A subterranean scare on Monday night may have caused some members of the Outing Club to restrict their adventures to the above-ground variety for a while.
Seven members of the club (and four others who were not Union students) were trapped more than five hours in a chamber of the Onesquethaw Cave in Albany County when a flood blocked their exit.
The group had gone about 3,000 feet to the end of the cave and were about two-thirds of the way to the mouth of the cave when they encountered the flooded passage.
“Something very unusual happened,” said D.J. Hewey, president of the Outing Club and trip leader. “Water entered the cave from a source other than the stream.”
What made the flood more unusual was that there had been no rain, and there was no release of water from an upstream dam, said Hewey. The cave's caretaker was to investigate the cause of Monday's flood, he said.
The 11 spelunkers — trapped in a room about 20-feet long, three-feet high and four-feet wide – huddled together for warmth, pondered their fate, talked about their families and sang a grim version of “Happy Birthday” to one of their group.
The water continued to rise for about two hours, and it took another three for the water to recede enough for them to escape, Hewey said. The group emerged from the cave at 4:15 a.m. on Tuesday, about seven hours after the adventure began.
After a change into dry clothes, the group went to a 24-hour diner, with Hewey picking up the tab.
“I have never in my life seen a group that worked better together,” said Hewey, who said he has gone on thousands of outings. “There was teamwork, no one panicked and everyone was cool and just handled the situation.”
The group was also well prepared, Hewey said. They researched the cave and got the required permits from the caretaker. They carried extra supplies including batteries and glow sticks.
And they left word with roommates on campus about where they were going and when they would return. Those roommates alerted College officials when the group had not returned as scheduled. Campus Safety alerted state police, but the group had emerged by the time the troopers could respond.
“We were prepared,” Hewey said, “but you really can't prepare for something like this.”
As for future adventures, Hewey says he and others will likely not venture underground anytime soon. “But hey, I love adventure … I'll probably go caving again.”