Troop 728 explores the wild side of Longhorn Caverns State Park

Some people spend their Spring Break in the snow on mountains, or in the sun on beaches, but the Scouts and Venture Crew of Richardson’s St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church’s Troop 728 went underground, way, way underground.

Fifty-five Scouts, Crew, and Leaders of 728 went to the Texas Hill Country, just outside Llano Texas to Inks Lake and Longhorn Caverns State Parks to experience the "Wild Cave Spelunking Adventure", a not-so-typical caving experience.

After gearing up with protective helmets, headlamps, knee and elbow pads, the Scouters were split into groups, each according to their physical abilities, and led into the main entrance of the cavern by a professional guide. From there, they left the public access parts of the caverns and began their 241ft. descent into the dark crevices where very few have been before, occasionally poking their heads up though holes and say hello to a passing public tour.

There were many mental and physical challenges along their 2 mile route inside the earth: fissures less than 12 inches wide that had to be squeezed through, a kidney-shaped chute only 16 inches in diameter that a few had to exhale completely to drop though, and a cold, wet 50 yard crawl through an underground lake with only 5 inches of airspace between the water and the cave’s ceiling. During their two and a half hour excursion, some of the Scouts saw names carved into the rock from as early as the year 1894, and the "darkroom" that was used during the days of Prohibition, Crew 728 member, Stephanie Carpenter, of Garland said: "Going through the lake was the scariest part. As the ceiling got lower, I was afraid that I would have to totally submerge my head to make it to the other side…and I ruined my iPod". Crew members and Scouts Mike & Dave Roberts, of Richardson, had this to say after coming to the surface "It was like really cool to be in the cave and everything. I did not expect to have to crawl through mud on my stomach to get through there. We found it very interesting to learn how long it took the rain to seep down to the lowest parts of the cave, and the Troglodytes" in the underground lake. Troglodytes" are catfish, crayfish and other creatures that were white without eyes or pigments.

After their underground adventure, the scouts went back to camp for a quick lunch before swimming at the "Devil’s Watering Hole", a popular attraction at Inks Lake State Park. Most of the Scouts took to repeatedly jumping from the rock, into the lake, in spite of the cold water. Scout, Thomas Baert, of Plano, said of his weekend; "The cave was scary, the lake was cold and I want to go back and do it all again".

Scoutmaster, Mike Koenecke stated: "It was nice to be able to take advantage of Spring Break and range a bit farther afield for a weekend campout than we usually go. It was a bit of a challenge to keep a convoy of over twelve cars and trucks together for 230 miles, but everything eventually worked out, and all had a tremendous time crawling through narrow spaces a couple of hundred feet underground". "In fact…" the Scoutmaster joked, "…several of the boys enjoyed it so much that they have been sleeping under their beds ever since".

Troop 728 & Crew 728 are located at Saint Paul the Apostle Catholic Church, in Richardson. Crew 728 is a BSA-sanctioned, co-ed group of teens chartered in the Boy Scouts of America Venturing Program. Longhorn Caverns State Park offers the "Wild Cave Spelunking Adventure" through special arrangement to Scouts and youth groups.

For more information about Troop 728, visit their website at http://www.troop728.net For more about Longhorn Caverns S.P. Wild Cave Adventure, visit http://www.longhorncaverns.com/wildcave.html

Visit Crew 728’s facebook page at