Barefoot Down Under

No, not Down Under: Australia. Down Under: Ground.

Yesterday I visited the Olentangy Indian Caverns.

When it comes to caves, Ohio is no Kentucky. Most of the things called “caves” in Ohio are really just rock shelters (recess caves). However, there is a limestone belt near the surface in the middle northwest portion of the state, and there are real caves there, like Indian Trail Caverns, Ohio Caverns, Seneca Caverns, and Zane Shawnee Caverns. Olentangy Indian Caverns is pretty much on the edge of the cavern zone, and is the smallest of the lot. (However, it is also the closest to Columbus.)

When visiting a new place, it is always a bit of a crap shoot over whether they will make a fuss about bare feet. It’s a bit of a long sidewalk up to the ticket shop.

The Trading Post

Just as I got near the door, the tour guide made an announcement that the 12:30 tour would be starting in 5 minutes (guess what time it was). So I went in an asked for a ticket for that tour. She must have seen me heading up the walkway . . .

“You must be wanting the barefoot tour.

“Actually, you’ll be disappointed; we don’t have the original natural surface. It’s been paved.”

Alice (the tour guide) was really quite nice. Bare feet were not an issue. But she did check to see if I was eligible for any discounts (I was).

As we all headed down into the cave, she warned everybody to hold the rails as the steps were wet (cave drippings) and slippery. Of course, with bare feet, I could tell that immediately.

The floor of the cave was no challenge for bare feet at all. As Alice had said, it was paved. The original (artificial) surface was gravel and cinders, but had been paved over long ago. The paving even had treads built in for traction.

The cave’s year-round temperature is 55°. During a cold winter, that would be a positively balmy location, so that is why it was used by Native Americans for a very long time. A lot of artifacts have been found in the cave.

Of course, 55°, even when wet and drippy, is just fine for bare feet, so I was quite comfortable.

Here’s a portion where we turned around as the trail got too narrow.

Inside the Cavern

That green you see is a moss that is taking advantage of the lights that are on for the tours.

Later in the tour we came to Council Rock.

Council Rock

It was clear that this had been used extensively by the natives, and had the largest collection of arrowheads and other remnants. In fact, a fair bit of the tour describes the history of the cave: Indian use, and then its “discovery” by whites, including being used as a hide-out for a couple of years by a stagecoach robber.

Another part of the cave is called Cathedral Hall, and behind that is the Tower Room. Here I am in that section.

The Tower Room

Bare feet are just right for caving (actually, of course, they are just right for just about anything).

At this point we’re about 105 feet below the surface (and also about 35 feet below the level of the nearby Olentangy River).

At the end of the tour we all ended up in the museum, with a small collection of the artifacts found in the cave, newspaper clippings about the cave over the years, and other reminders of Native culture.

I got talking with Alice and it turned out that she knew Mark Welsh, Mato-Ska, who died in early May. It’s funny how there are these connections when one least expects them. Or maybe not. Mark made it a habit of visiting native sights around the state. He was also so personable that it’s no wonder that the people there knew him.

Olentangy Indian Caverns is a nice afternoon visit.

And they are barefoot friendly.