Breathing Cave - 7/30/2023

Harriet Flynn reporting

We had a great grotto trip to Breathing this Sunday! The plan was to go into the historic section and rappel into George's Gorge. This would be the first vertical Grotto trip in quite a few years, and the first in-cave vertical for a few of the crew.

11 people met in the parking area, geared up, and hiked half an hour to the impressive entrance. We made our way through some crawls, managed a little route-finding, and stopped for a group photo in the Big Room before getting to the drop. 2 folks who were not planning on doing the rappel turned around at this point and made for the exit.

The rest of the cavers donned their vertical gear and rappelled down the 40' drop into the gorge. Being the first time on rappel in a cave for a few folks, we established a fireman's belay from the bottom for extra safety. Everyone made it down, fine, though. We briefly explored in the canyon before turning back to ascend and make our way out. It takes a long time for 9 people to get on & off rope!

The team exited the cave to a humid, muggy afternoon - a far cry from the pleasant, cool weather underground. The hike back was uneventful and we wrapped up a fabulous day underground!

Participants: David, Madison, Casey, Madison, Harriet, Kara, Eric, Aidan, Chris, Katie, Murphy

P.S. Breathing Cave is only open May 15-September 15. There are waivers at the trailhead.