Jurassic Park and Deep in Middle Earth, just Another Day at the Office

AAAARGGGHHHH!!! AHHHHH!! Grimacing yells broken by hyperventilating gasps shattered the sounds of a waterfall setting that could only be in Jurassic Park. They plunged in and crawled out, from rock to rock, crossing the base of the waterfall. Nearly naked, all of my clothes and gear in a dry bag, I commit to the river. I jump in after the team, the shock of the cold water forcing wails and gasps for air. There is not turning back now. I will travel the next 7 hours down the Vale River, near hypothermic, falling, bashing my knees and shins on the rock, swimming, crossing the river nearly 20 times, forcing my body though thick bush and filming. Yes, filming the whole way trying to stay with a world class adventure racing team in 10th place. I am moving so fast not even the leaches can stay with me. My latest passenger burst, spilling my blood, when he is smashed as my arm collides with a rock catching my fall.

Cameraman Erik Nachtrieb turns the camera on himself while swimming the canyon

The day before, I climbed deep into middle earth. The cavern opened into a beautiful display of dripping limestone, and I went deeper. Pushing myself through a gap in the rock about the size of, well about the size of me. I slip though, crouch and move forward, alone in the pitch black. The ceiling begins to drop forcing me to my knees, forcing me into the water running along the bottom of the passage, the ceiling pushed more as I dropped to my belly in the water and scurried along the bottom holding my camera out in front of me. In one foot of water with about a foot and a half of air between the water and the rock above me I found my camera hovel to wait, in the pitch black, in the water, in 2.5ft of space, waiting for teams to slither by.

What will tomorrow bring?!?!

The video I shot in the cave can be seen in the embedded video.