Why Do You Cave?

I wrote this May 23, 2007 ... well over ten years ago, but someone reminded me of it today and I thought I'd put it up.


Why Do You Cave?

I am going caving in three days! Actually, by the time this article is published, I’ll have gone and come back and hopefully written a trip report. The reason for this article is made clear in its title. Why do you cave? I believe that’s a question all of us cavers have been asked before. Do you have an answer readily available? I never have … until I just heard an inspiration this morning.

While watching a television show about the caves under Budapest, a caver showing the host one of the recently discovered caves below the city said, “It’s like a playground”. I found myself grinning because the concept rang so true for me, and it was so simple.

When people ask me why I like to go caving, I’ve never had a good, articulate answer for them. Now I do. Although it is a bit more complicated than just saying caves are like a playground for adults. I don’t want to give the impression that caves are a place to run amuck because they are such fragile environments. The act of scrambling, crawling, climbing, and traversing a cave’s varied passages is almost an art form. It is one of the few environments in which I feel truly agile. I am apt to, and have tripped over my own feet above ground! Perhaps another part of my love for caving is rooted in the fact that as a child I was never athletic in the traditional sense. I climbed trees and rode my bike, but I was never involved in school sports like track or basketball. I wasn’t good at them. I think I’m good at caving. And the fact that it is an unusual activity makes me feel all the more special. Take that all you cruel kids who picked me last in gym class!

Some people might counter the playground description with: “But you’re an adult now, don’t you think it’s time to grow up?” To that I would say absolutely not. I still know how to have fun. Real fun. Fun that I can express with my entire being, both mental and physical. In the cave environment, I am forced to put my whole self into the “now”. It commands all my attention, which may be why every day worries and troubles temporarily have less hold over me, or don’t seem as dire.

I just had to edit the last paragraph from using the point-of-view from second person (you) to first person (me), because I cannot speak for all cavers, just myself and how I feel. I hope though, that this article helps non-cavers to better understand this unusual activity we participate in and that it perhaps gives another caver insight into their own experiences.

Caving has so many varying aspects and that is probably why it draws people from such diverse backgrounds. Some people cave for the sport (and that doesn’t necessarily make them spelunkers), some cave to map, some cave to study cave life, some cave to develop better rescue practices, some cave to search for cures to diseases, some cave to study history, some cave to photograph, etc. And typically, a person falls under more than one category. That is why you’ll find such people ranging from doctors to students to payroll professionals (myself) all labeling themselves as “caver”.

So the next time someone asks me why I like to go caving, I’ll answer, “because it’s like a playground for adults”. And hopefully that will open up a conversation that involves describing what I enjoy doing below ground, why, and how safe caving practices are good for both cavers and caves. Nobody likes it when vandals graffiti or trash children’s playground equipment, right? In caves, it’s all the more important because it’s a natural environment.

This paragraph comes from another article I wrote just over a year ago, but fits here as well: Caving makes me feel alive and I try to be aware of the following things so they can permeate throughout the rest of my life: to constantly challenge myself, appreciate all of nature, and love all the people in my life.

Cave softly. Cave passionately.

A Success Story?

Almost a year ago I made the conscious decision to go from omnivore to vegan and it has opened up an amazing new world of food. Though my initial reason was for animals, it has grown into three reasons ... still for the animals 💗, for the earth itself, and most surprisingly for my own health.

I have lost 35 lbs since last May and am now in better, healthier, stronger shape than I was over ten years ago just before I became pregnant with Evey. Exercising, any little bit, every day has become a habit again. For example, push-ups no longer feel awkward!

In February I had my annual bloodwork done and my cholesterol is 136, my HDL is 74 & LDL is 54, and my vitamins and minerals are all at good levels. I plan and hope to live a very long time. I want to be part of the next generation of 80+ year old cavers and hikers!

I'm not perfect (mmm desserts), and I'm often really hard on myself for that even though I know I shouldn't be. 😯 I am a work-in-progress. We can always get stronger and more skilled, both physically and mentally. It's OK to celebrate along the way though, right?

