Minigill Cave was a challenge
for us to find. All we had was a sketchy description from another
caver and a questionable map but after several hours of driving
in circles on dirt roads, we finally found it, tucked away out
of sight in the woods. To get into the cave requires a stunning
110 foot rappel straight down into an opening in the cave's roof.
The drop in was easy but the laborious haul back up the rope
was a tough ascent. Caving is the opposite of mountaineering
in that the uphill part comes at the end, after you've been crawling
around dark, difficult passages for hours.
The formations inside the cave
were fantastic with a variety of stalactites, stalagmites and
crystals to be found. There were also some very tricky, technical
passages that provided an exhilarating challenge. |