By Jeremy Patton
Sloans Valley Cave is located in Pulaski County, Kentucky.
The Oasis is a particularly beautiful area in the 27-mile system, adorned with every speleothem imaginable. I am writing three years after visiting, so I cannot remember every twist and turn. I will post photos for now and comment on them where I can. It is only a matter of time until I return.
On 12/11/16 Delania and I made it to the first lake room. We found an arch perched on a platform above it. The arch was high enough to stoop under.
The lake room was huge. Attempts to photograph it were futile because it swallowed whatever light we shined into it.
The room floods as the lake rises, but a drought at the time made it somewhat accessible. I have a love-hate relationship with Lake Cumberland due to its adverse effect on caves in the area. Most people care little about the ecology of the underworld (one of Sloans Valley’s entrances was dubbed the “Garbage Pit” for a reason) and the lake designers were no exception. That is sad because caves are wonderlands and vital components of the environment we all share. They must be protected.
The accumulation of silt from decades of flooding made the room nearly impossible to cross. Every time I tried to scale the steep slope, I slid back down. I probably could have done it with ropes, then helped Delania across, but we did not carry the necessary equipment. We were forced to continue in another direction. There were many to choose from because the countless passages of Sloans Valley resembled branches of a tree.
On our way to the Oasis, we passed a garden of cave formations: columns, draperies, flowstone, soda straws, stalactites, stalagmites — you name it. If I wanted to take a new caver to one spot to introduce them to formations, that would be it. However, the long and treacherous journey would be a daunting first caving experience.
The Oasis was a marvel difficult to describe and impossible to justify with images. The problem was compounded by our use of inadequate head torches. We own quality ones now, so we can return and get good photos.
I remember a massive mound of stone with water flowing over it like hot chocolate poured on a sundae. A pool resided at its base where translucent, albino crawdads swam happily. Above our heads, some fuzzy bats hung upside down and slumbered as we kept a vow of silence not to wake them. A series of delicate rimstone dams stair-stepped down to a lower platform that hosted more calcite ornaments. We tip-toed to avoid damaging them. Even without its wildlife, the Oasis was a living organism of mud, stone and trickling water. It was a masterpiece.
Added 12/2/19 – Updated 8/1/26