Anyone been to Mammoth Cave National Park?

I'm going this weekend with about 15-20 other friends, and and I was looking at several of the Mammoth Cave websites, and found the cave tour we are scheduled to go on. I get to reading the descriptions, and suddenly I see " <font color="red">Do not bring flashlights </font> ", and " <font color="red"> no flashlights used, please </font> ". Oh the horror. Being led underground without using any of my flashlights, and being forced to rely on coal oil lanterns for any light. Aaahhhhh /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif

-Keith

Never been there, but I've been wanting to go there for the longest time.

Do not bring flashlights? That's strange. Maybe they're trying to maintain the atmosphere from the old days? In either case, I'd still carry my EDC lights. Never know what can happen.

I've been a few times as a kid. There is one tour in particular where you're led into a huge room, and all the lights are turned out. The guide then lights a small oil-soaked rag on fire, and using a stick, tosses it across the room onto a ledge lighting up the entire area. Like Screehopper said, apparently that's the way some of the earlier explorers lit up different areas of the cave. I've got an old Viewmaster disc that has a picture of this very portion of the tour...might even be a top dollar collector's item if anybody's interested. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

If I remember correctly, there's another portion of the same tour where certain natural formations create some pretty striking shadows. A gang of flashlight hogs would definitely ruin the effect.

Just curious, which tour are you going on?

Every cave tour that I ahve gone to, I carry an Arc-AAA and a 2X123 light. When the guide uses his 3D Mag, I use my light. Of course I win.

Here is one of my best caving adventures,
at Sinks of Gandy Cave, in West Virginia.
Photos

I have also always brought at least an arc (or before I owned an arc a mini-mag) on tours, as long as you respect the night vision of others and use it to check out things not light up on the tour you won't be stepping on the toes of the tour guide /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

As long as we're sharing picts of cave trips here's some photos of my last trip to Luray caverns in south carolina.

http://www.sentman.com/picts/cavern/

I also have some good ones of cave of the mounds in Wisconsin. That is cool too. I'm strictly in show caves right now, no non-tour guide exploring /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif But some day perhaps...


EDIT: The distinguished gentleman in those photos is not me, but rather my father /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Never go into a cave without at least a small backup light...NEVER! Some of you have heard my story about being miles down a cave with rough terrain...and NO light. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif

Well I just got back from Mammoth Cave National Park, and had a pretty great time. I'd highly recommend the trip to anyone living within several hundred miles of Kentucky.

The cave tour we went on was the "Violet City Lantern Tour", and for light they distributed a couple dozen coal-oil lanterns throughout the group of 100+ people. I guess they were trying to recreate the ambiance of how people experienced the caves a hundred years ago. We had a guide/park ranger at the front and rear of the group, so I stuck to the middle and used my lights at opportune moments. I only got yelled at once by a ranger throughout the three hour trip. One of the rangers carried a 2 or 3 D Maglite, the other a Mag-Charger. Maybe they were just jealous. I had along an ARC LSH-P, Infinity Ultra (on a lanyard around my neck), an ARC AAA with spare battery on my keychain, and a Petzyl Zipka in my pocket.

It was so nice to be able to see some of the rooms in the cave on the tour by something other than dim lantern light. It was also nice to know I had close to 50 hours of light on my person in case of any emergency. I'll go to the park again if possible, but I'll probably take another tour next time (there are quite a few).

-Keith

Here are some pics of Smoke Hole Caverns in West Virginia.
My Web Page Photos

I hiked to a cave last week with only my X5T and my L1 and I was very sorry that I didn't have my M2 or even a bigger light with me. When I lie in bed at night, the X5T and L1 both seem pretty bright, but when I entered that large cave, the two lights were really much too dim. I was able to see where I was walking, but not much more. When I pointed both lights (at the same time) at some of the tunnels, all I could see was a black hole. Maybe my night vision was not very good, because I hiked up to the caves in bright sunlight. It's a very bad feeling when your lights just don't have enough power... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif At least I know now that I need another flashlight! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

When I was in the Sinks of Gandy Cave ,,, I had a 2D light, 3 MiniM*gs, a headlamp, and a Colemen lantern,, and I could have used MORE light.

You can NEVER have enough light in a cave.

I've been to Mammoth Cave once. I was only about 11 or 12 and my lights were puny. I'm going on a trip down there later this year. This time I will have no less than an Arc LSH & AAA, SureFire E2e, SF L4, SF E1e/KL1-red, maybe a McLux, and a couple glow rings. If my FireFly is done by then I will have a Royal Blue MM in it, so it may be really neat for the rooms with the minerals that fluoresce.

I think he main reason they don't like flashlights is disturbing night vision. I figure I won't be using anything but the red KL1 unless there's a need to really light something up. That's when I can show off /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/twak.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

See my thread last month.

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=UBB22&Number=256663&Forum=UBB22&Words=rebus&Match=Entire%20Phrase&Searchpage=0&Limit=25&Old=1year&Main=256663&Search=true#Post256663

-Rebus