First I struggled with whether to write this at all, and now I keep revising it. Why? At least in part because I don't want to come off as a braggart. Also, because I'm afraid of failing, not at being a vegan - of that lifestyle I'm confident, but of "letting myself go" again.

I will not let that happen. I have come a long way in the past year, and I think I should be proud of it. And to feel OK with being proud of it.

Be a Candle

In a few days’ time many American families, including mine, will be celebrating Thanksgiving.

As my family can trace its roots back to the Mayflower, I am especially cognizant of the fact that this day isn’t a cause for celebration for a lot of people. It is instead, a Day of Mourning. I am thankful for many things in my life, including feeling safe and getting to call a beautiful place home, and that I have family and friends who love me. I am conscious, always, to the fact that so many more people do not feel the same. Our world is undeniably struggling through a volatile time. Truthfully, where there is humanity there is struggle.

Be a candle.

One small candle.

A warm glow against an impenetrable night.

More candles, more hope

To keep the dark at bay.

Don’t let the shadows drown you,

Smother your light, strangle your heart.

If stifled, light anew.

More candles, more hope.

The Results Are In!

For a long time I wanted to get my DNA tested.  When I happened along a Groupon I decided to finally do it.  That was about six weeks ago. I got my results this morning! 

The results surprised me and it has taken me a fair amount of time to thoroughly read the manual that came with the results, and to digest all the information. I thought I was mainly British/Irish and Eastern European (the border near Russia has changed so much it is easier to generalize).

However, according to AncestryByDNA I’m 98% European, with the bulk of that coming from Iraq! And I'm apparently Scottish, not British/Irish. 2% is Indigenous American which I did believe there would be a small amount of, but the top matching country is Venezuela!  Say what?!

In my endeavor to make sense of my genetic blueprint I realized that perhaps these results aren't as bizarre as first they seemed, and felt.

On my mom's maternal side, my great-aunt researched our lineage and we can claim Mayflower descendancy. On my mom's paternal side we figured Irish seeing as my grandfather's surname was McCann, and his family settled in the coal mining region around West Virginia. One of my uncles is now working on researching that side of the family's ancestry so it could be rather interesting to learn more about them in light of what I found out today.  I suppose it's not terribly far-fetched to go from British/Irish to Scottish.

My paternal side of the family is Jewish. I always thought they were from Eastern Europe along the border with Russia, so potentially Russian or Polish or whatever depending on which country was ruling at any given time. That being said, it's fairly reasonable to consider that our ancestors could've migrated from the Middle East region northward at some point further back that anyone alive during my time remembers.

In conclusion, I can add myself to the growing list of people who are surprised by their DNA tests!

Why the heck do you do that??

One cannot stay on the summit forever –
One has to come down again.
So why bother in the first place? Just this.
What is above knows what is below –
But what is below does not know what is above.

One climbs, one sees –
One descends and sees no longer
But one has seen!

There is an art of conducting one’s self in
The lower regions by the memory of
What one saw higher up.

When one can no longer see,
One does at least still know.

-René Daumal-

Someone wrote this poem in the register at the Granite Mountain lookout, an 8.6 mile hike with 3,800 feet in elevation gain that two friends and I tackled on Friday. The poem resonated with me so much so that I looked it up when we got back home. It reminded me of why I love caving as well. Such activities command your attention in a way that you almost can't help but be totally present in the moment. And if you open yourself to it, these adventures can bring clarity to other areas of your life.

I often find it difficult to explain my wanderlust and unabating yearning to get outdoors. For others who share my enthusiasm, there's no need for explanations. For those less adventuresome, I feel like I'm on an ongoing mission to find some allusive phrase that will give them an "ah ha" moment where they suddenly get it. I'm slowly realizing that there probably isn't a one-size-fits-all explanation, and that because we are all so very different, not everyone can understand it. And that's OK.

Decisions

I’m a terrible blogger, but occasionally I find I still have reasons for writing a post.

