2006 Crawlathon

[L Roebuck]

The 25th Annual Carter Caves State Resort Park Crawlathon, January 27-29, 2006

FMI: www.crawlathon.com/

[Sharon Faulkner]

Crawlathon Registration Forms and other information for this annual January event can be found on the website: www.crawlathon.com

[Sharon Faulkner]

Carter Caves event draws caving lovers from across U.S.
Story and photos by Dave Lavender
The Herald-Dispatch

OLIVE Hill, Ky. -- Each morning, Coy Ainsley and the workers at Carter Caves State Resort Park head out to the mailbox to fetch dozens of letters filled with wants and dreams of adventures soon to be.

Filled with 101 adventures and classic trips as "Sandy Cave Flotilla," "Wandering Through Wilburn," "Burchett Odyssey" and "Down for Dummies," the 25th annual Crawlathon, which runs Friday-Sunday, Jan. 27-29, has already lured in advance registration from nearly 400 cavers from as far away from Colorado, New York, Florida and all over the Midwest. About 100 more are expected -- and you can join them -- at one of the region's great outdoor events.

Advance registration should be postmarked by Thursday, and the always slim amount of leftovers can be signed up for the weekend of Crawlathon, an event put on by the park in conjunction with caving groups such as ESSO Grotto, which got its start decades ago at Marshall University.

Ainsley, the naturalist at the park (which is home to about 20 caves), said Crawlathon has become a great event that kicks off the year for cavers, giving them a backstage pass of sorts during guided trips into many of the park's smaller caves and some of those on personal property. "One of the reasons I think it is so popular is that it is not like most other caving events like Karstorama," said Ainsley, a Parkersburg, W.Va., native who has worked at the park since 2001. "This one caters to all levels from the beginner to the folks who have a lot of caving experience. Crawlathon really introduces a lot of people to the sport of caving. There are a lot of good trips at the Crawlathon that are set up to get people aware of the sport, and aware of the safety, and if you are interested in the sport after you've done Crawlathon, you have can get involved with the grotto or club where you live."

Horton Hobbs (who has a Ph.D. in biology from Wittenburg University) came to Carter Caves State Resort Park more than 25 years ago to seek a species of crayfish. But his focus soon changed after taking a canoe trip down Tygart's Creek, which narrowly winds through Carter County, Ky., and the park past the towering sandstone cliffs and pockets of unmapped limestone caves. "I soon forgot all about the crayfish," Hobbs said, laughing. "I got turned
on by the caves."

The founder and adviser of the Wittenberg University Speleogical Society, or W.U.S.S., Hobbs and his changing roster of students have surveyed 41 caves for a total of 59,982 feet or 11.1 miles. Most of those have been at Carter Caves. Over the years, Hobbs and his students have churned out 36 published papers on the caves at the park.

Here's the URL to view the complete article:
www.herald-dispatch.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060115/LIFE/601150311/1004

[madratdan]

You folks have all the fun parties back East. I'm jealous

[Sharon Faulkner]

Dan,

That sounds like as good a reason as any to pack up and move to TAG to me. ;D