Burial Pt. 2

Already squeezed in a narrow passage I could feel a stiff breeze coming from a hole too small to consider passing through. About seven and a half inches in height and a foot wide the pinch did not seem worth it. Most tight passages become too narrow to crawl through before revealing anything of interest. But then most of those do not have cool air blowing from them hard enough to put out a lighter.

I had slept fitfully in the cave the night before. Tired and dirty I had been exploring with more weight on my back than usual. Still something about this narrow tunnel, hundreds of feet beneath the surface, called to me. The lure of the rushing air spoke of hidden passages and great chambers. Leaving behind all but a flashlight and a camera, I began to pack my body into the wall.

Once I had crammed inside it occurred to me that I was now moving beyond where I could hope for rescue in an emergency. This was not only a world without cell phones, here I would truly be alone, completely reliant upon myself for survival. Admittedly I became scared; almost turning back, I instead relaxed and felt the cool breeze push around me. There was fresh air, it would take time, and I could always move backwards. As I relaxed, the tunnel seemed to release some of its hold on me and I continued.

For 150 feet, I pushed through a space too small to lift my head off the ground. From my sideways perspective I followed the fresh air, hoping this journey was not in vain. Finally the tunnel began to grow and I found myself in a canyon passage whose ceiling stretched 30 feet overhead. Now farther underground than I had ever been in my life, I felt as if I walked among mountains instead of deep under them.

-2012-
sleepwalking
new chapter

-2011-
like sedona?
torn in two
blink
bridge to nowhere
door
hitting the wall
elusive 2
elusive 1
ascenders
voyage
hole
icarus

-2010-
revisited 2
revisited 1
which way?
the pit
treasure
narrow
snowfall
chute
false floor
monolith
crack
freeze
slice
bunker
beckon
treasure
resolution

-2009-
goodbyes
undercurrents
casting the bones
mountain thief
the deer hunter
strange temple
sanctuary
burial pt. 3
burial pt. 2
burial pt. 1
scarlet fever
rebirth from hell
forsaken
the lower depths
underground lake
stretch sewer
crypt
still waters
shadow movements
meager rations
sw pt.8: geothermal + ending
sw pt.7: lost gold mines
sw pt.6: big tube caves
sw pt.5: gold!
sw pt.4: el calderon caves
sw pt.3: redondo
sw pt.2: ghosts
southwest adventure pt.1
the river
dark salvation
reflections
dreams
the underdark
night odyssey
beginnings