They decided to crawl out of the cave instead of the easy hike out. However, before starting to crawl, they had to pick a fearless leader who would lead them out.

Katie Shaber, an ASU sophomore from Raleigh, volunteered to be the fearless leader.  Shaber got at the front of a long continuous chain of students.

Shaber, along with several other ASU students, participated in a day caving trip to Roberts’ Cave, just one of the many activities ASU’s Outdoor Programs has to offer.

Roberts’ Cave is located in the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area in Jefferson National Forest. It is well known for its formations. Carbonic acid from the mixture of CO2 (carbon dioxide) and water permeated the limestone there.

Several students decided on crawling out of the cave with their lights off.  Each person had to hold the person’s feet in front of them so that everyone went the same direction.

“Crawling out was my favorite part of the caving trip. I thought it was cool that they let us take the lead,” Shaber said.

Shaber has been to Worleys Cave in Tennessee.  She said it included more hiking and climbing around, whereas Roberts’ Cave involved more crawling.

“I wish we would have had more time to spend in the cave.  Even though Roberts was pretty small, there was a lot more to be explored,” Shaber said.

Crawling out of Roberts’ Cave took a little longer than what the students had expected. It took sometimes going the wrong way before finding out that they were at a dead end.

Yet, after intensive team work and plenty of group suggestions, the students saw the light. Their faces, when exiting the cave, expressed an immense content.

People once believed that caves formed mechanically by the rapid movement of water.  Caves are actually formed chemically, and the process is very slow.  The carbonic acid moves around 10 inches each year.

Caves have three main areas in general. The treshold is the entrance of the cave.  People may find racoons or other varmits hanging out. 

The twilight zone is the area where spiders may be encountered. Then you reach total darkness.

In the areas of total darkness, students would turn off their head lamps and tell stories.  Sometimes, if they kept quiet, they could hear the bats.

There were also some really unique formations whenever one looked up. 

The so-called “soda straws” are hollow, long tube-like structures. They have a whitish color and hold water on the tip that seems like it will drip on someone at any moment.

Shaber said this was her first trip with the Outdoor Programs.  Most students in the trip had never been caving before; however, they seem to have enjoyed the adventure.