{"id":688,"date":"2013-10-30T09:47:34","date_gmt":"2013-10-30T13:47:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rubinsma.wordpress.com\/?p=55"},"modified":"2014-11-21T16:37:02","modified_gmt":"2014-11-21T21:37:02","slug":"carlisles-bat-cave","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/wrpg211\/2013\/10\/30\/carlisles-bat-cave\/","title":{"rendered":"Carlisle\u2019s Bat Cave"},"content":{"rendered":"

Just a seven minute bike ride from campus there is one of the most beautiful, unique, and historic places in Carlisle. \u00a0Managed by Carlisle Parks and Recreation, Cave Hill<\/a> is a small relatively unknown spot along the Conodoguinet Creek. \u00a0On a hot September day when classes were still being introduced and exams were only a distant thought, my friends and I took the short walk to Cave Hill. \u00a0Off the road, down a steep scraggly path there is a picnic table, clearing and rope swing. \u00a0The Creek, while covered in floating pancakes of gelatinous algae, was extremely refreshing.<\/p>\n

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The fallen sycamore tree
with steps for climbing.
Source http:\/\/www.cavehillcarlisle.org\/gallery.html<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Across the river there is an fallen sycamore tree with a platform and rope thirty feet above the water. \u00a0My friend Sam bravely swung off the swing resulting in a thunderous crack, and everyone else cringing and expecting Sam to be crushed as he fell. \u00a0Fortunately the tree remained standing, and since we had common sense we didn’t jump off the tree anymore. The rope swing that is. \u00a0Jumping off the platform was still incredibly fun, and this time there was no audible strain on the tree.<\/p>\n

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Muddy, but happy.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Cave Hill gets its name from the local cave system with the entrance right by the creek. \u00a0We had been warned there was muck, but none of us had boots so I put trash bags on my feet and waded into the cold brown sludge. \u00a0We could initially stand up, but soon we had to crouch down to avoid bumping into the sparkling, mica-flecked, walls. After a few minutes of walking we came to a large opening. \u00a0Above us were many nesting bats clinging to slimy, still dripping, stalactites. \u00a0We took turns exploring the narrow passages that needed to difficult maneuvering to reach. \u00a0These side passages are not for the claustrophobic, as there were points I thought I was stuck. At the end of our caving experience we were all thoroughly covered in mud, all very cold, and all very happy.<\/p>\n

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Volunteers power washing graffiti from the cave walls.
Source http:\/\/www.cavehillcarlisle.org\/gallery.html<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

As with many nature spots, if there is no constant watch there will be vandalism and littering. \u00a0Cave Hill is \u00a0unfortunately, not different. \u00a0At the entrance to the cave there was layers and layers of graffiti. \u00a0While \u00a0there was a trash bin, it was partially melted, and garbage was overflowing all across the grounds and \u00a0into the water. \u00a0We used the tattered remnants of our trash bag boots to pick up all the trash we could, \u00a0but there was far too much for our hands to carry. \u00a0As environmentally conscious students living in the \u00a0town of Carlisle, it is our responsibility to engage the town we live in by cleaning areas like this whenever \u00a0there is a need. \u00a0If you ever visit Cave Hill bring a trash bag and spend a\u00a0few minutes leaving the area \u00a0cleaner than you found it. \u00a0Since my first visit, I found that the Parks and Recreation service had an event \u00a0where volunteers performed a clean sweep of trash, and power washed graffiti from the cave walls. \u00a0There is limited parking, however Cave Hill is only 1.76 miles from Dickinson. \u00a0This<\/a> Map My Ride map shows just how easy it is to get there. Clearly this spot has importance to the people of Carlisle, and it would be great to show that the \u00a0students of Dickinson care about it as well.<\/p>\n

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Just a seven minute bike ride from campus there is one of the most beautiful, unique, and historic places in Carlisle.  Managed by Carlisle Parks and Recreation, Cave Hill is … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a>\"\" Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1785,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[109722],"tags":[109703],"class_list":["post-688","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-student-blog-project-2013","tag-syndicated"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/wrpg211\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/688","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/wrpg211\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/wrpg211\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/wrpg211\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1785"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/wrpg211\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=688"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/wrpg211\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/688\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/wrpg211\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=688"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/wrpg211\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=688"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/wrpg211\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=688"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}