1. I had no pack. The plastic duffel bag I had been using for the past year had developed a small hole. Just big enough for a lose battery and maglight to fall through (and there's two AA batteries in Gage's to prove that).
2. I had no water bottle. On that selfsame trip to Gage's, the bag fell from my hand and had an unpleasant landing after twenty feet of freefall. The bottle, a gigantic two-liter Nalgene jobber, was fine, but the cap was shattered. (To see how I like caving sans water, read my Simmons-Mingo report.
3. I had just given blood. I never suffered any of the dizzying effects that this does to some people, but I never tried anything strenuous after it either.
I pulled into the Surprise parking lot just as a group was coming out. They had nothing but bad things to report. Surprise was miserable, the wettest anyone has seen. Parts were dripping that no one had seen before. In a word, yucky.
If I were at home and heard Surprise was a cold shower, I'd stay at home. But I was here, so what the hell. I suited up and hiked the trail.
Yowsa. That missing pint of blood quickly made its presence missed. Going up usually makes you sweat, but it never made me lightheaded before. I reached the entrance, sat down by the river, and gasped.
There's not supposed to be a river by Surprise, just a trickle, but today was a special occasion. A group came out while I was catching my breath, also with nothing but bad things to report. Gerry, Dawn and Bill all advised me to not bother.
My options were now 1. jump into Surprise, solo and dizzy and without water or food or a clue of Surprise's layout, and hopefully run into people, or 2. go home. Neither looked nice.
I went into Surprise just enough so it mentally counted as being in the cave. For curiosity's sake, I turned my light off, and I could still see daylight. Then I left.
I popped out and went down to the car. Well, so long as the day's miserable no matter what, I might as well make it a worthwhile misery.
I got a garbage bag from my trunk. This was billed as a Surprise cleanup, so someone might as well do the cleanup part. I pack out any litter I find in a cave; outisde in the parking lot, same rules apply.
The lot had a considerable amount of crud. Empty beer bottles, empty soda bottles, shattered beer bottles. All went in the bag. Cigarette cellophane, cigarette butts, cigarette packs, in the bag. Paper plates, styrafoam containers, in the bag. I got several pounds of trash, all while walking in the rain and getting my suit cleaned.
It only took ten or fifteen minutes, but that's all the effort it takes to considerably improve the landscape. And turn a dud cave trip into something productive.