Paths Less Traveled: Mammoth Cave
I’ve been running an incredibly unscientific experiment.
I play Pokemon Go. The secret is out!
Recently, the final edits came back on the next book in the Junior Rangers Investigative Club Series. The Specters of Mammoth Cave. That title is elsewhere. (Including a scrolling banner on the main page now.)
It’s still exciting to write.
Where do I want to start with this one? Apparently everywhere. I was even going to draw a Lattean in a Lab Coat for this one.
Book 2 is on the way!
I think that is probably the most important note. But it’s not ridiculous enough, or full of enough geology to warrant becoming a blog in it’s own announcing right. (At least not until the book puts itself together.)
But I wanted to talk about book 2 a bit more, and specifically about one of the questions my editor asked about something in the manuscript.
~Spoilers for Book 2.~ (incredibly minor but existant)
In the book, A ranger comments that many people stop at the (best) entrance Mammoth Cave entrance sign. You know the one. I’ve featured pictures of it elsewhere on the website. It’s also features in the picture above. That ranger goes on to point out the trail right next to the small parking area and the sign.
The trail is short, ~0.1 miles, or a quarter mile round trip. It is a short wooden ramp to a small overlook, and it tells one of the many important, and most famous, stories related to the founding of Mammoth Cave National Park. A story, so famous, that it took the world by storm nearly a century ago.
And yet, as noted by the park ranger in the book. “Few people travel the Sand Cave Trail.” ~ (don’t worry, that’s not the exact words.)
~Spoilers end here~
This is the sign parking lot, and the start of Sand Cave Trail.
And yet, I’ve experienced this fact. Because it’s important to the history of Mammoth Cave, and to the story. I’ve parked in the small parking lot, and hiked down to the overlook, oh so many times. The parking lot is often empty. I’ve also heard people pull up while I’m on the trail, only to drive away after getting their photo. Sometimes, I see people investigate the trailhead marker, and then hop back in their cars without investigating any deeper. (I have seen people on the trail too, so it’s not always empty.) It’s true. Few people travel the Sand Cave Trail.
“Why?” My proofreading editor asked.
I’ve been running an incredibly scientific experiment, (un-scientific that is,) using Pokemon Go. In the game you can drop your Pokemon on significant locations called Gyms. Your little digital monster will sit there, then, until someone else comes along and knocks them out. (I’m keeping this explanation as simple as possible, so I don’t have to explain game mechanics) It’s like geocashing with cartoons.
My experiment: I dropped a Pokemon at the end of Sand Cave Trail, (the overlook,) to see how long it would last.
My pokemon is the green guy on the right up front.
My hypothesis: was that it would last at a longer time in the Sand Cave Gym compared to any other gyms in the park, because few people walk Sand Cave Trail. For context, popular gym locations, (in this day and age, long after the game’s heyday,) will trade out daily. Very popular locations will trade out hourly. Very unpopular gyms might keep pokemon for days or weeks.
There are mitigating factors.
most people in the park are focused on the park
fewer people play the game these days
cell service might limit ability to play in the park
other unaccounted for variables I’m too lazy to think of.
Winter is cold
others (im already going to be late dropping this blog.)
But I accounted for some of these variables.
My controls: The pokemon I left near the visitor center, which has the worst cell service, and should have people more focused on the park itself was kicked out within the day. The pokemon I left at the gym near sunset point (better cell service, but a much further walking distance,) was kicked out in 3 days. (and each time I repeated this experiment these times were similar.
My Results: I dropped pokemon in all three gyms in early December, to see how long they would last. It is March, and my pokemon is still sitting in Sand Cave. In 85 days and 20 hours counting, no one has knocked it out. As opposed to 7 hours for the visitor center and 3 days for the gym near sunset point. I’m not going to make charts, but I will calculate %’s. That is a 34,000% increase over the popular location (the visitor center.) and a 1,400% time increase over a moderate traffic location (the gym near sunset point.)
All my pokemon in different gyms. This was screenshot yesterday, (the pokemon is still there.)
My Conclusion: Nothing. This is hardly scientific, and my pokemon’s Sand Cave vacation is ongoing. However, my point still stands and this can, maybe, help support it. Many people stop to take pictures at the Mammoth Cave Entrance sign, but few walk the small trail just at it’s side.
Which gets back to my editor’s question.
Why? (don’t people hike this trail.)
A question I decided not to answer in the book, and I’m not sure I could answer here. Is it too short for hikers, but too long for people who don’t care to hike? Are the many people who stopped here for quick photos rushed to make it to their cave tour reservations? Is the idea of a short hike through the woods less enticing in a park named for it’s underground structures? Is it too spooky for those who know the history?
I imagine it’s for all of these reasons, and more. But this short trail is a gem. One of many inside the Mammoth Cave which go under noticed and are too often passed by. There are places like that in every park. And I will talk about them from time to time. And I will ask a similar question to that of my editor.
Why are these places overlooked?
Sometimes I might have the answers, other times I may not. This time I just had a goofy “experiment” to back me up, (and was not yet ready for the next really cool thing I was going to do on this site.)
Book 2 will be out soon(ish) and it doesn’t have the answer either. However, it will very much discuss why Sand Cave is so important to Mammoth Cave, and it will hopefully also shed light on some of the other lesser traveled, but still fascinating, places within the boundaries of Mammoth Cave National Park. (While also very much going into the the most famous places as well.) Hopefully it, and this article, will help encourage you too take these off-beaten paths, or learn more about them.
And if you happen to play Pokemon Go. In this instance, maybe you could check out the gym there. Knock my guy out if you want to, or join him if you can.
What you see at the end of the trail: Sand Cave- a hole with more history than most.
As I ramp up to Book 2: The Specters of Mammoth Cave! I will be focusing a lot more on that park. I’ll probably do some other stuff in between. I get distracted, and lazy. But be sure to check it out! The things I have upcoming should be very fun! I need to introduce you to a new team! I need to continue my geology ramblings. I need to talk about ghosts. All of these things are related. to find out how, stay tuned.