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Caving in TAG

Strictly speaking, TAG is the area where the states of Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia meet. But TAG is also much more than that. To paraphrase TAG caver Allen Padgett, "it is as much a state-of-mind as a place." Hard-core caving trips, huge bonfires, eating, drinking and camping with old friends afterwards--these are all aspects of the TAG experience. Although all three states are generally referred to as "TAG" nowadays, there can be little doubt that this cave-rich area is where many of the techniques and traditions of modern caving developed, in particular vertical caving. To this day, the impact of the area on caving is demonstrated by the fact that the headquarters of the National Speleological Society is located nearby in Huntsville, Alabama. For those cavers lucky enough to live in this area, every weekend offers an opportunity for exploration and fun.

• Local Property Status/Closed Cave List Check this list if you plan to go caving near Cookeville, Tennessee. Includes access information for England Cove caves, Bee Rock, Xanadu, Robinson's, and others. Last Update: April 14, 1998.
  
  
• List of Closed Caves in TAG Before you go, check this list! The list itself is currently maintained by Andy Zellner of the DogWood City Grotto in Atlanta. Please email Andy if you know of any closed caves that need to be added to the list.
  
  
• Save the Caves! Join the Southeastern Cave Conservancy.
  
  
• If you crave caving stories and trip reports, Station R: Outdoor Adventure has what you want. Rodger Ling's web site, based on his personal journals, reads and looks like an outdoor magazine, but from a caver's perspective. He also includes good advice on safety and training, as well as information on other outdoor past-times, including skydiving, hang gliding and backpacking. One of the oldest and, in our opinion, still one of the best developed caving sites on the Web.
  
  
• Visit the web site for TAG-Net, the regional email list and web site for TAG cavers.
  
  
• You can obtain the text of the Tennessee Cave Law, as well as the texts of similar laws in Alabama, Georgia, and other states by visiting the Ultimate Cave Law Site.
  
  
• Redneck Cavers--TAG Caver Robert Crumley wrote this humorous article from whence originated the terms "ACORNS" (A Couple Of Rednecks) and "BVDS" (in reference to a cave lighting system). Hilarious reading!
  
  
• You Know You're Caving with the Wrong People If.... This humorous article, provided by John Prisel of the Cleve-O-Grotto, was compiled by cavers visiting the White House at the 1996 OTR (Old Timer's Reunion) in West Virginia.
  
  
• The Lost Mountain Cavers in Georgia have finished the survey of Tom Pack Cave and produced a lineplot. If you're really into surveying, they have a lot more information on the survey at their web site.
  
  
• The Tennessee Cave Survey is a private organization dedicated to surveying and mapping Tennessee caves.
  
  

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We welcome your comments or bug reports
via email to your friendly, neighborhood speleoweb hostess,
April Hannah, NSS #35012.

This page, http://orgs.tntech.edu/grotto/TAG.html, validates as

(C) Copyright 2003, April Hannah for the Upper Cumberland Grotto of the NSS. All Rights Reserved. Photos available on this web site are the property of individual members of the Upper Cumberland Grotto. Failure to request permission before saving these images to disk for your own use is a violation of the U.S. Copyright Law.