I’m an amateur caver, all the caves I know of I found through a local college caving course which I’ve taken a few times. We learned from our instructor, a former Marine, with lots of experience, that most cavers are very zealous when it comes to locations of caving sites. Largely because graffiti pop-culture day-hiking tourists are so devastating to pristine cave environments, serious spelunkers will not share that information beyond their associations. I would not expect to find that kind of information resource online. Serious cavers simply won’t breach their own operational security (OPSEC) to do that. IF anyone were to find a source online, I would expect that database to cover already known tourist and day-hiker caves. I’ve been through enough such caves to see what unsteward-like conduct will do to an otherwise gorgeous environment.
Which brings us to the question, from a prepping or survival standpoint, are caves a viable option? I’ve been giving this some thought. I am presently deployed to Balkans and, unfortunately, separated from my lists, notes, and references. What follows is strictly off the cuff from my own personal experience over the course of a few semesters of adventure caving and my own hiking encounters. My intended audience are the souls who have little to no experience with caving in any capacity and who are considering utilizing natural caves as part of a bug out, retreat, or cache plan.
Caves and Mines are not a good first choice for a bug out, retreat, or cache. That is my bias, up front and as a general rule I believe that statement to be accurate. To be clear, I am a prepper that happens to enjoy recreational caving, climbing and rappelling. What follows are some pros and cons that should be taken into consideration.
Education
Caving is not as simple as grabbing a flashlight, bottle of water, sneakers, a sweater and heading to the nearest dark hole in the ground to explore. Recommended: If you are interested in prepping possibilities of caves or mines, first search out a local intro level class to caving/spelunking. The safety considerations are identical whether you are a day hiker wanting to casually poke around, or a prepper wishing to factor this into your contingency plans. An intro level class by an experienced recreational caving specialist is the best way of learning about recommended equipment, planning, and especially safety. What I cover in this article is by no means exhaustive and is directed to a specific audience: preppers who may consider including caves or mines as part of their G.O.O.D., Retreat, or Cache plan.
Underground terrain may be of the man-made (mine tunnels) or natural (lava tube) variety. Naturally occurring sub-terrain being perhaps a little safer than man-made: how old are those tunnel braces? Regardless of which you choose to venture into: the subterranean world is a hostile environment. Surface temperatures in excess of 90 degrees Fahrenheit will still yield subsurface temperatures in the high 50s or low 60s. Do not expect to find food or water and be warned that even your air supply is suspect. Any waste generated must be carried out: it will not decompose below ground. Cavers have to carry everything in and pack everything out. Light, food, warmth, water, insulation, etc… You can dehydrate underground and become hypothermic (all that cool rock and air will just suck heat out if you aren’t careful).
Safety
It is never recommended to enter a cave solo. Once well underground it is YOYO time. Cell phones and radios won’t work deep underground. Our instructor shared this story with us: a group of cavers entered a local lava tube. From parking lot to end of tube took 30 minutes at a totally unhurried pace, maybe 2,000 meters total: 3/4s of which was underground. One caver fell and broke a leg. Someone had to go above ground for help. After the ranger station was notified, it took 12 hours to extract the injured person, 8 hours of which were spent by the SAR team extracting the casualty: a young Boy Scout. Litter-bearing in a cave environment is way more complex, exhausting and time-consuming.
Now, in this same cave, another day group entered once-upon-a-time. On their way out, one of their party, wearing a hard hat, took a step up and received a concussion after smacking a boulder directly above her. In a different cave, a day group stopped to take a break: a man put his hands on the roof above him to rest, little did he know that when he dropped his hands to resume movement a 70-lb chunk of rock would have been dislodged just enough by his unsuspecting contact to fall.
On a recreational day trip this is how I would roll:
Four people minimum, with a “surface watch:” someone dependable who will call for SAR after “x” hrs if not informed of our safe return. Hardhat, sturdy boots (steel or composite toes would be a good idea) elbow and knee pads, leather gloves, eye-protection, headlamps, hand light, back-up light source (another head or hand light), extra batteries, first aid kit, a layer of warm clothing, extra socks and a dry shirt, day’s worth of food and water, a fully charged cell phone that is off, waste “#1” bottle (wide mouth is always better: think empty Gatorade bottle…) waste “#2” bag (Foil zip-lock recommended: plastic will not retain odor completely), as well as climbing harness, rope, webbing and rappel/climb protection equipment as necessary (which will depend on cave environment), for each person.
Why four people? In the event of serious incapacitating injury, one person stays with casualty and two people go for help. Admittedly, you could get by with a party of three but IMHO two heads are better than one (especially in an emergency) and what happens if an injury befalls the party going for help? A four-person team allows some redundancy on this score. A three-person team leaves everyone exposed to a single catastrophic point of failure in the event Murphy strikes twice in the same cave.
