Sitton's Cave - Wild Cave Adventure (Dade County, Georgia)

 

Cloudland Canyon is arguable the nicest state park in Georgia. I've visited a couple of times and really enjoyed the breathtaking scenery offered by the convergence of these two large canyons and the waterfalls and topology created by them. I recently became aware of some wild cave tours offered by the park and jumped at the chance to explore Sitton's Cave. I've visited many caves in my life, but most were 'show' caves, with only a couple of 'wild' caves to my resume. The difference is that a show cave has been domesticated with walkways and other amenities to make it easily accessible to the public, while a wild cave has been left in its natural state. This obviously means that wild caves can be much more difficult to explore. This sounded like a perfect little adventure for me. 

The trip to the park takes about two hours from my house and I arrived just a few minutes before our scheduled start time. After checking in and meeting my fellow adventurers, we were provided with knee pads, gloves, and a helmet with a headlamp. Before caravanning to the north side of the park and the cave entrance, the guide provided a brief overview and ensure that everyone was still anxious to go. 

Once at the Sitton's Gulch parking area, we hiked the short distance to the cave's entrance. With all of the recent rains, entering the cave was a bit treacherous. The steep descent over slick and muddy rocks required us to slide down on our rumps gradually as we descended about forty feet to the first room. Here where the cool cave air meets with the hot Georgia atmosphere, thousands of water droplets have condensed on the rock surfaces and twinkle like stars as the light from our headlamps pass over them. 

From there, we are forced to crawl and hands and knees over an ancient rock collapse. The muddy surface makes it incredibly slick. After passing through this narrow passage, we drop into the subterranean section of Sitton's Gulch Creek, which pass through the cave. The water is cold and waist level in some places. We see a couple of salamanders and crayfish skittering around as we wade through this passage. The water is flowing fairly quickly, not enough for the current to impeded our process, but definitely enough to notice. 

After a few hundred feet in the water, we climb out onto a muddy high area. Climbing out through the mud is an adventure for most of us, but everyone makes it. We take a few minutes here to rest while the guide talks about conservation issues as they relate to the cave. Specifically, he talks about the white nose syndrome that has decimated many bat populations. 

With that, we're back in the water for the next little section. The water is still cold and sill approximately waste deep. Large rocks under the surface cause the occasional imbalance, but only one lady ends up falling. Finally, reaching the last section, we once again climb up an incredibly slick mud bank to a high area. From here, the guide offers to take anyone interested through a little diversion trail that requires some belly crawling. I would normally be up for this, but with my phone along for the ride to allow me to take pictures, I opt to say put and not have to worry about it getting damaged or caught on something. The guide and those that chose to go with him return to us after only a couple of minutes. 

As this was our turn-around point, we head back the way we came. The guide asks me to lead the way so he can assist a couple of the ladies in the rear that have been struggling a bit. I return us to the area, where we first entered the water and climb out for the third and final time. After everyone has successfully left the water and is seated on the muddy rocks, the guide asks us to turn our headlamps off and to experience the true environment of the cave . . . complete darkness. I've done this before, but it's always amazing to me that no matter how long you remain in a cave like this in total darkness, your eyes will never adjust. There is zero light for your eyes to capture and so even with your pupils dilatating to broaden their ability to detect photons, they come up empty handed and you are left blind to everything around you.

The exit out of the cave requires a long crawl through a passage that gets as short as about two feet. I manage to stay on my hands and knees for most of it, but at a couple of pointes I must drop down to a belly crawl to proceed. The slimy mud deposited by water running through this passage way makes maneuvering quite a challenge. It takes us about twenty minutes to crawl the two hundred feet or so before reaching a section where we can once again stand up. To exit the cave, we have to climb up a steep and yes, you guessed it, muddy ledge about fifteen feet. The guide and I offer some assistance to a couple of the ladies that were struggling, but everyone makes it out unharmed.

We take an 'after' shot, in which we are much more muddy than we were in our 'before' shot, which is to be expected after what we've been through. From there, we hike a short distance back to the parking area and remove our muddy gear. A changing shack allows us to switch into the spare clothes we were asked to bring and it's a good thing. I would not want all of this mud all over the inside of my car. With a few words of farewell and thanks to the guide, we go our separate ways. This was a really fun adventure and I'm glad I had the opportunity to experience it.