A Clean Earth is a Happy Earth

Kaya C. 

Tonia P. 

ENGL 1102

February 9, 2020

A Clean Earth is a Happy Earth

Hiking up the mountain side, in the early morning dew. Our crew is quiet, anticipating the excursion ahead. Trip leader, Jim, is carrying the heaviest rope, at 300’, while the rest of us are packing the remainder of the gear necessary for the descent into the caverns. ¾ of the way up the mountain, we veer to the right, up to a sinkhole with a waterfall cascading down, disappearing into darkness. As we unload our gear, we stare in silent awe, embracing the natural beauty of this place. Lush green forest, mixed with the rushing water, echoing at the bottom of this crevice into the unknown earth below. The only way to get there is on rope. One at a time, we each harness ourselves onto the rope, carefully descending into the darkness. The next in line waiting quietly for the sound whisper from below, “off rope” signalling for the next descendant.

As I descend, a sweet mist surrounds me from the waterfall, with a powerful breeze rushing over me. I look up as the tree lined blue sky gets smaller and smaller. Looking down to the darkness, the earth is becoming more defined around me. Cascading rocks, frozen in time, decorate the walls around me. Stalactites, stalagmites and flowstone cascades down through the pit entrance. The waterfall pounds against the soft beach at the base of the repel, engulfing me as my feet softly bounce off the bottom. Once off rope, a mile of nearly untouched earth lies ahead, waiting to be explored. 

The trip should take 8-10 hours. We have studied the maps, fully prepared for the obstacles lying ahead. It will be cool & wet, planning accordingly, we have multiple layers to protect us against the elements. The journey begins with approximately 300’ of smooth rock walls, with the sandy beach paving a path towards a slim crack in the wall. To get through the crack, we have to pass our gear off to the other side. On the other side sits a ledge, where the water drops another 45’ Here is where we will make our second descent. We will have 3 more descents throughout the mile long journey. Our ‘prize’ for this work is a giant formation room, nearly untouched by human beings. Beginning as drops of water, formations are formed, decorating the walls, draping from the ceiling. Trudging through sliding mud & tight crevices, grappling over boulders & continuing to plummet deep into the earth. 

Just a few months ago, this experience would not have been possible. Due to vagrants, littering & inexcusable treatment of our environment, this cave was completely blocked by debris. Members of the caving community introduced themselves to the landowners & offered to clean the sinkhole blocking the entrance to the cave. Initially hesitant, the landowner ultimately agreed that we could clean the area and be given permission to explore the cave that had been closed off for nearly 2 decades. 

A group of us planned a weekend cleanup. We rented a dumpster and coordinated with local officials to properly dispose of what we thought we would encounter. Unfortunately, the years of abuse had taken quite a toll on the area. We ended up renting a U-haul to make 3 trips to a local rubber manufacturer, who was going to recycle all of the tires we ended up hauling out of the sinkhole. There were multiple refrigerators, washing machines and dryers that needed to be towed out of the sinkhole. The clean-up efforts ended up taking a total of 3 weekends, gathering crews and coordinating with locals to help clean all of the debris. We worked from dawn to dusk, each weekend. 

Once the entrance was free of debris, groups had to go down and clean everything that had fallen into the cave entrance. Paint cans, more tires & mattresses had to be carefully extracted from within the cave in order to protect the delicate formations decorating the walls. After everything had been hauled away & graffiti scrubbed off of the rocks bordering the sinkhole, we exposed a new earth, tattered and abused, ready to begin the healing process. The landowners were shocked at how beautiful their land had been restored to. The waterfall is actually able to be seen from the trail again, no longer shadowed by the mess of careless people any longer. 

As this beautiful green space continues to be nurtured, green grass will begin to grow again. New trees will root and begin to grow. The roots from the new vegetation will allow the land to begin taking care of itself again, continuing to grow and flourish.