Welcome!
If you're interested in joining a
Texas "grotto"
(caving club), see the list in "About caving." You should not
attempt to go caving (spelunking) until you are properly equipped
and trained. The grottos of the
Texas Speleological Association (TSA) have training programs
to teach newcomers how to cave safely.
Proper caving etiquette (manners) are required to avoid incidents.
Caves are potentially dangerous environments, yet they are easily
damaged. The most hazardous situations are caused by not being
properly equipped and trained. If you're new to caving, please
join a "grotto" and go through training. Since 1960,
more than 20 people have died in Texas caves, mostly during cave
diving or vertical caving incidents. These are technical areas
of caving that require good training, good equipment, and good judgment. Don't try to
be a self-taught caver — there are hundreds
of Texas cavers who are willing to help you learn safe caving
techniques. If you learn and follow the rules of safe caving,
the most dangerous part will be driving to the cave. Here are
a few fundamental rules to follow:
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Wear a good climbing helmet or hardhat with a sturdy chinstrap.
It is safer to wear
a good-quality electric headlamp on the helmet than to carry a
flashlight, so that your hands will be completely free for crawling
and climbing.
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Wear sturdy old clothes, work gloves, and
good (but not expensive) hiking boots.
Jeans, work pants, t-shirts, or military surplus shirts are pretty
good. Avoid baggy pants with big pockets — they will snag on rocks.
Military "desert" boots or "jungle" boots
are good for most caves. It is a good idea to wear elbow and knee
pads — you can buy inexpensive ones at most discount stores and
they are definitely worth it. You will get muddy, but most of
this stuff rinses off with a hose and can be washed OK.
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Besides your headlamp, carry two other reliable
sources of light in a small backpack or
fanny pack, plus new batteries and spare bulbs. Small "minimag"
flashlights are good. Do not rely on your companions for backup
lights or batteries. In addition, a sturdy water bottle or canteen,
and some snacks, such as granola bars, are recommended for longer
cave trips.
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Never go caving alone.
Go with at least two other experienced cavers. Always tell someone
responsible where you will be and what time you will return. Give
them directions to the cave and the phone number of the owner
or other responsible contact.
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Cave Emergency.
FOR A LIFE THREATENING EMERGENCY IN TEXAS CALL 911
FOR CAVE ASSISTANCE START BY CALLING THE CLOSEST NUMBER:
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BEXAR:
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(210)326-1576
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COLLIN: |
(214)202-6611
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HAYS:
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(512)393-9054
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KENDALL: |
(830)537-6611
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SUTTON:
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(325)387-3424
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TRAVIS: |
(512)663-2287
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Stay within your limits.
Do not attempt to use ropes or cable ladders until you have been
adequately trained by experienced vertical cavers from a
National Speleological Society (NSS)
grotto. Do not jump in a cave. Do not climb down shafts that you
cannot climb up again. Do not go underwater in a cave without
being totally trained and certified as a cave diver (open water
scuba divers are not certified in cave diving, which is a very
dangerous sport.)
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Good caving habits:
Don't smoke in caves — caves usually have poor circulation and will
not clear out for a long time. Tobacco smoke contains thousands
of harmful chemicals; nicotine is poisonous to many cave animals.
Don't break formations or remove already broken ones — it encourages
others to break and remove them. It is against the law in Texas
to take or break formations, and it is unethical because those
stalactites, stalagmites, and other formations took many thousands
of years to grow in most cases. Most will never grow back because
their original water source through a crack in the ceiling often
is sealed with calcite. Don't track mud on flowstone areas. Don't
mark on walls. Remember the NSS slogan, "Take nothing but
pictures, leave nothing but (well-placed) footprints, kill nothing
but time."
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Do not kill, collect, or bother animals in
the cave.
Collections of animals should
only be made by a qualified scientist or his/her assistant. Most
cave animals live there naturally and you are an intruder into
their home. Raccoons, mice, and other creatures are important
contributors to the ecology of caves and should not be killed
or harassed. Other wildlife that commonly use caves are cave crickets,
daddy longlegs, bats, rattlesnakes, ringtails, javalinas, porcupines,
buzzards, and others. Some caves contain delicate, tiny, eyeless
creatures that are found in only one or two caves in the world!
