Ash Grove/ Skylight Cave and Low Water Bridge Cave

[jammer_smith]

Oh dang, I hadn't thought about all of the rain. Yeah right now would be a terrible time to see a cave like that. The creek that flows in from the sewage entrance, through the cave, and out of the river entrance is actually called the "dry branch" cause it is dry most of the year, but with all the rain.

I applaud your go-get 'em attitude, but if I find caves filled with water, I usually back out an wait for another day. A lot of time caves have ruts and divits and little mini-canyons in their floor where it can all of the sudden be ten feet deeper in one particular spot. It's just too dangerous when the water is high.

But hey, you did fine, so good on you.

The best time to explore most caves is actually in the hottest dryest part of summer when they will be, relatively, less muddy and wet, or in the dead of winter when the water is all frozen and doesn't get under ground for the same reason.

That said, most cave that you find up at higher elevations are better to explore during the wet season, since they are likly to be drier, or if they are wet it will be only the lower levels. Caves that are right down at the level of the nearby creeks and what no, tend to be really soupy this time of year.

[Baileybrucem]

Oh dang, I hadn't thought about all of the rain.

Yeah.. I wondered how bad it would be, especially since Springfield is technically under a flood warning... But whatever. I mean we made it. I wonder how long it takes for the water levels deep inside the cave to recede.

[jammer_smith]

Well, that depends on regular water level of the area. So if your cave is very near a creek or something, then that will help you to judge, which Skylight Cave does have.

So if the nearby creek is swollen, then the cave will be flooded to that same elevation. Once the creek gets back down to it's normal banks and all of the little wet-weather feeder streams stop flowing, the cave should be back down to it's normal level as well. Although it will take a long time to stop being so muddy.


For Ash Grove cave, the lower passage is pretty much always wet, even in the dead of summer. The rest of the cave is almost always at least a little muddy, but only has standing water following really heavy rain.

[Baileybrucem]

The disposable water proof cameras were terrible. I have no photos, and it is very upsetting. I plan on going again to ash grove later this summer though, so perhaps I'll invest in a better camera... This time with more people and I'll know what to expect.

[moarkexplorer]

Wish I would have seen these least few posts sooner, ended up driving over to Springfield with a friend to check out the rest of Ash Grove if it wasn't flooded, and sure enough it was. Low Water Bridge Cave had a fairly strong stream flowing from it as well. Ended up just going over to Ritter Spring Park and checking out a couple caves there.

[Baileybrucem]

Wish I would have seen these least few posts sooner, ended up driving over to Springfield with a friend to check out the rest of Ash Grove if it wasn't flooded, and sure enough it was. Low Water Bridge Cave had a fairly strong stream flowing from it as well. Ended up just going over to Ritter Spring Park and checking out a couple caves there.

Don't let a little water stop you next time
I just made sure I held onto the cave wall the entire time in case the water got too deep or suddenly the floor sank out from under me. It just was flooded for a few hunded meters in the entrance, but nothing else was flooded until after the autograph room. Water wading was the best part of my trip!

[moarkexplorer]

Haha, we wont let it stop us next time. I had my DSLR in my backpack and didn't want to risk losing that if I slipped in the cave. The water at the Skylight entrance was really flowing by quick. Plus I have this slight anxiety about hypothermia, so I'm slowly easing myself into some wetter caving to figure out my body's limits.