Dogwood City Grotto upcoming events

July Rope Night (July 31, 2026)

Fri, 31 Jul 2026 22:00:00 GMT

Come get on rope for the first time, or swing by to practice your SPAR skills. All experience levels welcome. Food provided, donations for said food and for rope maintenance always appreciated.

We have a couple of loaner gear sets, and a variety of different types and brands of gear that you can play with.

Our perma-rig in the trees includes:

Fixed free-hang lines
Lowerable free-hang lines
Free-hang rebelay ladder
Rebelay against the tree
Deviation
Bolted spar for aid climbing practice
Low j-hang
High j-hang as part of the course
Optional cable ladder

If you want something specific rigged to practice on, please let us know in advance and we’ll try to get it rigged up for you. Interested parties can help us work on weaving the permanent space net at the top where folks can hang out.

Not into rope but want to come hang out? We’ve got a fire pit set-up where you can watch the action from outside the fall zone.

Please bring your own helmet, leather gloves, and sturdy shoes.

Please don’t block the driveways and avoid parking too close to the stop sign.

We plan to do these on the last Friday night of every month as long as we don’t have a conflict. Rope Nights are rain or shine. Severe weather (lightning, hail, hurricanes, etc) may have us inside for a brief time, where we have a ceiling anchor for sizing gear and a library of caving books with knot practice.

NOTE ON MINORS: Hosts are not currently equipped to have minors (those under the age of 18) on the course. Exceptions may be made on a case-by-case basis for extraordinary circumstances.

Campout @ Andy and Miki Kalber's in Cookeville, TN (August 07, 2026)

Fri, 07 Aug 2026 21:00:00 GMT

Join us for a bonus August campout in Cookeville, TN at Miki and Andy Kalber's property.

Friday and Saturday camping will be available, and there will be led caving trips going out Saturday and Sunday morning.

About the Location:

Andy and Miki Kalber are members of the Dogwood City Grotto (DCG) and are opening up their property for the campout. They have 2-3 acres of flat camping space in the upper fields of the property, and you will be able to drive directly to the camp spots. Some hammock camping opportunities are available for those who want to hammock camp.

They will have a bonfire area and a port-a-potty (indoor bathroom use limited but available). Fresh water for drinking and cleaning gear is also available. There is limited electricity, but people can charge phones and lights in the garage if needed. Use of the microwave and gas grill are also available.

Cookeville, Tennessee is home to many caves, both horizontal and vertical, and there are several hiking trails in addition to disc golf courses in town.

Hope to see you there!

Intermediate Vertical Trip to JCE and NP (August 08, 2026)

Sat, 08 Aug 2026 04:00:00 GMT

Please read the entire description for this event and pay close attention to the time zones.

Dan Werner and Maverick Moore will lead an intermediate vertical trip to JCE and NP on August 8 at 8:00 a.m. EASTERN. This is a great trip for folk planning to get to the DCG campout in Cookeville, TN Friday night.

JCE has an 87-foot entrance drop, an awkward 16-foot nuisance drop (needs rope; vert gear can be left at the bottom of the nuisance drop), a few hundred feet of crawling on cobbles, followed by a lot of steep and spectacular sculpted stream/waterfall passage (mostly walking and easy down-climbing, with a few narrow parts, short stoops/crawls, and a little chimneying). At the bottom of the main 87-foot pit, you can also go in the opposite direction for a couple hundred feet, which involves another 16-foot rope-required nuisance drop with walking passage to a nice 35-foot (not climbable) waterfall dome.

You’ll get plenty wet in JCE, but there shouldn’t be any water crawls. You don’t need a wetsuit, but you should bring a change of clothes in a waterproof bag. You may get chilly waiting for folk to climb out, and you’ll be more comfortable on the NP bounce if you aren’t wet.

NP is a short drive (or a long walk) from where we’ll park for JCE. It’ll be a bounce only: a beautiful 210-foot pit, about 170 feet of which is free. Pic attached. The free drop is next to an enormous flow stone that goes the entire length. There’s some cave at the bottom, but it’s mostly miserable crawling with no real reward, so we’ll skip that.

The vertical entrance to NP is tight and awkward before it bells out, so you need to be comfortable with dropping through a hole where you can’t see below you until you’re hanging over 200 feet of air. To manage time, we may try to drop two ropes and use a redirect to keep them separated.

It’s a steep-ish typical TAG approach hike to JCE. NP is about 20 feet from the road (i.e. no approach hike).

You must be comfortable and efficient with changeovers, crossing rebelays and redirects, and navigating tight drops to join this trip.

The last part of the road to the caves is terrible, and parking is sketchy. Ideally, we’ll be able to fit everybody and their gear in two high-clearance 4WDs (let us know if you have one).

