What To Carry In A Caving Pack

Everyone has their own idea of what might be included in their very own cave pack. Obviously, the contents depend somewhat on the length of the trip. We will focus on short day trips from 1 to 4 or 5 hours. These are the most common caving trips and should cover the majority of concerns. Overnight trips and other lengthy expeditions require much more thought and planning.

The pack should be as small as possible but still be able to include all the essential items. The other qualities I like in a pack are multiple straps, hooks and configurations for attaching it to yourself. My pack can be attached around the waist, over the shoulder, to one leg or over my back.

The following list is what I carry and can be adjusted accordingly. Colorado is a colder caving environment and has some wet, muddy caves.

I actually carry a pack inside a pack. The smaller inside one is a padded, semi waterproof case designed for either a camera, binoculars or something like that. In this case I carry small items that can be easily misplaced in the bottom of a larger pack. This includes...

putty knife (used for cleaning mud off boots or as an assist in a muddy horizontal / vertical belly crawl)
mag light with Velcro attachment loop (to attach to helmet if needed, I generally have 2 headlamps on helmet)
spare batteries and bulbs for all lights
wire hook and length of nylon cord ( to retrieve items dropped)
large trash bag and candle (to stay warm if stranded)
lighter and flints
duct tape
toilet paper
paper and sharpie
small plastic magnifying card (to read maps)
maps
camera
small first aid kit
lip balm
zip ties
zip lock bags ( I keep above items that can't get wet in zip locks as well)

All above goes into the small bag which goes into the larger bag which contains the following...

water bottle
human waste bags (Restop)
webbing
couple of locking, aluminum carabiners
power bars or snacks
beanie cap
short cord to attach pack to chicken loop on ankle if I need to drag the pack behind me

This should be fairly complete - Happy Caving!