After a 15-year absence, Jerry Trout journeyed back to Missouri. He plans to spend his week crawling in the mud.
"These caves are among the most beautiful in the country," Trout said. He should know. He works in Sierra Vista, Ariz., for the U.S. Forest Service as its cave coordinator.Trout is a spelunker - someone who explores caves. This year, the National Speleological Society is holding its annual convention in Sullivan, Mo. The society is a international group that promotes the study of caves as well as safety and conservation. Officials estimated that more than 14,000 people worldwide are members.
Pam Saberton of St. Louis helped organize the weeklong convention, which has drawn 1,000 people from as far away as China and Australia. Throughout the week, speleologists - those who study caves - will compare notes, discuss discoveries and get reacquainted with old friends.
With about 5,500 known caves, Missouri has the largest number of caves open to the public and is second only to Tennessee in the total number of caves.
The abundance of limestone in the state lends itself to cave formation.
Water bores into layers of limestone, fractured by the uplifting of the Ozark Mountains and the occasional tremor from the New Madrid Fault. What is left are sinkholes, caves and deep holes.
"Most of those caves are older than the hills that they are in," said Dwight Weaver, a geologist with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.
Weaver described Crevice Cave, the longest cave in Missouri. Winding 29 miles underneath Perryville, it has earned a badge of honor among spelunkers for its beauty and natural formations, according to Weaver.
Backpack-clad conventioneers roamed the halls of Sullivan Elementary School, stopping to gawk at photographs, browse through merchandise offered by several vendors or to watch the vertical competition held in the school's gym.
Competitors dangled from harnesses used to climb out of deep pits or sinkholes. The goal was to climb as high and as fast as possible. One official described the event as doing the 100-yard dash up a rope while hanging 10 feet off the ground and fighting gravity.
John Wesley McCrary of Huntsville, Ala., was the fastest one up the rope. His time of 34.6 seconds for 30 meters had several in the crowd cheering but left McCrary shaking his head.
"I could've gone faster," he said. "I'm not a sprinter. I'm better in the longer distances."