Some of these species are on the U.S. Endangered Species List,
so be careful. Most animals that you encounter in caves are natural
inhabitants or visitors there, so please stay away from them and
do not make loud noises (see snake advice below).
Caving in Texas
is a great
experience, but problems can arise. Most Texans are friendly,
especially if you're polite and respect property rights. Keep
the following information in mind to make your caving trip a safe
and happy one.
Cave owners:
Over 80% of Texas caves are privately owned, 10 or 15% are on state land,
and another 5% are on federal land. Without the owners' cooperation
we would have access to few caves. You must obtain permission
to enter, even for caves on public land. Caving in state parks
requires permits from the
Texas Parks & Wildlife Department,
or paying a fee to go on a
wild caving tour.
More and more Texas caves are being gated to protect them.
Do not tamper with gates and please respect owners and their wishes,
and you'll be welcome to come back to their caves. Cave owners are protected from
liability to cavers by the state's
Sportman's Law, unless they
charge a fee for entry. If you encounter owners who are worried
about someone finding an endangered species in their cave, it
may help to point out that endangered cave species are found mostly
in urban areas like Austin or San Antonio, where there are many
rare species and where caves are being destroyed. Unlike the Balcones
Fault Zone, most Texas cave areas have only common cave species
and no urbanization problems. Cavers and cave researchers are
not "out to get them." Sometimes Texas cavers help owners
locate water for their wells. Owners also like to receive photographs,
maps, articles, and letters. Many cave owners are very proud of
their caves and deserve credit for their good stewardship.
Cave access:
The TSS does
not provide cave location information to the general public or
for strictly recreational cave trips. This web page provides educational
material to the public with the hope that it will prevent accidents
and will guide readers to become well-trained, safe, and conservation-minded
cavers. Many caves have been omitted from this web page because
the caving community deemed them too sensitive to publish. Nevertheless,
many of the caves on this page are also sensitive to excessive
traffic.
Ranch gates:
Leave all
gates as you find them. Many Texas ranches have "bump-gates."
You have to drive up to the gate until the bumper touches it,
then smoothly accelerate through the gate without hesitation.
If you don't know how to do this, have someone hold the gate open
as you drive through or you may damage your vehicle.
Snakes:
Please do not
kill rattlesnakes and please do not take firearms into caves.
Rattlesnakes are natural inhabitants of some Texas cave entrances.
As National Speleological Society members, we are committed to
leaving cave life alone except for scientific study and conservation
reasons. Rattlesnakes are highly poisonous and are common on the
Texas karst. Leave them alone on the surface too — they belong there.
We know of no caver ever being bitten by a rattlesnake in a Texas
cave, but that's because we throw lots of rocks when we go in.
This stirs the snakes up for awhile, but then they usually crawl
away from the noise. This is safer than crawling into a cave with
a gun in hand. Always throw several rocks into a cave before
entering and listen for the tell-tale rattle. Don't assume you're
safe if you don't hear one. Be especially careful throughout the
twilight zone-pit entrances are no exception! And don't forget
to watch for snakes when you exit the cave too. Should you find
a snake you can generally get around it without much trouble.
Unnecessary harassment of snakes puts you at risk.
Scorpions:
Please do
not kill cave scorpions. Many Texas caves are home to Pseudouroctonis reddelli,
a troglophilic species. They are purplish-black, up to about 6 cm long, and occur on walls, ceilings, and cave
floors. They are usually not aggressive but keep away from them
anyway. Little is known of their toxicity. Only three cavers have
reported being stung, two with no reaction (except sharp pain)
and one with a moderately bad reaction.
Fire ants:
The red imported
fire ant, Solenopsis invicta, began invading caves near
Austin and San Antonio in 1988. It is a pest that originated from
Brazil and has been spreading across the southern U.S. for decades.
None have been seen yet in caves on the Edwards Plateau. These
aggressive ants go into cave entrances seeking moisture and food
but they maintain their mounds outside. During the winter they
retreat from the caves. Be very careful when crawling into caves
in the Balcones Fault Zone because fire ant stings are painful
and raise small blisters. It helps to wear a thick, long-sleeved
shirt and gloves, then have a friend brush the ants off of you
once you're inside. Do not use pesticides in or near a cave — this
will not help you quickly enough and you may poison the cave ecosystem
directly or indirectly. For example, cave crickets come out to
feed at night and they will take fire ant bait, which can kill
the crickets. One to four gallons of boiling hot water with a
dash of detergent will kill most fire ant mounds quickly and almost
completely.
