Of all the caves I’ve explored, Tumbling Rock Cave in Alabama ranks third on my list of favorite caves. I have made many visits to this famous and most visited cave in Alabama. Tumbling Rock Cave is over 6 miles long and is primarily a walking passage. There was a time when it was known as Blowing Cave. There is a stream that flows almost the length of the cave and forms a spring just below the entrance. This is the only cave I know of that contains oil, the Asphalt Ooze occurs in Allens Alley near the back of the cave and covers the floor with a layer of dust that hides it. It drips from the ceiling and flows down a long slope to the cave floor. I keep a sample in a bottle labeled Alabama Crude!
After a tour with the owners and paying our parking fee, we walked a short distance up the side of the mountain, opened the gate, and crawled through the three-foot-high gate. The first room, the Ante Room, is a large walking passage that crosses the creek. Care should be taken early on, if your eyes have not adapted to the dark, you may step on the crack across the path. This is a three foot wide drop that you go over. Then we follow the stream to Las Salitreras. These are large Civil War vats that rotted away for a long time leaving the square mounds of dirt that remain.
My first visit was in July 1971 with the Dogwood City Grotto and it was on this trip that I met John Wallace, an old friend and fellow caver. John shared that when he was dating his wife, Youlanda, he spread out a tablecloth near the Saltpeter Works and prepared a candlelight dinner that he had brought to the cave.
A short distance from the saltpeter works, we leave the passage of the stream and enter a large room with two large formations called Feet of Elephants. If you climb to the top of one of the feet near the roof you can enter a short stretch that climbs over the roof and over the creek pass in what is now called the Vujade’ Extension.
Continuing upstream, we scale the Wildcat Rockpile and pass the Little Hall of Mysteries. There is the Formation Grotto to the left and we have explored The Sewers down to a 15 foot drop. Then we return to the creek and go through the Tunnel of the Wind to the Grotto of the Totem, Craters of the Moon. Chucks Music Box is in a side passage to the left and is worth a visit to see the tall columns. At this point you need to be with someone who is familiar with the cave to locate the Hidden Door, if you miss the Hidden Door on the way back to the cave one ends up in a dead end stream passage.
Just beyond the Hidden Door and just before entering the Great Hall of Mysteries is the King’s Shower. When the upper passage to the Topless Dome and the lower passages were mapped, it was found that there were only inches between the two. So a sledgehammer was used to make a shortcut to the Topless Dome. The current from the Dome now runs down and falls through the hole creating the Rain of Kings. Pulling up through this hole and going a short distance to the right takes you to the bottom of the Topless Dome.
The Dome is 396 feet tall and was climbed by Don Davison and Cheryl Jones around 1979 over a two-year period. The climb is 555 feet long, making it the longest underground technical route in the United States. Read about Topless Dome Revisited in NSS News for October 1982.
For a long time, the Great Hall of Mysteries was the end of the cave. There are now two passages to continue towards the back of the cave. Both are challenging, I’ll describe the Blue Crawl first as it was the first to be discovered. Just across the room, to the left of the Christmas tree formation and up the mud slope, is Johnstons Junction, a short distance from Emperors Room. Go through the Hall of Emperors and climb up a crevasse and enter a 75 foot long round crawl where one must decide which arm goes first at the start. Because you can’t change positions again until you come out the other side of the Blue Crawl. Coming out of the Blue Crawl, it’s a narrow ledge and to get the body out of the hole, one has to spread out on the ledge. I’ve done the crawl once, but never again. However, I think everyone should try it once.
Exit the Blue Crawl and enter the Inter Sanctum Breakdown Room and on the far side drop down and go under the surprise waterfall to Allens Alley.
The second route that was discovered or should I say excavated is the Suicide Passage. Back in the Hall of Emperors, drop down and follow the right side of the Christmas Tree formation to the creek level. Follow the sandy path along the left side of the creek until you can climb up to the rock pile. After several hairpin turns and climbs, you enter Allens Alley. This is a shorter route and is generally preferred over the Blue Crawl.
Allens Alley is a nice long canyon passage with the creek flowing below. About half way through, one has to climb near the ceiling and crawl through a two foot restriction. It then opens up again into a huge long room. Watch out for the Asphalt Ooze along the right hand side, which crosses the path.
The reward at the end is the Pillar of Fire, and it’s well worth the climb up Mount Olympus. This large, bright red formation sits atop a mountain of mud called Mount Olympus. This is where most cavers stop after a four hour drive and another four hours to get out. If one wants to see the bitter end, Terry’s Tiger Teeth, just before climbing Mount Olympus, head to the right hand side of Allens Alley and look for the DT passage. This is a narrow crawl trail of approximately 300 feet. After re-emerging into the walking passage at Grants Tomb, the creek is down and to the right, called Grants Pool. Terry’s Tiger Teeth is ahead on the left.
The cave continues, although the passage may not be discovered, beyond the known cave length to a small cave called Timber Cave on the other side of the mountain. Dye tracing from the water entering Timber Cave was traced to Tumbling Rock Cave. If you are looking for a good eight hour trip to a wild cave, then I would recommend Tumbling Rock Cave.