We have been in tumbling rock alot this year. But it is always one the boys request. Since Dirk could not join us to lead the boys to the back of the cave, I reached out to Adam Byerman to lead the boys, and he was up for the challenge. The plan was for Adam to lead the older boys that had been in the cave before to the back and up Mount Olympus, while I took the other crew to the middle of the cave at Topless Dome. Sam and Davis and I always talk about the dreaded Blueberry van trip up to tumbling rock, right before it finally gave up the ghost and died. Sam and Davis both went with Adam to the back of the cave, which was unique for me to not have either one for a picture at Tumbling Rock...Oh well. I was proud of those boys in the back, there were about 11 lead by an Eagle Scout all the way up the Mountain. From the tales Sam and Davis tell me of this climb, it is not something I think I would ever want to do...but may try one day. Sam helped lead the group to the back so that he could lead a group later.
Our crew was slow going, one time making it up a large climb to find we were missing 4 people. So I climbed down, and whistled till I heard George making his way towards me. They had gotten behind, and taken a wrong turn. So we stayed a little tighter together for the rest of the way. We picked up two random ladies that apparently were going to get a guide, but opted to just join our group. But as often as we had been in the cave, and with my giant flashlight, I felt confident in getting to the topless dome. There were a couple of times I was a little confused, and took the group to a place much more difficult than it had to be, but otherwise, we did ok. My giant flashlight also got to zero power before we had even made halfway, so it was a bit more challenging after that. I was also happy that we marked the first hole we climb through because I never saw it except for the marker I left going in.
The first picture is the room you have at the top of Mount Olympus, but it is hard to describe the climb the boys make in that giant room. Their lights get really small when you view from down below. All that went to the back made it up except for the one adult that said he would stay at bottom. Which is exactly what I did when I went back. What was funny I asked Davis? Luke Wilson rolling through the cave crawl. JP Cox thinking he left his phone at the top of Mount Olympus until Foster showed him he had grabbed it. Sam's mad dash to the bathroom after exiting the cave due to needing to go the whole way back. And Sam being kind and staying the back of the group as they went thru the tight spaces not wanting anyone to have to follow him. Sam laughed about him, Max, John Daniel, and Adam trying to get a fire started for 20 minutes with everything completely wet...they tried, but did not succeed.
Once we all exited, we started dinner prep where we had some really good hamburger cooked on the grill. I was not looking forward to the night, because the temps were quickly dropping as bedtime approached. Me and Kirby had a trip to Walmart while they were prepping for dinner, as there was no water available for cooking. The boys made some awesome cheesy mashed potatoes to go with our burgers. That night was cold dipping to about 34 degrees and making any sort of easy packup the next morning painful...rolling your wet icey tent, then cramming it into the bag is painful when you have frozen baby hands.
Max closed out our trip with a devotional, and we left the cave with a group coming in that had some cave experts. One bearded guy told me he had been in that cave over 600 times. He gives tours, and was a part of the rescue teams when needed. Apparently this crazy crew arrived in a big group to have their own christmas party down in the cave.
And below is just a continuation of the Byerman mythology around this cave. Not very funny except to a select few including Sam and Davis...but one that gets shared and continued with the troop at each cave trip...
One night after one of those crazy concerts of the “Buckeye Barbers”, Dirk looked across the crowd to see a lovely young lady and was immediately in love. This Ohio beauty walked across the dance floor, and after taking off her shoes so she would not tower over him, shared the first dance of many with the future spelunking tiger. After marrying and moving to Alabama, they found a home slightly passed the a wind tunnel within a large cave in Fackler, AL. Two boys were born to them within this cave, named Ben Stalactite Byerman (because of how he clung to the top of the womb), and Adam Stalagmite Byerman (because of how he always stayed low in the womb). Those boys have been exploring this cave since an early age, once knocking over a large boulder just past where they used to decorate their Christmas Tree…they later would tell their papa “Papa Dirk, we should guide people into this cave and show them this boulder we pushed over, and we should tell them this is Tumbling Rock.” And thus they did, and thus they have ever since.
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