Please make your best effort not to touch the cave formations or any of the rocks around you,” says park guide Rachel Kem to our group of explorers, her hat bobbing as she makes eye contact with each of us. “The oils in our fingers can actually damage the cave features and discolor them. There is one exception to this rule.” She pauses, allowing her words to linger. “If you’re falling—well, grab onto something.” With that she turns and walks with purpose toward the historic entrance of Mammoth Cave.
I nervously pull on my backpack’s straps as Kem finishes the safety briefing. Was I, a fat, claustrophobic, risk-averse writer, really about to descend into the world’s longest known cave system?
“Consider your limitations,” Kem warns before we begin the descent. “Even at such a short distance as we’re going
