Buggytop Cave Trip Info About Rain

A question this week from a Park admirer: What happens to a planned cave tour if it rains, can the trip get rained out?

What we have done in the past, if we get down to the cave and the water is too high, we try to take visitors into the 3 entrances where you can at least get some short spelunking in. Each entrance has a short distance to the water, so we can explore that. Some people are OK with it, others decide not to come and join us at a later date. When possible, we try to get there early to investigate the water levels so that we can inform people before they leave the parking lot. Its a pretty good hike down to the cave and we don't want to disappoint anyone.

Answer from Assistant Park Manager Bill Knapp

Question About Visiting Buggy Top Cave

Jenny sent this email about an upcoming trip next week: My family and I will be traveling to the plateau area next week. As I was looking online, I came across the Friends of SCSRA website. We will be staying at Fall Creek Falls (assuming we can get a campsite) and were thinking about a trip to Buggy Top cave. Do you have any suggestions for visiting this area? A couple of websites suggest guides. Do the rangers typically provide this service on request or only when they schedule tours? We are experienced hikers but novices when it comes to caving. I would appreciate any suggestions or guidance you can give us.

Hi, Jenny: Point number one is that it is close to a two hour trip by car from Fall Creek Falls to Buggy Top which is South of Sewanee off of Highway 56, not that far from the Alabama state line (which is enemy territory during football season!).

The Rangers do provide scheduled tours and there is one on Sunday the 14th which is before your trip. There are presently no other Ranger guided tours on the schedule for October or November.

Do you need a guide for Buggy Top? Probably not. The hike from the parking area along Highway 56 is a good walk with a fair amount of up and down. The approach down to the cave entrance from the bluff is steep - a good walking stick would be helpful.

The cave opening is large and under normal rainfall conditions a sizable spring flows out of the cave which becomes Crow Creek. You can walk into the cave opening and see quite a bit without even getting your feet wet. If you want to explore farther into the cave, you need two reliable sources of light (that's two sources for each person in your group i.e. 4 people = 8 flashlights) and, unless you enjoy hiking in wet boots, a pair of sneakers or sandals would be helpful.

Safety minded spelunkers wear helments. If you have hard hats, bicycle helments or rock climbing helments, protecting your head in the cave is always a good idea.

There is nothing "technical" about exploring this cave, you don't need ropes and there is not any potentially hazardous climbing, etc.

There is another cave, Peter Cave, which you can access from the top of the bluff by following the trail along the bluff line rather than turning left toward the main trail that takes you back to the trail head and parking area.

Of, if you want to be a bonafide spelunker, you can follow the Crow Creek water flow upstream into Buggy Top Cave, past another entrance on your right, up a sandy bank and out the Peter Cave entrance. Follow the trail to your right back to the main trail.

The air temperature in the cave is constant both summer and winter, which makes for an air conditioned delight in the summer and a warmer than outside experience on a cold winter day. Either way, be careful if you get wet - the temperature in the cave is cool enough for hypothermia, which is why I always take a change of clothes in a dry bag when I am planning on spending any length of time in this wonderful cave.

One other safety precaution: During heavy rainfall or sudden downpours from summer thunderstorms, etc. the water level in the cave can rise in a short period of time. The risk is that you may get wetter than you expect, another reason why a change of clothes in a dry bag is a good idea.

Bring your camera and a little tripod if you have one. Some time delay photos with folks walking around with flashlights, etc. can make for some very interesting photos.

Cheers,

Ron Castle