MIDDLETOWN — It was an unusual day for the usual inhabitants of Ogdens Cave.
Into the dark, dank hollow where salamanders, bats, and peculiar varieties of insects roam, a handful of shaky-legged human tourists wandered deeper and deeper.
At first the guide spoke in a deep tone that could be heard over the shallow stream that ran between the stones, wetting the ground. But once in the farthest recesses, he ordered the group to sit quietly, turn off the headlights, and witness a complete stillness unlike any other on the surface.
The surrounding tunnel remained so quiet that the team of curious cavers could occasionally hear drops of condensation falling rhythmically from the cavities above.
“I’ve waited over a year for this,” said LeAnne Kamber of Frederick County, a first-time caver. “This (cave) is a natural formation, unlike others that have passed through so many people.”
And she was right.
The Ogdens Cave Natural Area Preserve near Middletown, which was open Tuesday for limited tours, has been preserved since 2002 and closed to the public to protect its delicate ecosystem, with the exception of a special event held a Once a year.
This week through Saturday is Virginia Cave Week, organized by the Virginia Cave Board to promote education about the Commonwealth’s rich caves and karst landscapes, a term used for the limestone topographies of sinkholes and streams that often envelop cavernous regions, explained event coordinator Meredith Weberg. and a 16-year member of the Virginia Cave Board.
Over a series of afternoon tours, approximately 70 guests donned gloves, boots and helmets to slide down Ogdens’ rarely seen crevasses. In addition to many oohs and aahs and photographs, visitors learned about the endangered creatures that live inside.
“Caves are very special when it comes to biodiversity,” said Anne Chazal, chief biologist for the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation’s Natural Heritage Program (NHP). “We have globally rare species, which means there are generally fewer than five known locations on the entire planet.”
Specifically in Ogdens, a type of slender-necked beetle makes its only known appearance.
More than 80 years ago, that beetle was also seen at Battlefield Crystal Caverns, near Strasbourg. The area “is now surrounded by high-density residential and commercial development, which in all likelihood has degraded cave beetle habitat in the karst adjacent to the cave proper,” according to a fact sheet written by NHP representatives. .
The Appalachian snail has also been discovered in the creek that runs through Ogdens. The creature is a candidate for the Virginia Endangered Species Act, according to the NHP fact sheet.
A stream, largely credited with the carving of Ogdens Cave, is a branch of the Buffalo Marsh Run, which runs through a portion of Frederick County, and many underground dwellers could not live without it.
Although the Ogdens passages studied reach just under 4,000 feet, tour groups only traveled to about 10% of the cave, a cave guide estimated Tuesday. To go further, you have to cross an underground lake, where there is only a foot or two of air space between the water surface and the rocks above, said spelunker Eric Zieg.
For Wendy Bancroft of Middletown, who came with her grandchildren and husband, the visit was about more than science. She was also reminded that much of the region’s rich backstory has yet to be discovered.
“There is so much history in the Shenandoah Valley,” Bancroft said.
Like Kamber, Bancroft said she, too, had waited a year for the opportunity to go on the expedition. She had tried to get on the list last year, but she had already reached her maximum capacity. This year, she was one of the first to register.
Weberg, the coordinator who wandered around the outside entrance with a clipboard in hand and spouting cave-related tidbits, said they had reduced the maximum number of people allowed this year by about 20.
“It’s not good to have too many people coming in,” Weberg said. “Both for safety and for the cave itself.”
But those who did show up were ordered to bring gloves. Even oil on human fingers can contribute to the deterioration of the rocks beneath and the displeasure of the creatures inside, Weberg said.
Ogdens is one of the state’s many caves, a large portion of which are located in the Shenandoah Valley. Most of the others are for commercial purposes, not conservation, although that can still have positive educational impacts, Chazal said.
When people travel to caves, whether Ogdens or not, regular inhabitants tend to retreat further into the hallways, Chazel said. He added that even in commercial caves there is usually a large segment of virgin, undiscovered passages where the bugs tend to retreat.
NHP and the Virginia Cave Board have developed a list of sites, many of which are open to the public, called The Virginia Cave and Karst Trail.
More information about the trail is available at dcr.virginia.gov/natural-heritage/vacavetrail. And for more information about caves and future Virginia Cave Week activities, visit vacaveweek.com.
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