Caving Safely
Caving: "Coming back alive!" - Continued
CLOTHES Should be warm and flexible. Usually a multi-layering of shirts are the best. If you are too warm, take one off...too cold put one on, etc.. Flannel or wool is best. Same with socks. Polypropylene underwear covered by a shirt and coveralls works extremely well. Jeans can be worn under the coveralls. Coveralls are nice because they will collect all the mud and dirt and you can peel them off and still have relatively clean clothes below them. Expect to get wet and muddy. Do not wear any "good" clothes, they will get trashed! White underwear will not look white even after using the best detergent available.
BOOTS (Of course, you must wear footwear in a cave) Many people use tennis shoes and get away with it, but rubber or leather boots or hiking shoes with ankle support are advisable. Smooth-soled shoes or boots will not work in a cave. You will slip and fall. Rough terrain and scrambling/climbing up and over muddy rocks is inevitable, so go for ankle type support and traction boots or shoes. Remember, your shoes/boots will get trashed also! You can always count on mud and/or water in limestone caves.
KNEE PADS A very good idea. Most cavers always wear them, whether or not they expect to do any crawling. From experience, you will always do some crawling in every cave. It might be very minimal, but pads are nice to have. You can get these in any athletic or department store. The cheap, broad elastic with sewn-in foam pad will work pretty good for you. You can also use an extra pair for elbow pads, if you want.
FOOD AND WATER Whatever you take into a cave, you must bring out with you. Chocolates, peanuts, and raisins all can be used for energy. Hard candies are nice too. Usually, small snacks are better; leave the big meal for after your cave trip. Plastic baby bottles are perfect for carrying your munchies underground. They also can hold your drinking water. Bring enough water for a particular trip. You can not drink any of the water that is in a cave! It is high in mineral content, not to mention other nasties that would hurt you more than dehydration would. Usually a pint to a quart will be enough water to drink. (A good idea is to get a pre-packaged water bottle from the store, like Evian, etc.. The bottles are plastic and can be re-used.)
