|
|
|
|
|
|
|
What at first appeared to be a stand-up, no-nonsense cave rapidly deteriorated into a big man's nightmare. The gentle slope became a steep incline where the ceiling dropped to no more than 24 inches, forcing us to crawl on our hands and knees. At one juncture, the passage narrowed to the point that we had to strip off our utility belts and backpacks and inch them along in front of us as we crawled on our bellies. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
At one point we had to come to a complete halt while Madden squeezed himself through a small opening and explored several feet of cave branching off to our right. All the while I was locked to the floor of the cave with no more than six inches of headroom. When Madden returned he had a quick exchange with Kelto, and a large, ghostly pink, eyeless spider meandered casually through the beam of my flashlight. The creature, about the size of a softball, abruptly changed directions, stumbled over my fingers, conquered my arm, brushed my face and casually traversed the length of my aching body. I felt the little bastard every inch of the way. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A few feet further ahead, the decline grew steeper, and Jake again came to an abrupt stop. At almost the same time, I became aware of the sound of rushing water. A few feet ahead of that, we inched our way into a small cavern with a four foot ceiling and right in the middle of it a hole some 36 |
|
|
|
|
|