Sophia Mertson
Contributing Writer
The Sewanee Outing Program (SOP) had an adventure-packed weekend to kick off the new school year, opening the weekend with a caving expedition to Walker Springs on Friday, followed by another caving outing to Buggy-Top on Saturday and concluding with a canoeing event on Sunday.
The SOP made their last trip to Buggy-Top on Saturday, the day before the cave closes until May 1 for wildlife protection purposes. Over 14 eager Sewanee students packed into vans and headed halfway down the mountain to take on a two-mile hike to the Buggy-Top cave site. In an interview with SOP leader Joey Pascarella (C’ 25), he shares his fondness for caving. “It’s something that is such a unique experience at Sewanee,” he said. The Outing was led by Pascarella and Sam Moore, Wrenna Morris, and Ada Watkins (all C’ 27). When Pascarella was asked about the most rewarding part of his role as Senior SOP leader, he responded, “It’s rewarding seeing all of the new folks for the first time and seeing the new generation of leaders coming up…It’s good to know that the SOP will be in good hands.”
Not only is the SOP about bringing new people to the outdoors, but also it’s about fostering new leaders that will leave a positive impact. The leaders started off by leading the group to the awe-inspiring opening to the cave, filled with delicate blue butterflies and a gentle stream running through the opening to juxtapose the dark and mysterious cave inside. The group climbed, crawled, and conquered the cave, allowing even the newest of the cavers to enjoy themselves. First-time cavers on the trip felt that at the beginning, it was a little intimidating and foreign trying to explore a world that is totally different from everyday life. Trying to navigate through the large rocks and darkness appeared difficult. However, the SOP leaders showed great patience by encouraging the group to go slower for newer cavers in difficult areas and faster during easy stretches. They also used the “Sewanee Angel Method”, a system designed to help those in front or behind you by sharing how you climbed certain areas for easier navigation and helping hoist each other up if someone was struggling. SOP leaders frequently stopped to make sure everyone was caught up and not falling behind. The group eventually made their way to the heart of the cave where they got to experience a total absence of light and feel exactly what the critters native to the cave feel every day.
It’s a little discouraging at first if you don’t know anyone going on an SOP trip. However, the trip to Buggy-Top proved different as Pascarella shared fun facts with the group as they enjoyed the darkness. “The caves were formed 350 million years ago,” he said. “If you take the average human body, being about six square feet, and compare that to the 13,000 acres of The Domain then you are 93 million times smaller than The Domain. If you take the 3.75 years you are at Sewanee and compare that to the 350 million years that The Domain has been around, then you are 93 million times briefer.” The speech gave everyone something to talk about amongst each other and gave an overall understanding that we are all a part of The Domain together. It enhanced a sense of community and belonging amongst the cavers enjoying the dark together.
The rest of the weekend was filled with many other adventures for those interested in getting involved besides caving. When asked about how to get involved in the SOP Pascarella stated that “There’s never a bad entry point to outdoors stuff” and encouraged everyone “oughta keep an eye on their email, there’s all kinds of crazy stuff.” On Saturday another group ventured to some of the highest cliffs on the mountain to go rock climbing and the next day another group visited Lake Dimmick, the largest lake on campus, to go canoeing.
Pascarella’s advice for keeping an eye on your email emphasizes the amazing accessibility of the SOP. Emails about events are sent to every student which gives equal opportunity to get involved. The SOP focuses on being inclusive to everyone, and even the incredibly skilled Pascarella got his start in the SOP in an unexpected way. He recalls, “I’m from Chicago and when I came to Sewanee, I wasn’t expecting to do a lot of outdoors stuff. Things changed a lot when I did PRE and started going on trips.”
This goes to show that the SOP has a place for everyone, even those with no experience with the outdoors. The SOP provided opportunities for everyone and anyone to get outdoors and start the school year off right.