Please only sign up if you know you can join the trip (i.e. please no “placeholder” signups).

Please check the additional information section of the registration email for important details.

For any questions please contact Tim Rainey at (470)469-3874, Dan's information will be provided after registration.

Gear to Bring:

Vertical Kit: caving harness, ascenders, descender (full or micro-rack recommended for NP; bobbin or rack/micro-rack fine for JCE), and locking carabiners.
Helmet: Must have a chin strap.
Lights: Three independent sources (e.g., helmet-mounted headlamp + 2 backups) plus batteries
Clothing: Non-cotton, synthetic, or wool layers.
Boots: Sturdy, good traction, ankle support (rubber boots are common).
Protection: Knee and elbow pads.
Gloves with a reinforced palm..
Pack: Small, durable pack (no zippers, drawstring preferred).
Food/Water: High-calorie snacks and water.
Trash Bag: Excellent for preventing hypothermia or keeping dry and also good to put dirty clothes in after the trip

Advanced Vertical trip to RTTM (August 08, 2026)

Sat, 08 Aug 2026 12:00:00 GMT

Please read the entire description before registering.

Andy Kalber will be leading an advanced trip to RTTM cave on August 8th:

Good morning DCG. I’m going to be spearheading a trip into RTTM on the Saturday of the campout at our property in Cookeville TN. The plan, if we have enough people interested, is to have 3 teams of 4 go into the cave throughout the day. We’ll have each team go into the cave 1.5/2 hours after the previous team enters to not get bunched up. This trip takes about 6-7 hours to complete. I’ll be leading the first team and rigging for the day.

Sebastian Weber will be leading a second team.

David Viggiano will lead a third team and de-rig on his way out.

The reason for splitting up the group is to prevent having a traffic jam at the bottom of Tilted Well, a 170ish foot final drop down into the river/borehole passage as people climb out. RTTM is an intermediate to advanced vertical trip. There are 6 drops that start at the entrance and continue to the river passage in the belly of the mountain with little caving between the drops. The first 5 drops are rigged with 50’ ropes and are relatively short drops. Between drops 4 and 5, there is some wet passage that you cannot avoid and you WILL get wet up to your chest. You’re not in the water for long but there’s no avoiding it. The 6th and final drop is Tilted Well at 167’. There are no rebelays but there may be redirects. We’ll be on 10mm rope for all 6 drops.

After registering please see the aditional information section of the confirmation email. If you do not sign the permit you will not be allowed in the cave.

Camps Gulf INTERMEDIATE Horizontal Trip (August 08, 2026)

Sat, 08 Aug 2026 14:30:00 GMT

RTTM ADVANCED Vertical Trip Wave 2 (August 08, 2026)

Sat, 08 Aug 2026 14:30:00 GMT

This is Wave 2 of the Run to the Mill Series scheduled for the Saturday of the campout meeting at 9:30am CENTRAL. Sebastian Weber will be your trip leader.

The reason for splitting up the group is to prevent having a traffic jam at the bottom of Tilted Well, a 170ish foot final drop down into the river/borehole passage as people climb out. RTTM is an intermediate to advanced vertical trip. There are 6 drops that start at the entrance and continue to the river passage in the belly of the mountain with little caving between the drops. The first 5 drops are rigged with 50’ ropes and are relatively short drops. Between drops 4 and 5, there is some wet passage that you cannot avoid and you WILL get wet up to your chest. You’re not in the water for long but there’s no avoiding it. Neoprene and/or a change of clothes is recommended. The 6th and final drop is Tilted Well at 167’. There are no rebelays but there may be redirects. We’ll be on 10mm rope for all 6 drops.

After registering please see the aditional information section of the confirmation email. If you do not sign the permit you will not be allowed in the cave.

RTTM ADVANCED Vertical Trip Wave 3 (August 08, 2026)

Sat, 08 Aug 2026 14:30:00 GMT

This is wave 3 of the Run to the Mill series of trips departing Saturday of the campout at 10:30am CENTRAL, led by David Viggiano.

The reason for splitting up the group is to prevent having a traffic jam at the bottom of Tilted Well, a 170ish foot final drop down into the river/borehole passage as people climb out. RTTM is an intermediate to advanced vertical trip. There are 6 drops that start at the entrance and continue to the river passage in the belly of the mountain with little caving between the drops. The first 5 drops are rigged with 50’ ropes and are relatively short drops. Between drops 4 and 5, there is some wet passage that you cannot avoid and you WILL get wet up to your chest. You’re not in the water for long but there’s no avoiding it. Neoprene and/or a change of clothes is recommended. The 6th and final drop is Tilted Well at 167’. There are no rebelays but there may be redirects. We’ll be on 10mm rope for all 6 drops.

