Tectonic Cave

NE Georgia doesn't have the solution / karst type caves which are common in the NW part of the state. The cave here is a tectonic cave, created by the mass movement and resultant cracking / fracturing of bedrock. I never would have found this cave without good directions from my friend Sheldon. He had told me you could walk within 6 feet of it and not see it, and he was right. Sheldon and others said there was a large room in this cave, and an old report describes it as "a three room cave in granite rock". Unfortunately, the large room(s) is now inaccessible, due to a cave-in. The rock disturbance / movement seems to have resulted from some huge trees that blew down immediately above the cave within the past two years.

Cave entrance from about 12 feet away! I think the large trees blown down here are what caused the cave-in

Cave entrance It was pretty tight; I had to leave my pack outside. The initial passage is so narrow that the lights and camera that I carried in my pockets kept getting caught. I only found a couple of places where I could turn around.

Inside the passage The first 20 feet or so of the cave is incredibly narrow, with no room to maneuver. It finally widened enough for me to take this photo, looking ahead toward the back of the cave. I was making my way down on the left side of this image.

View to the right from the same spot...

Looking back toward the entrance, you can see how narrow the initial passage is.

I had to step over a hole that led down to another level, about 8 feet below. But the hole was too narrow for me.

A few feet further, a small opening on the right...

A bone of some sort It looked like it had been heavily chewed.

View ahead, looking up at about a 45 degree angle.

Approaching the back of the chamber

Second opening down to the lower level, at the rear of the chamber. It looked as if the lower level doubled back towards the front (at bottom of photo). I almost considered trying this one. But even if I'd fit, which is highly unlikely, I would have just been wedged in upright, and couldn't have made the bend at the bottom.

Heading back to the entrance. The narrow floor slopes at about a 45 degree angle, with a couple of 4-5 foot drops. I actually had to scootch out of the cave backwards.

I saw some big tulip poplars in the area This one measure 148 inches circumference, almost 4 foot (47 inches) DBH. It looks like it took a lightning strike at some point in the past.

Scarlet Elfcup (Sarcoscypha coccinea)