This is a valid question, that can be discussed from a new perspective. Cavers have all sorts of information readily available now at the entrance of even the most remote caves. If a caver felt secure without being over-confident, they could easily text all their caving friends from say the entrance of, "Langtry Lead Cave," and write that they are only going into the cave to check something out and that they plan to be out of the cave in specific number of hours.
They could easily carry enough light in their pack to last several days. In this scenario, an experienced caver would most likely only have to worry about not being able to leave the cave, because there is a rattlesnake blocking the exit. Another scenario, would be a heart attack. Since that particular cave is a 4 hour drive from San Antonio, it would be very inconvenient for a rescue team to respond to such a call, I would discourage solo caving there below the Hall of Unicorns. I would discourage anyone from solo digging, especially in the summertime. I can't see any reason why a caver would want to do a cave like Devil's Sinkhole by themselves, or Grutas del Precipicio in Bustamante Canyon. Over-confidence is the danger in solo caving. Cavers who are physically out of shape should never ever go solo caving. Taking more water than expected, is a good idea in Texas. Part of the fun in caving is going with friends, but it can be exhilarating to be in a passage several hundred feet or more from them, especially in a vertical tropical stream cave. It would be really embarrassing to an experienced caver to need help getting out of Amazing Maze Cave, while solo caving because their light sources fizzled out, or that they were stuck in Kiwi Sink for 2 days, because nobody knew they were down there. Solo cavers could wear a helmet-cam, so that when the rescuers drag their body out, they can sort of resort to it as if it were a black-box. Or you could just use a pocket camcorder to record your final moments. There is a camcorder now smaller than a pinky finger, for sale, at Fry's store, for around $ 60 plus tax. David Locklear
