A group of friends had decided to go to this cave in the mountains. After hearing about these catacombs in the mounts and especially about a secret cave you had to swim underneath water to get to I took on the idea of going with them.
We all loaded up made a few stops here and there and evading some policemen of Provo
We started the hike up the mountain side, all of us engaging in conversation, laughter and song. We wondered through the brush of the hill side and made it to the entrance of the cave. When my eyes looked at the cave opening with the so little light of a flash light my heart filled with excitement. A diagonal opening slivered the mountain side. It was nothing I imagined.
We all prepared for our adventure, I remember waiting my turn to enter the entrance. I watched the first three people start their way into the cave. The touch of the cold water on their bare skin made them splurge out small whimpers of discomfort.
It was a different experience wading through water on your hands and knees with your back against stone. The temperature was comfortable in the cave. The tunnel opened up and you could stand up. As we furthered our way down the candle lit cave we all stopped. I made my way to where everybody was gathering. There was this little puddle of water; I’m guess four feet by four feet in diameter.
"There it is." I looked down in these puddle of water. I looked back up to where he was and said "Here what is?" He replied "The place where you swim to the secret cave." Everybody started conversation about this puddle of water. But I had the question of who was going to go first on my mind, just as I believe everybody else did.
The least of people that I thought would go first volunteered. This little tiny girl was the first to go. She stepped into the water, from the looks of it she under estimated the depth of the water. She slipped into a five foot deep "puddle" of water. Instantly the coldness of the water took her breath. She was left there neck deep in water fast in breath.
With little thought she took a deep breath and shot under water. I didn’t know what to expect but just seeing this girl disappear in this puddle of water vanishing into a small tunnel under the water go me excited. We were all blind being led by somebody’s words that we trusted going head first into a cave we can’t see just heard of.
After watching one friend attempted with failure and then other friends attempted with sketchy results of accomplishment, it was my turn. I slowly let myself into this puddle of water. The water seemed as if ice should have been forming. It was the coldest water I had ever been in. My body didn’t react harshly to the coldness of the water till it hit my chest area. It almost felt like somebody was raking my lungs out of its oxygen. My body started its first defense stages from the cold water with hyperventilation. Soon followed, the shivering the shook me more than any other shiver. My body trembled uncontrollably causing a tension in my jaw, which clenched it shut.
I sat in that water trying to get used to the temperature of the coldness of the water. After about ten minutes of slowly dunking my head under water trying to prepare myself for full immersion, it was my time to swim. I held the rope tightly in my hands while trying to control the shivering. I slowed my breathing and took a deep breath. The words “You only have to hold your breath for six-seconds.” Was repeating in my head, then I went.
I forced my body into the freezing water. I felt my body frantically swimming in the small narrow cavern. My breath quickly went out do to the coldness water. I pulled on the rope and felt no tension and with not time I started panicking. I started swimming with one arm paddling and with the other arm felling the top of the tunnel where I was submerged by water!
The six-seconds felt like three-seconds and my breath was gone. I opened my eyes and saw light accompanied by my two friends yelling and encouraging me. I popped my head up out of the water coughing and frantically trying to breathe. My body immediately started its shivering and heavy hyperventilation. I looked at my friends who were doing the same thing all of us were laughing and wondering if this was worth it. The tunnel was nothing I imagined either. It was smaller than imagined and it was dripping water everywhere.
In no time the three of us who were in the cave were soon followed by two more of our friends. Soon all five of us filled the small cave. It was our first time doing this and we had no idea what to expect but all we knew was we didn’t want to be in that cave anymore. With no time wasted it was time to head back.
She finally dunked her head and started swimming back, splashing her feet behind her kicking all this water everywhere, then it stopped as fast as it started. We sat there for a second. “She is through.” but then the kicking started again! The bubbling of water coming from underneath the rock struck terror in everybody! We sat there in almost deathly silence. After a second soft words of the worst imaginable thought spilled out of our mouths “SHE IS STUCK!”
Is she okay? Is she stuck? How do we know she made it? Am I going to run into her body when I swim back through? Are the people on the other side thinking the same thing? Are they reviving her on the other side right now? Who know CPR?
Those were the thoughts of that moment. Fear was in the room and the sickle of death was shadowed on the walls. There couldn’t be anymore time wasted. It was time for the next person to go. He was up. Scared or even more scared than us two who were waiting for our turn. We talked with him and encouraging him to swim back. After fifteen minutes of preparing himself for this small journey trying to avoid the hands of death he went underneath the water.
This time it was worse than the time before. Violent amounts of kicking splashed through the cave that seem to last for a really long time and like the time before the kicking stopped and started again!
Is he stuck? Did he run into the body of our friend who we thought made it? Is he safe on the other side? Are they performing CPR on the other side?
It was just us two in the cave. I was holding the light not even making a steady beam of light cause I was shaking really badly (Just to give you an idea of how bad I was shaking, stick your arm out in the air and shake your hand from your elbow joint. It almost seems exaggerated but it was shaking that bad)
My brain was going crazy thinking of all the worst things that could happen. In the midst of think of death and trying to help my friend who was slowly entering the small opening. I heard something I didn’t want to hear. Coughing. Violent amounts of coughing!
I swore it was my friend on the other side coughing! I started to panic a little and my breathing started to increase. I started looking around the cave and I felt as if the walls were closing in on me. As I tried to vanish what I heard I noticed that it was my friend breathing. I couldn’t believe it, my brain was playing tricks on me.
Time went by and with multiple attempts resulting in failure my friend could do it. So I told her I would swim back and have somebody swim back through and help her. I handed her my light and positioned myself in the opening. It was my turn.
The thought of when I almost died in a flooding river years ago swept through my thoughts, I was afraid of water and nobody knew this except me. The feeling I had was unforgettable. It was almost the same feeling you have in my worst nightmare. It was the feeling deep inside you that won’t leave you, that feeling that clouds your thoughts with evilness. But I was awake and knew it; I was in a living nightmare.
I started my way in the angled cave. The roof of the tunnel started coming down on me forcing me down deeper into the water. I made it to as far as I could go. My head fit perfectly in a dome in the rock above with my chin underneath the water just enough space to breathe out my mouth.
I started my process again. Hyping myself. I slowed my breathing down and relaxed my body. Ten minutes went by and I was ready. I took a deep breath but it was not deep. I breathed all the air in that helmet size space. I instantly started panicking for air. I swam back to the opening where my friend was. I started breaking really fast but I couldn’t get air. I felt there was not more air in that entire cave!
I started having an anxiety attack! I felt my head start to slowly spin and my throat opened so I could vomit. Right then I knew I need out now. I swam back and took two deep breaths and dunked my head underneath the water and started swimming I pulled on the rope as fast as I could. I was met with welcomed hands pulling me out of the hell hole. I was coughing and struggling for breath
I made my way back down the tunnel cold and shivering. My friend flashed his light down the tunnel to the opening of the cave, my happiness.
I swam out on my stomach and crawled out of the cave. I immediately stood straight up with arms to the sky looking straight above. I was out. The nightmare was over.
I could tell you right now that was one of the worst things I have ever done. I faced some of my fears but not knowing I was going to have to face them.
That night, those four friends of mine bonded together in ways only certain death could bond us, That experience is something I only want to face in my dreams. Never again in reality. My life has been changed and I really want to try hard to keep it changed.
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