“Something as simple as a twisted ankle may require a long tortuous removal process involving up to twelve hours of immobilization in a rigid basket, thirty or more rescue personnel, an ambulance ride and hospital stay at the participant’s expense…and finally, exposure to unbelievably hyped media attention on your ‘dramatic cave rescue.’” Sounds intimidating, right? This fact was just one of the alarming realities in the packet of waivers involved in spelunking in the lower part of Laurel Caverns. The group that took on such a threatening adventure was none other than the Science Club. The scariest part of the adventure was signing the waiver, Sophomore Zac Wilson said. He compared it to “signing his life away.” Armed with headlights, hardhats, flashlights, long sleeved shirts, pants, and boots, members of the Science Club prepared for their journey to the center of the earth. The club members hiked through three miles of cave, otherwise known as spelunking. Laurel Caverns are some of the largest caves in Pennsylvania. There are two parts to the caverns: an easier upper caving and a difficult lower caving. The Science Club embarked on the more adventurous lower spelunking expedition. The group’s tour guide, Ian, took them through the tight and narrow corridors that led to large areas as big as ballrooms, equipped only with their personal light sources. Some spelunkers took the opportunity to “army crawl” through a stream that was only big enough to squeeze through, all the while surrounded by rock walls. Only two girls in the club were adventurous enough to crawl through: Freshmen Hannah Mavrich and Danika Probst. However, the tour still went through mud-filled paths. Needless to say, no one came out of the cave clean. Even Ms. Giebel, Science Club sponsor and teacher, was covered in mud and dirt. On a scale of one to ten, the danger associated with the adventure was a six, according to Freshman Jacob Landis. “We had to climb up and over rocks and through holes and stuff,” Landis said. Sophomore Taylor Wolf felt the same way. “I’m going to have to go with a six because of the fact that if you don’t grab something right, you’ll fall.” Caving instructor Ian stressed that all spelunkers maintain three points of contact when in the cave. If a spelunker did not have those three, then they would increase their risk of falling and create a higher risk of injury. Whether that was feet, hands, or buttocks, it didn’t matter as long as there were three stable body parts touching the cave floor, cave wall, or rocks. However, even with that warning, members of Science Club fell. The highlight of the trip for Freshman Emily Parrish was watching Freshman Nicole Lindsay fall into Ms. Giebel, who was incredibly close to falling off a steep cliff. Parrish had her own mishaps as well. “I almost fell, and I couldn’t stop myself,” she said. Mavrich remembered being intimidated by “looking up and seeing a wall of rocks.” The highlight of the spelunking trip for her was army crawling through the narrow mud and water-filled crevices. She also was the most adventurous out of the bunch. She crawled through tiny cracks in the rock that were filled with mud. Mavrich emerged soaking wet and covered from head to toe with dirt. She also took a huge risk in crawling through one gap in the rocks, where the instructor said one wrong turn would require him to perform a rescue. Wolf summed up the trip when she said, “It was a lot of fun and worth the danger.” Exploring the cave, the group learned about its inhabitants: bats. Currently, the cave is only open to scouts and youth groups because Pennsylvania bat populations are fighting diseases that threaten their existence. One disease the bats of the Laurel Caverns are facing is white nose syndrome (WNS). It is a white fungus that grows on the muzzle of the bat and potentially kills them. It is said that WNS is spread from bat to bat, but also could be caused by humans moving from cave to cave. If the bat population continues to decrease at the rate it is going, it is predicted that there will be a surge of 12 million additional mosquitoes in the area for the next five years. So, prepare to be scratching in the next few years.