sheets in our room. The Window was broken, and I’m not even going to mention the shared bathrooms!!!!
10 • Anna • November 05, 2008 • 8:01 PM
Haha! Nathan, this is just the beginning… Soon you’ll be cool with using towels unwashed from the last occupant, sleeping on bedbug-ridden mattresses, and, well, haha!
11 • Heidi R. • November 17, 2008 • 10:00 AM
Great story.
12 • A • November 17, 2008 • 7:01 PM
I just watched this a few days ago (was looking up vids of Marrakesh and then followed the rabbit trail) and thought about you guys… Odd, but fitting, to see it here as well!
13 • Kristin C. • November 17, 2008 • 10:13 PM
Haha!!! That is hilarious!!! :-D
14 • Debbie • November 25, 2008 • 10:27 PM
I have a problem with getting cave crickets in my basement and hate them. I don’t think I want to be their friend. But neat story on your adventure. God Bless!
Debbie
15 • Laura • November 29, 2008 • 12:49 AM
Wow! :D
16 • Estin • November 30, 2008 • 8:58 PM
That’s crazy.
17 • Trish • December 04, 2008 • 12:11 PM
Um…Ew. That is SOOO disgusting.
18 • Kristen B. • December 07, 2008 • 6:52 PM
You are a great writer, Kelli.
19 • Heidi R. • December 09, 2008 • 11:45 PM
Thanks, so are you.
20 • Heidi R. • December 09, 2008 • 11:46 PM
Oh, and I love your pics.
21 • Quentin Cooper • December 18, 2008 • 7:58 AM
This seems to have been written by people who have caved only once in their life or read about it in an armchair. What about the main thing warm clothes (be it a wetsuit or neo-fleece). Gloves completely unimportant as I have caved without them for 20 years and never wished I’d brought them. What about a survey of the cave? Going with someone experienced? Leaving a CALL OUT? that not feature in your essentials? Incase people ahave an accident in a cave then nobody knows about it….come on guys….
22 • Blue (Royal) • May 06, 2009 • 11:07 PM
Nice film guys. The water side looked like fun. I love a good natural water slide. Good job with not making it look to rigged.
23 • Royal Magnell • May 06, 2009 • 11:57 PM
That was fun… now we run so the cops don’t catch us!
24 • Rachel • May 19, 2009 • 9:36 PM
Hey! Hoping you get this soon. Just wondered what kind of camera, flash, etc. was used for these pictures. Also how the cameras were kept dry and clay free. Thanks so much!
25 • Beau • August 04, 2009 • 12:16 AM
Enjoyed it. I am curious if this is the Wilder cave in Pelham, AL?
26 • Dannity Kane • February 27, 2010 • 2:06 AM
Give me a little of that and I’d feel like a king.
27 • Stephen Nasby • May 28, 2010 • 9:09 AM
Good job.
28 • Stephen Nasby • September 02, 2010 • 9:58 AM
That looked like quite an adventure, exciting. Swim looked very refreshing. Cool camera, you can even go underwater with it.
29 • Katie Carter • September 18, 2010 • 10:11 PM
It is in Grady County Georgia, between Pelham, and Cairo. It is owned my my aunt. It is very pretty, it is not open to the public because people can’t seem appreciate it without breaking pieces off, and spray painting.