It was Sunday, 12/6/98, one of the final days of fall, and we were heading out to Leigh Cave. It was to be my second sub-terrainian experience, Tom Watkin's second, and Lewis Antine's first, and Chris's..., well we just aren't counting anymore.

Buzzing from coffee and sugar, Chris threw his 4 wheelin' Bronco up the path; the majestic limestone gateway of the Underworld that laid in front of us.

Arriving at the cave's entrance, we geared up, and then watched Chris tie water knots in some webbing, test lots of dead batteries, and then get commitments from everyone to save one third of our water for his Premiere Carbide Lamp.

As Chris unlocked the entrance gate, I recognized the feeling of FEAR... "what on earth"..., "I can't fit through that pipe...", "how deep is THE PIT?"

Lewis entered first. Thank God he left his keys in the car because he dropped all his change while crawling in. Entering second, I was faced with an assortment of quarters, dimes and nickels. I thought to pick them up, but then realized I'd have to do it with my mouth, and then keep them in there for a little while. Realizing that it probably wasn't worth it, and that I'd look pretty desperate, I decided just to move on.

Crossing the first pit, which wasn't THE PIT, I quickly realized that Leigh Cave was much more vertical in nature than the relatively horizontal Clarksville, my first cave. Also, perhaps because of the way it was formed, the limestone was smoother than the rough exposed edges I experienced at Clarksville. While this allowed me to avoid a lot of bumping, banging and bruising, it did make navigating the multiple drops very expensive on the psyche.

Chris' knee became a regular foothold for all of us as we crossed THE PIT, and I'm not sure I would have done it if I had known I had to come out the same way.

Eventually the three of us resurfaced, muddy, broken and a little pissed off at the cave. Chris exited behind us, throwing some found coins back out to the owner; obviously hoping to improve his standing as he overheard us asking each other questions such as "why are we doing this?",and "why did he mislead and deceive us?" (he really didn't).

As I counted up all my battle wounds, I placated myself with the idea that I would gain from the experience - after time. A short time later, standing upright again on the surface, we were greeted by a twinkling night sky. Tom and Lewis saw a shooting star, and then we all headed for home - via way of the Sunset Dinner and a little pizza.