After registering please see the aditional information section of the confirmation email. If you do not sign the permit you will not be allowed in the cave.

RTTM Derig Trip (August 09, 2026)

Sun, 09 Aug 2026 13:00:00 GMT

This is a derigging trip led by David Viggiano. Expect to carry a rope.

RTTM is an intermediate to advanced vertical trip. There are 6 drops that start at the entrance and continue to the river passage in the belly of the mountain with little caving between the drops. The first 5 drops are rigged with 50’ ropes and are relatively short drops. Between drops 4 and 5, there is some wet passage that you cannot avoid and you WILL get wet up to your chest. You’re not in the water for long but there’s no avoiding it. Neoprene and/or a change of clothes is recommended. The 6th and final drop is Tilted Well at 167’. There are no rebelays but there may be redirects. We’ll be on 10mm rope for all 6 drops.

After registering please see the aditional information section of the confirmation email. If you do not sign the permit you will not be allowed in the cave.

August Rope Night (August 28, 2026)

Fri, 28 Aug 2026 22:00:00 GMT

Come get on rope for the first time, or swing by to practice your SPAR skills. All experience levels welcome. Food provided, donations for said food and for rope maintenance always appreciated.

We have a couple of loaner gear sets, and a variety of different types and brands of gear that you can play with.

Our perma-rig in the trees includes:

Fixed free-hang lines
Lowerable free-hang lines
Free-hang rebelay ladder
Rebelay against the tree
Deviation
Bolted spar for aid climbing practice
Low j-hang
High j-hang as part of the course
Optional cable ladder

Not into rope but want to come hang out? We’ve got a fire pit set-up where you can watch the action from outside the fall zone.

Please bring your own helmet, leather gloves, and sturdy shoes.

Please don’t block the driveways and avoid parking too close to the stop sign.

NOTE ON MINORS: Hosts are not currently equipped to have minors (those under the age of 18) on the course. Exceptions may be made on a case-by-case basis for extraordinary circumstances.

Old Timers Reunion (OTR) (September 03, 2026)

Thu, 03 Sep 2026 16:00:00 GMT

Old Timers Reunion

This is a place-holder for OTR, courtesy of DCG, so that members are aware of it.
DCG isn't involved in OTR.

To attend OTR, you must be a member of TRA, or come as a guest of a TRA member.
You can reach out to the membership director for questions about becoming a member.

For questions, please review all links.

Here is the event flyer

September Rope Night (September 25, 2026)

Fri, 25 Sep 2026 22:00:00 GMT

Come get on rope for the first time, or swing by to practice your SPAR skills. All experience levels welcome. Food provided, donations for said food and for rope maintenance always appreciated.

We have a couple of loaner gear sets, and a variety of different types and brands of gear that you can play with.

Our perma-rig in the trees includes:

Fixed free-hang lines
Lowerable free-hang lines
Free-hang rebelay ladder
Rebelay against the tree
Deviation
Bolted spar for aid climbing practice
Low j-hang
High j-hang as part of the course
Optional cable ladder

Not into rope but want to come hang out? We’ve got a fire pit set-up where you can watch the action from outside the fall zone.

Please bring your own helmet, leather gloves, and sturdy shoes.

Please don’t block the driveways and avoid parking too close to the stop sign.

NOTE ON MINORS: Hosts are not currently equipped to have minors (those under the age of 18) on the course. Exceptions may be made on a case-by-case basis for extraordinary circumstances.

TAG Fall Cave-In (October 08, 2026)

Thu, 08 Oct 2026 04:00:00 GMT

47th Annual TAG Fall Cave-In

Location: Cloudmont Ski & Golf Resort

721 Co Rd 614, Mentone, AL 35984

Ski TAG!

Halloween Rope Night (October 31, 2026)

Sat, 31 Oct 2026 22:00:00 GMT

Come get on rope for the first time, or swing by to practice your SPAR skills. All experience levels welcome. Food provided, donations for said food and for rope maintenance always appreciated.

We have a couple of loaner gear sets, and a variety of different types and brands of gear that you can play with.

Our perma-rig in the trees includes:

Fixed free-hang lines
Lowerable free-hang lines
Free-hang rebelay ladder
Rebelay against the tree
Deviation
Bolted spar for aid climbing practice
Low j-hang
High j-hang as part of the course
Optional cable ladder

Not into rope but want to come hang out? We’ve got a fire pit set-up where you can watch the action from outside the fall zone.

Please bring your own helmet, leather gloves, and sturdy shoes.

