4 May Cave City

We spent the day at Mammoth Caves National Park. Mammoth Cave is the longest known cave system in the world, currently mapped at 417 miles long. Around 4-5 miles is surveyed every year by volunteer cavers. Archaeological finds show that the Native Americans were venturing deep into the cave, possibly to mine for minerals.

The cave was rediscovered in the late 1790s and was mined for nitre to make saltpetre (a key ingredient in gunpowder). It was also briefly used as a tuberculosis hospital (it didn’t work) and by 1816 it had become a tourist attraction.

We chose the historical tour and after we had been for a hike to kill time, we entered the cave via the historical entrance. 

At this point of the tour the cave is wide and high, created by a vast underground river. We passed the nitre mining operations, where soil from the cave was mixed with water and then filtered to remove the mud, leaving a frothy mix behind. That mix was combined with potash and boiled down until it crystalized into saltpetre.

The wide passages eventually turned to the tight twisters known as Fat Man’s Misery and Tall Mans Agony. Low, narrow and pretty squeezy in places, and crossing the Bottomless Pit. Breaking out of the twisters, we arrived at the foot of the 192-foot high Mammoth Dome.

The bad news was we had to climb it. (The Parks service have installed stairs, so it wasn’t difficult). Along the way up there were landings to view the dome looking up and down into the pit.

Looping back, we saw historical signatures made with candle soot on the cave ceilings, then we exited the cave through the historical entrance again.

We decided to hike further and headed on a loop that took us past a cave that is blocked off to the public to protect the bat population from disease.