Skylight cave location help

[Former User #2]

Hey, first off awesome site , glad i found it. I went to starlight prolly 10 years ago and i remimber going through ash grove and going over some rail road tracks and then parking by the river on a small slab of concrete they called a bridge. Then hiking for what seemed like a hour or more and finally found the cave. Is that the way you guys go or has that area changed? Listening to your directions it sounds like you guys get to it a different/ easier way. Preciate tha help a bunch.Id like to head down there on sunday.

[Nicotti]

minus the hour hike, it was more like 15 minutes following the river, but yeah that sounds about right.

[Former User #2]

Huh. well i know the hike was longer than 15 minutes, i was exhausted when we got back to the car. I wanna say i was hiking south along the river. Maybe there is 2 ways to get to it?...both following the river.....Thanks again for ur help

[jessmister2006]

cross the pasture and cross the river instead of walking down the river bank its only a 15 minute walk

[Former User #2]

ok, one more question and ill shut up........lol.........does that bring u in behind the large entrance?

[Nicotti]

That takes you to the river enterance, or you can hike up into the field and enter through the skylight light enterance. I'm not sure how to get to the big room enterance with the stone walls by it.

[Former User #2]

ok the big room entrance must be where i ended up after walking in the woods for a long time. i just need to go down there and do some lookin around and i bet i can find the path u guys use. really appreciate the help!

[Sertile]

The one with the stone walls is the sewer entrance, and it's the one I always use. You can just drive right up to it if you know the way. I'll be going next Sunday if you want to meet up, assuming there's not freezing rain that day or anything.

[Former User #2]

Over on the missouri thread a feller gave some good directions that i can follow so i think i can find it. Debatin on goin down saturday or sunday.......what time are u rollin down there?

[Former User #2]

alright we found it really easy.we went in the sewer entrance. Thats quite a cave , all ive ever done is just look at the river entrance and that was about it. we didnt go very far , my new petzl light blew a bulb and didnt realize i had a spare. anbody got a map of it? how long does it take to actually come out on the other end? really preciate the help in finding it

[junkman306]

Wow I didn't know you were going today. Any pics?

[BROUSER]

[DeathByMoth]

I wouldn't normally ask this, but have any of you actually seen the whole cave? Or even close to all of it? Because both Veruth and Curor went with me recently, and they had only been there while the river was in it. Literally running through it. See, every time I've gone it's been totally dry, and there is an unbelievable amount of cave to explore under the normal waterline.

If you've only been there while there was water, you haven't seen but 5-10% of that place. Seriously, even the guy who took me initially, who lived right up the street from the place and had been going since he was a kid, was surprised to find a passage near the bottom that he had never seen accessible. His Dad had told him about it, but he thought he was full of it. You may have been in there, it's the one that REEKS of rotting marine life, and is very low, and leads to the 20 foot high mud hill.

I'm not trying to overdo it, but Curor and Veruth just couldn't believe how freaking huge it is. We spent at least four hours, just advancing with minimal stopping time. We still didn't see it all. They had no idea how much of it is rendered inaccessible when the waters running. I hope all of you realize what an absolute treasure that place is. I haven't seen any cave even close to that big, much less been in one! The ceiling looks like it's covered in precious metals because of all the photosynthetic bacteria. It's more than gorgeous, however.

To me it indicates that there is frequently, and for long periods of time, water present in most of the uppermost area. The cave floor itself isn't sufficiently refractive to allow light penetration deeper into certain areas. The fact that the bacteria flourish so deep into the cave(and I am aware of how incredibly little light the stuff needs) all but proves that water is usually present.

I'd suggest going in winter, to minimize the likelihood of water obstruction. I'll be there soon, depending on the weather, and if it's dry, I'll post, along with a date. Anyone who hasn't been, or hasn't been far, prepare for a heinous amount of thick, nasty mud. Dress appropriately, I cannot stress that enough. Waders would be ideal if you want to pass the 'Hog Waller' without filling your shoes and soaking your pants, as it retains about two and a half feet of water even when the cave is empty.

[construct_this]

I have been through the entire cave a few times. I worked for the guy who owned(or possibly still owns) the Ash-Grove Ready Mix. One of the three entrances are on the property of the ready mix. The other is close to the entrance road and the skylight is just a few feet from his property line. We acquired a map from the old man that owns the gas station on the corner down there. I don't think I have a copy anymore but I bet he still does. The map was made in the 70's by SMSU so it was fairly reliable. We went everywhere the map showed including places that I had to be pulled through. One of the oldtimers told us a story about boys being lost in there for days, and that when they found them and retraced their steps they ended up under the bank(I don't know how true this is), but like deathbymoth says it does go a lot further than most know.

[Nicotti]

You should also be able to get that cave map, and others for sw mo from here.