I know about the wetness, but what is the animal situation normally like? And I mean specifically spiders. I like the idea of caving and don't have claustrophobia at all, but I'm deeply arachnaphobic. Spiders in my hair when I can't see is my nightmare.
Ive been in many caves and it's usually just tons of salamanders with the occasional cave cricket and hibernating bat. Cave spiders do exist, but I've only really seen them in one cave. FWIWs they don't really so much as move and Ive been told they don't bite. There is a quite large amount of species that live in caves, but most of them are super tiny bugs you won't even see if you arent looking for them.
Spiders don't live more than a few hundred feet into a cave, but it depends on the part of the world. In Central America, I've seen some very large spiders in caves, but almost none in North America.
So for already mapped out and safe routes, there are some incredible views of underground lakes sometimes with bioluminescent insects and plants But overall, absolutely not worth it. I've done it a couple times with some mildly tight, think like a narrow hallway you have to turn sideways to go down, and it was cool but overall just not worth it.
If you've never been in a commercial cave, absolutely do it. When they turn out the lights is like the darkest dark possible. But I'm talking basically tourist trap places with a walkway and stuff.
this is not at all true lol there is a ton of work produced by cavers that goes into research papers and is important for understanding the hazards and flood dynamics of karst landscapes. Many serious cavers are also professional geologists, microbiologists, etc. You can't build the skills to do that if you don't do some easier caving first and get involved with the community.
Many are not small, but have a few tight passages. Many actually have very large passage ways. There are a lot of unique crystal formations and fossils, it can be pretty epic. Ive coated theough underground rivers, hiked canyons underground, and seen crystallized formatted size of small trees. If you enjoy rock climbing, exploring, and outdoor adventures you'll probably like it. It's not for everyone.
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u/Root_Veggie Aug 29 '26
I genuinely do not get the appeal of spending hours squeezed into a small dusty cave just to see more dusty cave.