Things You'll Need:
- Money for a yearly membership fee
- Means of transportation
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Step 1
Ask yourself if you are physically up to the challenge of cave exploration. Some caves require underwater swimming, rock climbing, crawling or jumping. All of this is done with dim lighting and slippery terrain. You must be in great shape and able to work in close, dark, and damp spaces without disturbance. Joining a group would put you in a group of very capable cave explorers- will you be able to keep up?
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Step 2
Go to www.caves.org to find a local caving "Grotto." Click on "Find Local Caving Club." There are groups all over the country but there tend to be more in states with more caves.
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Step 3
Contact the group closest to you. Or, you can contact a group located in an area that you are interested in visiting for cave exploration. Find out when and where they have regular meetings.
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Step 4
Attend the next meeting. This is a great way to network and to learn about local or interesting caves. You might also meet a new caving buddy!
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Step 5
Ask what they visit and where they go. Do they explore only difficult caves or do they go to a variety of difficulty level caves? Do they stay in the area or do they venture out to other counties or states?
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Step 6
Pay the membership rates. These fees are normally very reasonable. Even the National Speleological Society’s rates are extremely reasonable.
