Caving

I've been following the story of the group of young Thai soccer players and their coach who are trapped deep inside a cave in Thailand. I know almost nothing about caves or "caving," which apparently is an actual sport, and in addition to hoping for a good outcome, I admit that I've been wondering how the boys ended up stranded so far inside the cave in the first place. Why were they there?

Based on what I've been reading, frankly, it looks like the whole thing was almost certainly the result of bad decision-making, or to be less delicate, some real human stupidity. Clearly that cave is not a tourist attraction and not a park or a playground; in fact, according to CNN, in a story headlined "Thailand cave rescue: Friends say boys ignored warnings" it's considered to be off-limits:

The Tham Luang Nang Non caves are known locally as off-limits, a dangerous place where parents warn their children not to go into, especially during monsoon season. (Read the article here.) 

I also read this, at the Washington Post, in an article titled "When things go wrong in caves" and written by an experienced cave explorer (BTW, who knew there was a close-knit caving community worldwide?):

I’m writing this while at Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky. With an underground network covering 412 miles, Mammoth is the world’s longest cave. I’ve been here for a week, participating in an annual expedition with some of the nation’s most experienced cave explorers, including one cave diver. None of us has gotten hurt or trapped.

My caving companions and I have been closely following the news about the 12 Thai boys and their soccer coach trapped in a flooded cave in northern Thailand. A steady supply of information is also reaching us from the close-knit caving community worldwide. The consensus is that bringing the boys and their coach to safety could be one of the most complicated cave rescues ever. It could also be one of the most dangerous, as indicated Friday by a former Thai SEAL’s death while diving during rescue preparations.

...I’ve read criticism of the coach for leading the boys into an unsafe setting. I’ll bet no one is harder on him than he is on himself. I’ve also read that some of the boys have often visited the cave and know the way through it well. I was reminded of a time in the 1960s when some friends and I took my high school wrestling coach caving. He didn’t know what we were getting him into. The cave could have flooded. Luckily it didn’t. But the weather forecast could have been wrong.

What I have learned, since I started exploring caves as a 13-year-old Boy Scout 55 years ago, is that caving absolutely requires you to adhere to the Boy Scout motto: Be prepared.

The Thai boys and their coach obviously were not prepared with supplies in case of an emergency. They were not prepared with proper gear such as helmets, each person with a dependable light (or three, like we carry), boots and so on. They did not heed a warning sign at the entrance about the cave being prone to flooding during a rainy-season downpour. Now they’re paying a huge price for their lark. (Read the article here.)

They're paying a huge price, indeed, for their "lark," and so are a lot of other people. I'll continue to hope (and pray) for a good outcome.