Bats: Please do not disturb bats.
Texas caves contain several species of bat: Mexican freetails,
cave myotis, eastern pipistrelles, old man (or leafchin) bats,
and others. If you encounter bats in a cave, please try to avoid
them. Move quietly and quickly out of their way and warn others
not to enter that area. Do not shine your lights on the bats.
Texas cavers should usually enter bat caves at night to avoid
problems during exploration. Biologists who need to identify bats
should use red filters on their lamps and move softly. Many species
can be identified and measured without actually touching the sleeping
bat.
Ammonia vapors
in Mexican
freetail bat caves are hazardous to cavers — the concentrations
easily exceed the known safe levels for industrial workers. Most
cavers do not enter the large roosts, but those who do should
wear an industrial-type, air-purifying respirator equipped with
ammonia cartridges, to which the individual has been professionally
fit-tested in a test chamber. Such respirators do not work if
facial hair protrudes through the rubber edges of the mask, no
matter how hard you cinch down the mask. Ammonia poisoning can
severely scald the lungs and land you in the hospital.
Histoplasmosis
is another
occupational hazard for cavers; it is a serious fungal infection
of the lungs, eyes, or other organs, and it can be life-threatening
without proper treatment. Bat caves often have Histoplasma
spores. Cavers who have not been exposed to "histo"
should think twice about entering bat caves in Texas or Mexico.
Novices and cavers from the northern U.S., Canada, and Europe
are especially at risk. Symptoms usually begin about two weeks
after exposure and include fever, headache, shortness of breath,
painful breathing, and miasma. The diagnostic blood test can give
false negative results. Antifungal prescription drugs, such as ketoconazole, are effective against the infection.
Rabies
is a fatal viral
disease carried by bats and other mammals. Far fewer than 1% of
bats have rabies, but cavers should not handle bats unless they
have taken the preventative human-diploid-cell vaccine. Grounded
bats are more likely to be sick, so don't pick them up. Although
a study in a Texas bat cave showed that caged animals can contract
rabies by just breathing it on aerosol droplets, no human case
of rabies by this route of exposure has been proven. However,
this may be because most cavers receive only brief exposures to
intense bat cave atmospheres. If you are bitten by a bat, immediately
wash the wound with soapy water and get immediate medical treatment.
Bad air:
Some Texas caves
have "bad air" or "foul
air." This usually means reduced oxygen and elevated carbon
dioxide. Such caves
tend to be in the Ellenburger Group limestones (Burnet and San
Saba counties) and the Austin Chalk (Bexar and Medina counties)
but rarely in the Edwards Group limestones. Some bad air caves
are physiologically stressful even to well-conditioned cavers,
and a few are quite dangerous. The air tends to be better in the
winter and spring. In certain areas of Texas, cavers carry Draeger
carbon-dioxide detectors, oxygen meters, or butane lighters for
the "Bic Test". The Bic Test uses the lighter to test
the air — poor air conditions result in a large gap between the
nozzle and the flame. Exit the cave if the Bic won't light. Bad
air affects each individual somewhat differently, but can cause
panting, headache, exhaustion, confusion, loss of judgment, and
even panic. Most cavers don't notice the CO2 until it reaches
3% (about 100 times normal), but it can become very stressful
at 6% or more. Usually the CO2 increase is accompanied by a similar
O2 decrease. Recovery is rapid upon exiting the cave, but this
can also result in nausea. Certain notorious bad air caves, especially
pits with stratified atmospheres, should be avoided or left to
those with scuba equipment.
Heat:
The Texas summer
heat can be debilitating. Wear cool, light clothing and a hat
when outside. Take water with you on all trips and replace the
salt lost in sweating. Never drink alcohol in or before entering
a cave. Cave temperatures in Central Texas range from 20-24°
C (68-75° F), with relative humidities of 95-100%. T-shirts
or long-sleeved shirts should be comfortable for summertime caving.
Coveralls, sweaters, or thermal underwear will cause you to overheat.
But don't be fooled by the temperature of the stream caves. Hypothermia
can creep up on you; wear a wetsuit if you expect to be soaked
for more than two or three hours.
12/1/96
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