On April 23rd, while Jeff was working and my mom was out of town, I took the kids to Fox Hollow Family Farm. We had been there before – it’s a fun place for the kids with a variety of things to do in a very pretty setting nestled between Squak and Tiger Mountain in Issaquah. While the kids played in and around the Farm Village playhouses toward the end of the afternoon I found myself sitting next to the pen where a mama cow and her baby were. Both of them ambled over to me and I petted them. As I looked into that mama’s eyes and let her sniff my hand it struck me what it meant to eat meat. I had reached a turning point and I felt it. A short time later a worker happened by and the sow mooed at him, several times.  Laughing, he told her it wasn’t supper time yet.  He said she knew exactly who he was, and what it normally meant when he came around. Food!

For a while I hadn’t been going out of my way to eat meat, but that day I believe I moved from unconsciously avoiding it to consciously avoiding it. On April 27^th, I ate my last steak tacos from the Taco Truck here in Maple Valley. I kept my Altoids for a few more days and had s’mores that Sunday, but eventually I threw out the Altoids and I bought vegan marshmallows for some upcoming camping trips. I even returned an unopened bottle of calcium because it, too, had gelatin. After doing some soul-searching which included research on the internet (yeah, I know how that sounds. I've become very good at being critical of everything I read online) I realized I didn’t think I could stomach dairy anymore either. At its most basic, cow milk is meant for baby cows. It’s what calves need to grow rapidly into +1,000 lb mammals. Perhaps there’s a reason 75% of humans are lactose intolerant to some degree. I breastfed my kids for a combined total of six and a half years … and partly I believe because of that, when I watched this video it gutted me. Dairy cows are animals, and they are mothers. Just like me. In all honesty when my kids were very small my love for animals took a back seat to my very own humans, but that has gradually changed. I have enough love for all in my heart. How could I genuinely care about cats and dogs, but not for the welfare of pigs who have been proven to have higher intelligence than our pets?

On May 5^th, I ate cheese with my lunch for the last time. I’m undecided about eggs, only because if I want to I could buy them from a friend whose chickens are very well-cared for. I’m also on the fence about honey … because sure, bees are alive, but they are insects ... like mosquitoes, no?? I purposely sought out a brand of sugar that doesn’t use bone char the other day though.  And so this is a journey I have embarked upon. It’s a life change. I’m so very far from perfect, and I have to try to remember not to mentally beat myself up if I make what I perceive as a mistake.  There is so much to learn, and I don't feel like I've closed a door, but rather opened one. There is a huge new world full of delicious variety to explore. Except for asparagus. That's still gross. I’m not exactly a newbie, considering my mom has waded between vegetarian and vegan since I was a kid. We already own this book, and my goodness are there some yummy things in there.

As if this wasn’t a big enough change, on May 9^th I registered for the Tough Mudder Half with some friends that happens at the end of September and I’m super excited about it. I’m very much not a runner.  I never have been.  But I started running in preparation for this event, and I’m finding I like it. I did a Warrior Dash and Mud Run a few years back and now I’m feeling super motivated to get fit and even more healthy. A few months ago I bought a new cave suit and it was just a tad snug. I'm planning to need it come October and I'm determined that it fit me a little loosely instead!

Like so many others, I resolved myself time and again to eat healthy, but I always fell off the wagon. Mostly at night or on the weekend was when I was most tempted.  But since consciously deciding to forego meat it has been super easy to say no to junk food, even to almond and peanut butter M&Ms!

Instagram Image from our visit to the Fox Hollow Family Farm

Rainy Contemplation

I'm taking a brief moment to appreciate the weather today.  The pitter patter of the rain outside is soothing as I sit here at my desk, warm and dry. I can't go outside and play during the week anyhow.  Regardless, the rain doesn't bother me.  It's supposed to be rainy around here.  We need it to keep this beautiful land lush and green.  What bothers me is how much the climate is changing all over.  I read an article early this morning about Glacier National Park and it's heartbreaking how detrimental the changes that are happening there are, and all over the western part of the country.  Change is an inevitable part of life, but as a human being, so is feeling despair at watching the world around us tumbling in a downward spiral.  I'm really not a pessimist though.  I don't think the world is going to end, though I honestly have no idea what the future will look like for our children's children's children.  Nature will fight back and I hope we are able to adapt to what we've wrought.  I also hope we continue to grow technologically so we can further explore the universe.  In that regard I wish I could live forever, or live again.