Connecticut can be the sinkhole of crater-sized cave tales. In the Northeast it is rarely a destination heard among cavers, unless late night drinkers begin comparing size around a campfire use caves as the analogy for the less endowed.

But as activity chair of Met Grotto I feel obligated to make cave trips to every Northeast state. After all, the focus is all to often Schoharie County (for good enough reasons), but a little diversity and change can benefit all.

This time it drew nearly 20 cavers. We teamed up with Central Connecticut Grotto and visited Tory's Cave near Milford. Later we crossed into NY and visited Indian Oven Cave.

Aside from arriving late (not a good trait for the organizer), I greeted the already-suited group and dressed quickly. We had some fairly new cavers: Ben Peikes (Met), Tom Garbarino (none yet), Pete Wilson (none yet), Rick Pomponio (none yet), and Judy Yoreo (CCG). Also showing up were some veterans who had not been caving in a while: John Huftalen and Melanie Peterson. Tom Oakes (Met/CCG), Chris Beauchamp (CCG), Gary Burns (CCG), and Bob Cohen (Met) were our active cavers. And we even had an experienced caver from the Smoky Mountain Grotto, newly relocated to NYC, Jessamy Thomison. Finally we had some parents with their children: Doug and Molly Truitt.

Tory's Cave proved much more intriguing than made out to be. While it is small, it did not take 15 minutes to complete as was rumored. A marble cave, Tory's gave a glimpse subtly different from the normal limestone we are used to in NY. We hit the dome room and crawls off the main section right away. Meanwhile, Gary Burns proceeded to dig out the under-passage into another dome. It was completely filled with thick, slimy, guano-scented mud. But by the time everyone had finished the main areas, Gary had gotten through and many of us followed and climbed up to a pretty neat multi-level dome with cute little light brown bats. Though how they got in there remained a mystery.

Next we hit Indian Oven Cave. A short hike through perfectly amazing gold, brown and orange leaves silhouetted against white birch trees made the cave almost unnecessary. Department store windows just don't say Fall like the outdoors.

A large, gaping mouth of an entrance and mostly walking passage, Indian Oven is a great beginner cave. But it also offers some treats for the more experienced or more willing. A small pool room is the reward if one slides upward against gravity through a slot near the end of the 45-degree passage. You have to keep to the high part of this multi-level slanted passage to get there.

And the greatest challenge was at the very end of the cave. A tight, tight crawl with helmet off out in front goes for quite a while, maybe a hundred feet, with only 2 tiny turn around points. Tom Oakes and I navigated this with only a few groans as we had to drag one arm behind for a few feet in a tight pinch. We could go no further, but I did see significant passage ahead and with a little work, that last gap could be widened enough to check it out…

We ended the day with our usual cheap pizza and beers in a small town. A wonder for us city folk. Thanks to Doug for bringing extra equipment, CCG for acting as our tour guide, and to all for sharing the day. And lastly, Hail to the Rubber Chicken!