Caving Journal: Cooch-Webb, KY
Everyone instructed to be modest (change behind the cars) because the cave was beneath a tree in the field of an Amish farm (from which they had kindly removed the cows.)
Breakdown and then a spar where you drape one leg over and then lower, gingerly, the other to balance on top of a cairn below. A rope to get down a steep slope of mud, one by one, saying 'on rope!' and 'off rope!'. A warm river with rapids, the sturdiest and squarest men standing next to them in waist deep green lit water to break the current. A long discussion of if the water was too high to go on, while everyone stood in it. Water pulled at my legs, like walking against wind. Walking passage, crawling passage, all washed clean. We were meant to do a loop, but due to traffic, getting lost (and a certain amount of peevishness regarding getting lost) went back instead.
Then out, and into the woods, through a flower meadow, and down another hole. In the back dry rimstone dams "like climbing over someone's dog gates" and then a still, perfect pool, exactly as high as its rimstone, with rock curtains hanging over. Beyond that we are not allowed to go.
Afterwords, above, timid ponies came to their fence so that we could pet them. Their long eyelashes, their fly haunted faces, one hoof lifted to stamp meaningfully on the grass.