Obviously in SHTF situation, you might not have the luxury of setting out with a picked team, and will certainly have no access to front-country emergency care if something were to go terribly wrong.
Other Considerations:
Underground does not equal hard to find or easy to hide. I have a few Army buddies who find caves by poring over topographical maps in search of depression features, which they will then poke around the vicinity to find caves. Also, on topographical maps, mines are often marked. That secret cave or mine may be on every map for savvy eyes to find and explore.
Know your cave! One cave I’ve explored has five possible ways in and out (one is a water feature–stale, no circulation–which I would drink from only as a last resort). Another cave allows for a 90+ ft rappel entry, two access points on foot and numerous opportunities to fall. A cave with multiple entries allows for egress options, but will pose a security risk—especially for someone going solo or a small group. A single access point allows you to clear your immediate area and be reasonably secure in what direction trouble may be expected from. Such restricted access, however, may also serve to trap you.
Cave environments will vary from dry/dusty to moist/damp. If you had to lug a bullet launcher, take the appropriate measures. Underground is not the place to engage in a kinetic lead dual. Sound will be amplified in an enclosed space; infrared enhanced night vision would be a must in a total dark environment, but would only be an advantage against an adversary that is not similarly equipped. Ricochets are a concern of course, but sound and impact bouncing off of surfaces may have greater adverse affects if a roof or wall falls in. Of course…smoke, gas, and hunger would serve just as well to flush someone out of a cave, as would sealing all points of access to otherwise neutralize occupants.
Caves for Preppers:
With all that in mind, let’s look at retreat, G.O.O.D or cache possibilities.
Retreat:
Better than nothing as a last resort. Would still have the logistical burden of pre-positioning preps on site, which would only work if this site was on land you owned. Even at that, a day-hiking trespasser might happen along upon your preps anyway if left inside unsecured. A cave-in or collapse would also be most uncool, too. If you locate a cave on your property free of human traces (and animal for that matter) and which does not also appear on the latest survey map, then such a cave might be worth exploring as a temporary retreat, especially if the alternative is a tarp shelter under a tree.
Caves are fun to explore, and do generally provide excellent shelter from the elements (wind and precipitation), but would make a poor living environment long-term post-TEOTWAWKI for anyone but a small group of healthy active adults.
I can hear it now… what about those cave dwelling tribes of yore in the Southwest? Those tribes (many active, fit healthy adults) took many years to carve their homes out of cliff sides. A very defensible position considering they also stored their own food, as well as the level of war making technology available at that time.
G.O.O.D: If you have Leather Personnel Carriers (LPCs), i.e. boots) bug out route planned sound-of-music style it might be worth identifying caves along the way that might serve as a layover point. This is more likely to be practical immediately after SHTF. Besides competing with animals, other folks may have the notion to squat in any available shelter as time goes on. In an immediate SHTF moment, I don’t think there is going to be an urgent push to go check out every known cave to establish cavemansteads or hunt down displaced persons or survivors. Hope is not a good plan, however, and I would plan on cave-layovers to be brief: a night or two tops. Pick terrain that permits long visibility, exercise strict light and noise discipline and have more than one egress to choose from if possible.
Cache: A cave would make a pretty decent landmark; unless serious upheaval takes place it probably won’t be going anywhere. Do not leave a cache in the cave, unless you are willing to lose its contents. Flooding, animals, hikers, etc… better to leave a small cache discreetly somewhere nearby. So if you had to G.O.O.D in LPCs on short notice, you could take a route that allows you to equip, shelter, and rest periodically on the way to whatever-your-final-destination-of-choice is. This mitigates the possibility of discovering that “oops, someone beat me to the cave” and is now: either in possession of your cache or squatting unsuspectingly on it. In such a case, simply acquire stash and move on. Your object, hopefully, being to get to a safe haven (a la American Redoubt?) rather than pick a fight.
In Closing
Caves and Mines are not a good first choice for a bug out, retreat, or cache. Unless I know more about the structural integrity of a particular mine tunnel or cave, I wouldn’t venture further than the entrance unless compelled by urgent need. Nor would I trust the contents of an emergency cache to reside in a cave or mine under any circumstance—I prefer not to accept exposure to so many factors that could be mitigated by simply burying a stash in the general neighborhood. I also like having options: putting shelter and supplies in one basket doesn’t allow for enough flexibility if a carnivore or someone else should claim that shelter space for home territory. Caves make better choices than mine tunnels: they are less likely to be explicitly identified on a map than mines and have less risk (not to be confused for no risk) of collapse.
Caves could be useful to preppers. Just be aware of the risk already inherent to subterranean environs and redundantly cover each base to mitigate risk as well as leave enough flexibility so that you have options if/when/ever the time should come to operationally test your plan.
If you have good knowledge of an area, have put in the sweat equity to know what is available around you, and implemented ways to support your goals while mitigating risk, caves could be a useful option… or a death trap.