Until last weekend, my "caving" experience was limited to tromping through easily accessible, touristy caves such as Ruby Falls Cave near Chattanooga, Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico and Mammoth Cave in Kentucky.

Last weekend, I went on my first trek into a "wild cave" — the rugged Sitton's Cave in Cloudland Canyon State Park in northwest Georgia's Dade County. Several of us Georgia Conservancy members ventured into the half-mile-long cave — sometimes having to crawl in slick, gloppy mud through passages only two or three feet high — behind our leader, David Thomas of Atlanta. In the late 1940s, Thomas was part of a group that mapped many of the cave systems of northwest Georgia.

Bryan Schroeder / Georgia Conservancy (ENLARGE)

Charles Seabrook contemplates his next move before plunging into the depths of half-mile-long Sitton's Cave in northwest Georgia.

Bryan Schroeder / Georgia Conservancy (ENLARGE)

Meredith Reynolds of Decatur stands besides one of the mineral deposit formations.

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Mud wasn't the only hindrance in Sitton's Cave. In some places, we had to scramble gingerly over huge, jagged rocks and squeeze through extra-tight holes to make our way into broad passages where we could walk upright. It was well worth the effort, because the passages led us into large rooms with high, domed ceilings. There, thousands of water droplets clung to the ceilings and sparkled like jewels when we shone our lights on them. And all around us in the rooms were exquisite cave formations known as stalagmites, stalactites and columns — breathtaking sights.

Stalactites are solid, icicle-like mineral deposits — mostly calcium carbonate — that hang from the ceiling of a cave. Stalagmites are cone-shaped mineral deposits that form on a cave's floor. When stalactites and stalagmites join, they form impressive, often fluted, columns.

"Sitton's has some great mineral formations," Thomas said. "In fact, it's one of only a few caves in Georgia that has them." Most of the state's caves, in essence, lack the beautiful and intricate formations that draw tourists to the commercial caves, Thomas said.

Also lining the ceilings of Sitton's passages were dense clusters of tube-like mineral deposits known as "soda straws." A soda straw can turn into a stalactite if the hole at the bottom is blocked, or if the water begins flowing on the outside surface of the tube.

In all, the Georgia Speleogical Survey shows that Georgia has more than 500 caves, although only a few, like Sitton's, are of any significance. Like Sitton's, most of Georgia's major caves are in the northwest corner of the state. Sitton's Cave is located on the western side of Lookout Mountain in Cloudland Canyon park.

The vast majority of Georgia's caves were formed when water flowing underground dissolved limestone rock. Sitton's Cave is called a "river cave" or "wet cave" because an underground stream runs through it. Indeed, we expected to wade through waist-deep water last weekend in the cave. Fortunately, though, the water was not there. Thomas surmised that the year-long drought was the reason.

Sitton's Cave is open to the public, but access is allowed only by special state permit. While the cave is beautiful and alluring, it can be very dangerous. The safest way to see it is with a knowledgeable, experienced guide who can provide proper safety equipment. An essential piece of equipment is a reliable light. (At one point deep in the cave last weekend, we momentarily turned off our lights, plunging ourselves into eerie, profound darkness. We realized that without our lights, we couldn't have made our way back out of the cave.)

Our trip was arranged by the Georgia Conservancy, which provided hard hats, lights and other necessary equipment. For a schedule of Georgia Conservancy field trips, visit www.georgiaconservancy.org/Events/List.asp.

Cave briefing

Not surprisingly, we came across several bats in Sitton's Cave. Georgia's caves are home to many of the state's 16 bat species. Bats use caves as hibernation sites during the winter and as maternity colonies and bachelor colonies at other times of the year.

Georgia's caves also harbor many other rare and unique creatures, including various species of salamander, fish and crayfish. Caves, however, are delicate environments that can be easily damaged by overuse, litter and vandalism. Indeed, we saw some graffiti and other evidence of abuse — including several broken soda straws — in Sitton's Cave.

Georgia's caves and their wildlife enjoy some legal protection, although enforcement is largely at the discretion of landowners. (Most of Georgia's caves are on private property.) The Georgia Cave Protection Act of 1977 makes breakage, burning, defacement or destruction of a cave surface, artifact or speleothem (cave formations, such as stalactites) without consent of the cave owner a misdemeanor. The sale or export of a speleothem without consent of the owner also is a misdemeanor.

In the sky

The thin crescent moon this week will grow to first quarter by Friday night, says astronomer David Dundee of the Northwest Georgia Science Museum. Look for the moon high in the southwest at sunset. Mercury and Venus are low in the west just after sunset. Mars sets in the northwest just after sunset and will appear near the moon tonight. Jupiter rises out of the east before sunset. Saturn cannot be seen this month.