Alexander Bershtein

Staff Writer

The Adventure to Cold Cave, also known as Windy Cave, with the Conestoga club here at Millersville was quite thrilling. The cave is in Pequea, a southward drive from Lancaster. It’s the biggest cave network in Pennsylvania created by tectonic plates. It was a mixture of a minor hike in the woods on a mountainside overlooking the Susquehanna and exhilarating experience squirming and shimmying through cave networks.

 

The caves require those visiting to bring their own sources of light as the crisscrossing of cave-networks negates light to have any leeway throughout most of the its passages. At certain points the groups of hikers turned off their lights to show the complete pitch black darkness. Extinguishing that light seemed to either terrify, calm, or baffle certain m

embers of the group.

The temperature was another feature of the cave that was fascinating. The temperature was between 30 degrees Fahrenheit and 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Most of the group loved the temperature compared to the heat they experienced on their trek to the cave from the road. When the rocks were first touched by the newest members the group they were aghast.

The cave has been explored for many years, and the group came across markers

of that past, whether it was burnt-out candles, bottles, spray paint, or footprints. The place is a tourist attraction that hallmarks various level

The club last year during one of their outdoor adventures.
PHOTO COURTESY OF GETINVOLVED.COM

s of difficulty. One of the head guidesofthetourconstantly told everyone, “challenge by choice.” Occasionally, some members stayed behind at certain areas. Those that were more daring, or brave came into parts of the cave where less people had transverse. There was more of the décor of moss and mica than man made leftover adornments.

The cave is known for more exits than entrances. This is because there are two openings that you can see where you are entering to. The others would require you to slide precariously into unknown territory.

A collective amount of 19 came along for the adventure through cave-networks, crossways, crevices, and chasms.

Though, the caves are not to be taken lightly. A checklist of rules should be set before going into these caves:

Rule 1: Bring a Guide, or someone who knows which pathways are best appropriate for the group exploring.

Rule 2: If you have claustrophobia, do not go.

Rule 3: Wear Trousers, sneakers/boots, and a non-baggy shirt

Rule: 4: Do not trust your pockets, secure strapped bag, or just do not bring loose items.

Rule 5: During the winter, ice forms inside the cave. It will probably be best to not go directly after winter, to avoid the ice.

Found in the description on Get Involved, The Conestoga Club was formed in 1996 to help educate the community about local natural environments. They plan hiking trips with its members and encourage people to take self-guided trips. They are now in the process of creating seed beds for native flowers that will be transplanted to the Bush and other local areas. These activities inherently give members a sense of closeness to nature which helps build a sense of responsibility to our environment. They sometimes participate in things such as tree planting, trail clean-ups, and other demonstrations of environmental stewardships club meets every Thursday night at 7 p.m. in McComsey Hall, room 206. If you are an outdoor person who loves adventure, you can stop by at one of the meetings.