Please don’t block the driveways and avoid parking too close to the stop sign.

NOTE ON MINORS: Hosts are not currently equipped to have minors (those under the age of 18) on the course. Exceptions may be made on a case-by-case basis for extraordinary circumstances.

Members Meeting - Campout @ Kelly Smallwood and Jason Hardy's (November 06, 2026)

Fri, 06 Nov 2026 10:00:00 GMT

Join us for our November campout meeting of 2026!

Friday and Saturday camping will be available, and the grotto meeting is Saturday night at 7:00 p.m. EST.

Saturday Night Presentation

TBD

About the Property

We can have a fire in the front yard and the meeting there as long as weather permits, if not we can use the living room.

If you are not camping, it is suggested that you park in the road and walk down the driveway. There is room for some small car camping, as well as an area to the right of the house that's big enough for three small cars to camp as well or for a small teardrop camper.

There is space to pitch a tent or hang a hammock in the front yard as well. And we also have some floor space inside.

For anyone interested in the 4x4 camping, please come find me before you drive into that area and I can show you where to park.

There are a few vertical caves in the cove below our house, which folks are welcome to hike to.

We will have our 950 gallon western red cedar hot tub fired up as well.

Friendsgiving Ropes Night (November 20, 2026)

Fri, 20 Nov 2026 23:00:00 GMT

Come get on rope for the first time, or swing by to practice your SPAR skills. All experience levels welcome. Food provided, donations for said food and for rope maintenance always appreciated.

We have a couple of loaner gear sets, and a variety of different types and brands of gear that you can play with.

Our perma-rig in the trees includes:

Fixed free-hang lines
Lowerable free-hang lines
Free-hang rebelay ladder
Rebelay against the tree
Deviation
Bolted spar for aid climbing practice
Low j-hang
High j-hang as part of the course
Optional cable ladder

Not into rope but want to come hang out? We’ve got a fire pit set-up where you can watch the action from outside the fall zone.

Please bring your own helmet, leather gloves, and sturdy shoes.

Please don’t block the driveways and avoid parking too close to the stop sign.

NOTE ON MINORS: Hosts are not currently equipped to have minors (those under the age of 18) on the course. Exceptions may be made on a case-by-case basis for extraordinary circumstances.

Holiday Ropes Night TENTATIVE (December 11, 2026)

Fri, 11 Dec 2026 23:00:00 GMT

Come get on rope for the first time, or swing by to practice your SPAR skills. All experience levels welcome. Food provided, donations for said food and for rope maintenance always appreciated.

We have a couple of loaner gear sets, and a variety of different types and brands of gear that you can play with.

Our perma-rig in the trees includes:

Fixed free-hang lines
Lowerable free-hang lines
Free-hang rebelay ladder
Rebelay against the tree
Deviation
Bolted spar for aid climbing practice
Low j-hang
High j-hang as part of the course
Optional cable ladder

Not into rope but want to come hang out? We’ve got a fire pit set-up where you can watch the action from outside the fall zone.

Please bring your own helmet, leather gloves, and sturdy shoes.

Please don’t block the driveways and avoid parking too close to the stop sign.

NOTE ON MINORS: Hosts are not currently equipped to have minors (those under the age of 18) on the course. Exceptions may be made on a case-by-case basis for extraordinary circumstances.

Dogwood City Grotto upcoming events

July Rope Night (July 31, 2026)

Campout @ Andy and Miki Kalber's in Cookeville, TN (August 07, 2026)

Intermediate Vertical Trip to JCE and NP (August 08, 2026)

Advanced Vertical trip to RTTM (August 08, 2026)

Camps Gulf *INTERMEDIATE* Horizontal Trip (August 08, 2026)

RTTM *ADVANCED* Vertical Trip Wave 2 (August 08, 2026)

RTTM *ADVANCED* Vertical Trip Wave 3 (August 08, 2026)

RTTM Derig Trip (August 09, 2026)

August Rope Night (August 28, 2026)

Old Timers Reunion (OTR) (September 03, 2026)

Old Timers Reunion

September Rope Night (September 25, 2026)

TAG Fall Cave-In (October 08, 2026)

Halloween Rope Night (October 31, 2026)

Members Meeting - Campout @ Kelly Smallwood and Jason Hardy's (November 06, 2026)

Friendsgiving Ropes Night (November 20, 2026)

Holiday Ropes Night TENTATIVE (December 11, 2026)

Camps Gulf INTERMEDIATE Horizontal Trip (August 08, 2026)

RTTM ADVANCED Vertical Trip Wave 2 (August 08, 2026)

RTTM ADVANCED Vertical Trip Wave 3 (August 08, 2026)