Responsible caving
As a grotto, we are committed to responsible caving practices. Every caver should be a conscientious part of the community by learning about how to keep themselves, their peers, and cave ecosystems safe from harm.
Protect the cave
Keep yourself safe
These resources are meant to supplement your curiosity. They do not replace peer learning or mentorship, which are among the most important ways any grotto contributes to the caving community. This is by no means a comprehensive list of resources, but rather a starting point.
Packing list
First time caving and unsure what to bring?
This is what we recommend bringing to an introductory-level horizontal (no ascending or descending ropes) cave. This is specific to our area and style of caving — these recommendations may not be applicable in all situations.
- Helmet*
- Three sources of light*
- At least one should be a high-quality headlamp
- Bring backup batteries, too!
- Gloves*
- Not the disposable kind
- Just something to protect the cave from the oils in your hands
- Latex-coated gardening gloves work great
- Warm layers
- Not cotton (wool or synthetic layers are great!)
- Caves are around 55 degrees
- It’ll be dark and you might get wet — dress for it
- Sturdy shoes you don’t mind getting wet
- Water and snacks
- Try to avoid super crumbly or messy foods
*Our grotto maintains this item in our gear lending library, which is available for members and/or anyone else who’s joining us. If you need to borrow gear for a grotto trip, reach out to your trip leader. If you are a member who wants to borrow gear outside of a grotto trip, reach out to the quartermaster officer.
Membership links
Ready to become a member?
Make sure to look over the membership requirements first! Anyone can join us for events (and up to two grotto-led cave events) without membership.
Already a member?
As a member, you are free to sign yourself up for grotto-led trips using this sheet.
If you haven’t obtained permission to access it yet, reach out to an officer or email palmettogrotto@gmail.com with your preferred email address for using Google Sheets.
A tab is usually made for each trip by the grotto meeting at which it was first announced. However, if you know of a trip being led by the grotto that isn’t in the spreadsheet, please reach out and let us know!
Palmetto Grotto 