Will do! Sorry to miss you as well - keep me posted on the fishing expedition!Originally Posted by Line Squirrel
Mike
Welcome to the Cave Diver's Forum.
Just one cave.
Several caves within an hour or so of each other.
Several caves some requiring hours to drive to.
Will do! Sorry to miss you as well - keep me posted on the fishing expedition!
Mike
I typically not only dive just one cave but I usually do just one dive. One 4 to 7 hour dive is much more efficient (just one setup) than multiple dives. And driving cave to cave is just a nightmare.
Andrew Ainslie
Almost extinct cave diver
We've done a couple of trips where we kind of kept migrating north -- flying into Orlando, going to High Springs, then heading up to the Mill Pond and flying home out of Pensacola. It's a lot of driving. That's one of the reasons I like Mexico!
This far we have stayed either in Luraville or High Springs (when flooding). Either place means we will dive caves from Madison to Manatee. Mainly Peacock, LR and Madison this far.
We have toyed ending the trip with couple of days in Marianna during same stay but as that means a different route back home it has not happened yet. I think though bigger reason has been that this far we have had cave courses during our stays, and it has broken the stays up enough. In future we will more likely split time but not drive back and forth. Our drive to cave country is 20 hrs and 1 hr drive to sites is perfectly cool, 3+ hrs not so even when staying 2 wks.
Coming all the way from Germany for me driving long distances is no problem at all.
As I can come to Florida only once or twice a year, I don´t stay at one place only. I always travel from Orlando to Merrits Mill Pond and back. Maybe this is not only because of the caves, but because of my cave diving friends too. And they, as well as the caves are spread all over the place.
Concerning dive sites I prefer to see different things and not stay at one place. I try to stay away from crowded places like Ginnie, Peacock, Little River where you have to stand in line before entering the water or cave or even get no permission to dive like in Madison on busy weekends.
I´d rather drive a couple of hours to a cave off the beaten path to be on my own.
Exploring new caves (new for me, not for the locals) to me is much more interesting than diving one cave again and again. I know this has advantages too and I´m sure I´ll never see the end of the line at those places, but that´s not what I´m looking for.
It would be great to see Wakulla open and it´s high on my list. I´m sure a lot of cave divers from all over the world would love to dive there and make a trip (or more) only to dive this place. For me it would make an interesting stop on my way to MMP.
I know, I can vote only once, but concerning my German cave diving friends who were with me on a couple of trips and are not on this forum, they feel the same.
Anyway, do what must be done to open Wakulla!
Thanks Tom, i think the park would be surprised at the demand that opening Wakulla would generate...the big problem is the system cyharacteristics, especially dark water days. Bill
"With regard to cave diving, the great thing is to be carried where you could not have imagined you would ever be, and then to come back alive."
"Wilderness. The word itself is music." Abbey, Desert Solitaire
I can make that drive in 20hrs... only because I know it takes me 12 to High Springs and 7 to Rutland, VT (assuming no major traffic headaches). Added the extra time to get out of Chelsea15 hours of driving gets me 60% of the way from home to Luraville. So I feel compelled to stay long enough to make the drive worthwhile!
Leaving Saturday morning!
Mike
Heading north out of Mariana and taking 85 out of Atlanta and over to 95 only added about an hour or so over the normal 12hr journey to high springs for us. Google maps still wants you to take 10 over to Jax and get on 95 from Marianna.
Granted, VT and NY are a little farther north than B'more, MD.
Going up US-231/431 to Columbus, Georgia (not Interstate highway, but pretty much all 4-lane), then taking I-185 and then I-85 is over fifty miles closer than the I-10 to I-95 route.
Whoever said money can't buy love never bought a puppy.
Yea, I didn't listen to google maps. Although, on the way down I did listen to my GPS and it took me off of 85 early and through every podunk town between Durham and Marianna. It was a nice drive and good to see those places, but it did manage to extend the drive time a bit
On the way back we did the 231-431 to Columbus. Grabbed grub with our buddy. He split for TN and us for MD.
6.5 hours from Marianna to Nashville is so easy I could do it in my sleep.
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