cave gear essentials

Some parts of Morrison's Cave are MUDDY, other parts are WET, and a few are both. While some visitors get away without getting too messy, if you plan to explore the entire cave system you should expect to exit the cave covered in mud (so wear something you don't mind getting trashed). Pants and long sleeves are a good idea, but not required. A change of clothes for the ride home is a good idea too, along with a garbage bag to stow your dirty clothes and cave gear in your car on the ride home.

We recommend a pair of sturdy boots with good tread and ankle support. There are muddy portions of Morrison's Cave that are known for sucking shoes off of feet, never to be seen again... so wear something that secures well to your foot and that you don't mind getting soaking wet and filthy.

Preferably a helmet designed for caving or climbing, though any properly fitting helmet with a chinstrap will do.

Hands-free headlamp, typically mounted to helmet, with at least 2 backup sources of light and enough batteries to last 3x longer than you expect to be underground. Hand-held lights won't cut it, as there are many parts of this cave that require 4 points of contact (both feet and both hands).

Optional, but a good pair of knee and elbow pads can make a world of difference when squeezing through tight spaces or crawling over rough rock. Try to avoid hard-shell pads, as these can slip when traction is needed. 

Protect your hands and the cave with a cheap pair of quick-drying gloves. Not required, but recommended.   

Caving is a physically taxing  activity. Staying hydrated is an important part of staying safe.

Depending on how long you plan to be underground, a snack might be a good idea if you have room in your pack. Typically, we pack enough food and water to last 3 times longer than we plan to be underground "just in case".

While Morrison's isn't a large cave, it's a good idea to bring a pack to hold your extra lights, batteries, change of clothes, water, etc. Depending on how fragile or water-sensitive the contents of your bag are, you may want to consider a padded or waterproof pack. 

You're clothing and gear will be caked in mud when you leave. You'll want a heavy duty garbage bag to throw it all in so that the mud doesn't spread to your vehicle. If you want to bring an extra garbage bag to pack out some of the trash left by previous visitors, we'd be deeply indebted to you.

Caves don't have bathrooms, so you'll need to bring an empty bottle to pack your urine out (wide-brim Gatorade bottles work well, and for females a SheWee or GoGirl really helps). Please don't plan to hold it... delays happen, and depending on where you are in the cave, if your bladder doesn't cooperate the odor from your urine could linger for decades,