There are no eagles in this cave
One of the rarer forms of rambling is spelunking. Most outdoor adventurers will be familiar with this beautiful word, but if not, I will define it here. Spelunking is to explore a cave. Now, this is not a typical form of rambling, considering that there is no open sky, no grass, no trees, and no expansive views. However, in its truest form, spelunking is free exploration into the subterranean world. Spelunkers can pick any dark cavern and venture out into the unknown.
My experience with spelunking is pretty minimal, but I do have one tale from my distant past to tell. As a young cub scout, we traveled to Eagle Cave in Wisconsin. Eagle Cave is an onyx cave, and I do not know what that means. The special thing about Eagle Cave is that they allow groups, typically youth groups, to camp overnight in the cave. In addition, much of the cave is open for exploration, so long as groups stay together. This makes for a muddy evening of shining lights into deep tunnels and squeezing through tight passageways.
This event was such a long time ago that I don’t have much more to say about it. However, writing about it now I am inspired to go spelunking once again. In Washington we have Ape Cave near Mt. St. Helens, a lava tube with an “easy” route and a “difficult” route. We did the easy route last year and need to head back to complete the whole thing. It’s rambling, subterranean style. The pictures below are from Ape Cave, Eagle Cave is too far gone.
