When we last left our adventurers, the two scallywags we’re inbound for a delicious feast at Bravo! in Knoxville. For those who don’t know, Rob works as a server extraordinaire at the Italian restaurant on Bearden Hill. The two decided to grace the dining establishment with their mud-slicked hair and clay-coated clothes.

Nick is a long time spelunker who makes a mean pecan-crusted tilapia salad. After a nice lunch, we were well fed and recharged for the next leg of our journey. TO EBLEN CAVE HOOOOOO!

When we parked our vehicle, we were greeted by none other than the great hound, Buttermilk! Who had been our guide in the past, and whom Brad and I named after the road that the cave is on.

Eblen has a massive entrance that Mr. Williams so aptly labeled a canyon with a roof on it. I’m talking HUGE. When we came upon the mouth of the earthen womb we noticed a change since the last time we visited. We were surrounded by hundreds of tiny icey stalagmites that had been formed from water drops in the sub-freezing days we’ve been experiencing. The eerie scene looked like souls creeping up from the ground.

I think it would suffice to say Eblen is the most diverse cave Brad and I have visited. The cave is marked by three entrances, the largest runs directly down the middle and has actually been used as a meeting hall to confer promotions to free masons (I imagine myself in a National Treasure movie played by Nicholas Cage). The left-most entrance is a crawl that opens into the main chamber about 50-100 feet from the entrance. The right-most path heads down to the water. More on that later.

We had two main tasks to accomplish when we set off to Eblen. One: explore a climb at the very back of the chamber, and two: explore the water-filled passage near the entrance. We figured the first task would be more physically taxing so we went for it first.

“I’m a big guy and there was nothing roomy about this part. I call it a crawl, but it turns out to be more of an inch-by-inch slither.”
-Rob Baldus

The most memorable part of Eblen is its signature crawl. I’m a big guy and there was nothing roomy about this part. I call it a crawl, but it turns out to be more of an inch-by-inch slither. With my arms outstretched and my toes pushing me forward, I made it through the 30-40 foot tunnel into one of the largest and warmest rooms of the cave.

This is where the fun began. In the back left hand corner of the chamber lies an old stream bed with a boulder problem. On top of the boulder problem (which was caused by a cave-in sometime in the past is a huge room with a 50-60 foot cathedral ceiling. Brad and I had ventured here before, and with Nick, Brad and a bag of climbing equipment, we decided to tackle the obstacle.

Note: Brad and I are relatively experienced climbers. I myself have taken a course in climbing safety and would not suggest ever doing something like this without the proper training AND equipment.

Brad led the climb and we used a length of webbing and a locking biner to create an equalized top rope anchor to protect the climb for everyone. The 15 foot climb led to a series of tunnels in the side of the room. Our brave and daring friend Nick decided to take the adventure a notch up by pressing through a very narrow tube on what turned out to be a very horizontal belay. The only casualty on the trip was a bit of skin on an adventurer’s elbow.

After everyone was safely back on solid ground, we retrieved all of our gear and headed back to the next part of our journey. The swim.


I never thought I’d find myself donning a dry suit in a cave. Little did I know. Nick had told us of a secret room accessible only by the creek that ran through the cave. Cool.

There were only a couple of problems.
1. We didn’t know how far down the stream.
2. The water was cold, about 35ยบ.
3. I was the only one with a dry suit.
4. We were tired.
5. Swimming in a cave is scary and dangerous.

Luckily it wasn’t a swim. It was more like a belly crawl in seven inches of silt and a foot of water. I was able to keep my head above water the majority of time. The stream meandered under the rock for about 75 feet before the roof and stream hit creating an underwater passage/grave.

Feeling slightly defeated, I turned back towards the rest of the party. At this point, Brad was about 25 feet behind me wading in the frigid water in his swimming trunks. “Thank god for Surefire flashlights,” we said as the glow of our lights lit up the silt and water we were stirring up.

After exiting the water safe and sound, we took a moment to reflect on the situation. It had been an extreme day of adventure and we were happy to find the vehicle where we had left it- safe and sound by Buttermilk the dog. The evening ended with pizza, beer and music followed by a long soak in the tub with good music.

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