Lost World Caverns- Lewisburg, Virginia

Posted by Nathan

On May 23rd, we decided to go to Lost World Caverns in Lewisburg, West Virginia. While there are 45 minute self-guided tours in the cave’s cool 52 degree environment, the specialty of Lost World Caverns are the wild cave tours. While not for everyone, it’s not the kind of adventure found everywhere.

We left Charleston early to be at the cave by ten. The drive was surprisingly easy- I-64 the entire way and the caverns are right off the exit.

The first sight that greets you are four big dogs laying inside and outside. They serve as the unofficial welcoming committee. The main building doubles as a gift shop and cave entrance. The entrance was man-made as the cave’s natural opening has a 120 foot drop (as the farmer’s cow who discovered the cave unluckily found out). The gift shop is full of artifacts and fossils one of the cave’s owners procured when he purchased the inventory of a museum.

We wandered around the gift shop until it was time for the tour to begin. Steve, the head guide, greeted us and our group of 8 was taken to the “launch point” of our tour.

When we made our reservations, we were told to bring entire chances of clothes- including underwear. We dropped our bags off and were given a safety lecture before being outfitted with kneepads, helmets, and gloves.

The tour went through a portion of the show cave and we hopped over the fence to begin off-roading. We climbed a bank, took a right, and quickly left behind the man made light and sage walkways.

Words can’t really describe the experience. Lots of climbing and walking led us to a place called the Juncture Room. From there, the group climbed a 14 foot wall and made for a rock formation called the Stairway to Heaven. I wasn’t able to follow as I couldn’t get a foothold in the wall and there was no other way up.

Near the Stairway to Heaven, the other guide, Jason, pointed out a ledge where the skull of an ancient cave bear fell. They are sure the rest of the skeleton is up there, but they have no way to get to it!

Next, we went through a chamber called The Sewer and jumped down a hole named The Drain.

It had been two hours at that point and we stopped in the Lunch Room for a snack of candy bars and water. Let me tell you, we all had been sweating so hard, but being still certainly cooled us down!

Next was the Long Crawl. We started out on our hands and knees until someone had the bright idea to roll. One after the other, we all began to roll and made quick progress until the crawlspace shrank to less than a foot and we couldn’t roll without hitting our shoulders.

Even with kneepads, we all were hurting at that point. The cave was wet and grit worked its way under the pads and sand felt like we were crawling on boulders. Our elbows, unprotected, were scraped as we clambered over and under rocks. But, we were too far in to give up now! Biting our lips to keep from groaning, we crawled on our bellies until we reached the waiting room, and our final destination, the Birth Canal.

The Birth Canal was my least favorite part. It involved a belly crawl through ice cold water for 15 feet until you reached a hole above your head. Twisting yourself to the left, you extended one arm at a time through the hole and pulled yourself up by grabbing a couple of stalagmites. Here is where I had a problem. I am one of those females blessed with a pair of broad hips (Thanks, Mom!) and no matter how I twisted and pushed, I couldn’t squeeze the rest of the way through and I was wearing myself out. I decided that it just wasn’t going to happen and I still had an hour or so of climbing ahead of us to get out of the cave.

The rest of the group headed on with Steve toward the Junction Room while Nathan, Jason, and I headed for a bypass around the Birth Canal. This involved abother forty yard belly crawl, climbing up a small wall, then sliding down another bank through a hole in the floor. While I was upset with myself for not getting through the first way, it was neat to see another route the others didn’t get to experience.

After meeting back up with the group, it was another 45 minutes to get back to the show cave. It culminated with a steep descent and the “highly technical” maneuver known as the Butt Drag which consisted of scooting on your bottom down the rocks. Then, we climbed the last section back to the raised walkway and ascended the steps back to daylight.

Here are the specifics: The Wild Cave Tours are $70. Plan to be there for seven hours. The cost includes 2 guides who are some of the nicest guides I have ever met. Each guide has two disposable cameras and they take photos of everyone through the entire trip- including the all important before and after photos. The pictures are mailed to you on a CD in about a week. As mentioned, snacks and drinks are provided during the trip and afterwards. Best of all, there are really nice shower facilities with all toiletries and towels provided to get cleaned up. That was a definite high point.

Now, for some not so pleasant stuff. Be prepared for your body to take a beating. You are crawling and climbing A LOT. All told, you cover over four miles in the cave. I have several sizable bruises and cuts on my elbows, knees, wrists, hips, and softball-sized bruises on my shins.

The guides are proud of the fact that if they do their job right, you will come out covered in mud and soaking wet. I will be the first to say, they did a great job. The only non-muddy part on my entire body was my teeth when I smiled!

One drawback for me was I felt a little hurried on the trip and didn’t get to poke around and look like I wanted. However, after your tour is over and you are all cleaned up, the guides encourage everyone to head back to the show cave and take as much time (and photos) as you wish.

I highly encourage everyone who doesn’t mind getting dirty to tackle Lost World Caverns. Again, some of the nicest people I have ever encountered and a place that is like nothing I have ever seen before.

Here is a list of Do’s and Don’ts

Do

Speak up- the guides can’t read your mind and want this to be the best trip possible.

Know your limitations. If you can’t fit, don’t force it and don’t try something if you are scared.

Talk to the other people on the trip. It was fun meeting new people.

Go to the gift shop. It’s a museum and the prices are quite reasonable.

Petrified poop.

Take pictures.

Call ahead and see when the low peak time is. Big groups get sections cut due to time.

Wear hiking boots and a long-sleeve T-shirt.

Bring elbow pads if you can. They aren’t provided and that was my worst injury.

Help the person behind you. Point out slick spots and loose rock. It’s appreciated.

Tell your guides if you get hurt. They have first aid supplies and there is nasty bacteria in the cave.

Be prepared for wildlife like cave crickets, salamanders, and bats. Look but don’t touch!



Don’t

Rush- the guides want you to be safe and will slow down when needed.

Worry about not being able to do something- there are alternate routes for everything.

Forget to sign the guestbook.

An entire change of clothes means an entire change of clothes! Bring underwear and spare shoes. Some clothes may end up being sacrificed. Throw the socks away.