Even in the Darkest Places: Caving Through Vulnerability & Strength
- tagcaver
- Jul 8
- 2 min read
Earlier this year, I was contacted by Rhiannon Johnston, a student at Western Kentucky University, about participating in a documentary for her capstone project. Rhiannon is a visual journalist from Louisville, Kentucky, double majoring in Photojournalism and Advertising. Although she had never been caving before, she felt drawn to the underground world and wanted her project to explore not just the fragility of caves, but also the vulnerability of people, how we, too, are delicate in our own ways.
We had the privilege of taking Rhiannon to her very first cave and even got her on rope for her first rappel underground. It was incredible to watch her push past her comfort zone to fully immerse herself in this world she was documenting.
Jason and I drove up to Kentucky for the premiere of her documentary and brought Jenny along for the adventure. We decided to head up earlier in the day to explore some of the sights around Mammoth Cave beforehand.
Our first stop was Sand Cave, the tragic site where Floyd Collins became trapped in 1925 while searching for a new cave to attract tourists. A fallen rock pinned him in a tight crawlway, and despite rescue efforts that gripped the nation, he died after days underground. He was eventually laid to rest near his homesite and Crystal Cave, the show cave he once operated.
In our video, we also visit Floyd's gravesite, his original homesite, and the entrance to Crystal Cave. While on site, we took the self-guided tour into the historic entrance of Mammoth Cave. Due to time constraints, that was the only tour we could fit in, but I’ve been lucky to spend years volunteering at Mammoth and have had the chance to explore much more of the system in the past.
Rhiannon did an amazing job capturing the heart of caving and beautifully weaving it together with my personal journey through breast cancer in her documentary titled, "Even in the Darkest Places". Her work moved me deeply, and I’m so honored to have been a part of it. I hope you enjoy it as well.
**If you want to skip straight to Rhiannon's documentary, go to the 17 minute mark!
Even in the Darkest Places by Rhiannon Johnston - https://vimeo.com/1080792231
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