journal: FIRST SET FOOT

Found this photo from the summer of 1994 when I was an a summer engineering program at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee.

I'm here with Dr. Jerry, a professor of civil engineering and a lifelong outdoorsman.  Specifically, he was a caver and he took a group of us kids out for our first caving experience in the surrounding areas of Nashville.  I had caved in TAG before even knowing what TAG was.

Had it not been for Dr. Jerry's enthusiasm, with his emphasis on cavers' responsibility as preservationists and geological stewards, the only caves I ever would have set foot in were the kind that were lined with rusty railing, electrical lights, and spilled out into gift shops.  I would have purchased a magnet with my name on it for my refrigerator and that would have been that.

After taking a group of us through our first 3 or 4 foot diameter crawlspace so many years ago, after 30 minutes of pushing and writhing through the earth, after spilling out into an amazing cavern with 200 foot ceilings, I was muddy, elated, and hooked.