Okay, it’s not quite what you think. This is a caving site, so this is about a cave named after a proper Georgia town named Climax.
The landowner gave us permission to access the cave in 2025, after the cave had been closed for a few years. When the cave was initially accessed, after it’s closure, it was found that a long crawl had filled up completely with sand and debris. There were several dig trips to open the tight passage up. River City Grotto participated on three of those work trips. We broke through to the other side but Scott and I never went past the crawl to explore the good part of the cave.
When the text message came through from Scott Thompson that we had a trip, it was very exciting. We could not wait to go back to Climax Ga.
This would be an exploration trip. Scott Wilder has been learning the intricate passages and wanted to reach a place called Razor Hall. This would be pushing toward the back of the Northern section of Georgia’s longest cave.
After a three hour drive we met in the brisk morning air and rigged the drop. There were three copperhead snakes on the shelf where we normally access the cave, so we had to be a bit careful. It was nice that the largest snake raised its head and opened it mouth so we could see it. as you can see they were virtually invisible.
Once inside we all donned respirators due to large piles of bat guano in the large main rooms. The bat colony had moved deep inside the southern section (we planned on staying north). Once past the bat guanno, we pulled our masks off and prepared for a 1,000 foot crawl. This crawl is what had to be dug out. The middle of the crawl has a tight squeeze called the down and under.
We did bring a couple of digging tools as a’ just in case’. After making it through the crawl and the squeeze, we took a break before continuing. Scott Wilder our fearless trip leader has been pushing a bit further back every trip. Todays trips goal is to find and explore Razor Hall.
This is a cavers cave. It has very large room but also has a maze of passages, very sharp chert, squeezes and other challenges that were unexpected. The reward is that the further you push, the better the reward.
Georgia has been having a drought, so the water was very low. I was told this cave requires swimming. there was water on this trip but not much.
We were delighted to find a shark tooth in the wall in addition to many other Miocene fossils. It was a moment of solitude and remembrance when we passed the memorial to Bruce Brewer who lost his life in the cave Jul 2003.
After much exploring and a side trip to see the infamous ‘Pool of Naked Frogs’, we reserved and headed back towards the crawl and the ‘Down and Under’.
Feeling very happy but exhausted, we took a break to rehydrate and put the respirators back on for the trek back out to the fading daylight. We were very surprised to find all three copperheads waiting for us at the exit. This made us climb a different route around the snakes, up and out of the sink. This cave has everything. It was nice to experience what people had talked about years ago when visiting this beautiful cave.
If you would like to visit this cave or any cave, please contact your local grotto, or go to the Natinal Speleological Society (NSS) website to locate a grotto in your area.
Story by Phil photos taken by Jessica Shores