Cave Hunter

13 Jul Cave Hunter

There are many bright minds on the resource management team. One intern who has stood out the most in my mind is Hunter, a Geoscientists-in-the-Park intern. Hunter and I were both hired to do the same job: studying the geology of the monument and a little bit of everything else. I’ll admit that I was a tad intimidated at first when meeting him. He was an experienced caver and very knowledgeable about topics in his major of geophysics. Not to mention this internship was his third and he’s only a junior in college.

Hunter and I taping a microphone to a 8 foot metal pole. Bat microphones need to be elevated

Here, we’re affixing a bat monitor to a dead tree trunk with lots of zip ties

Those feelings quickly subsided as I got to know him. From the beginning, Hunter has been pushing me to be a better caver and future scientist. When some of us were unsure of our caving abilities, Hunter would be encouraging us to keep pushing on. Never judgmental, Hunter keeps an aura of positivity, even when things don’t go the way we want. He’s a very open-minded person, and although he can be a bit of a smarty-pants, his problem-solving skills are remarkable. In a past post, I mentioned that had I not gotten this internship, I wouldn’t have ever gone caving. Well thanks to Hunter, I feel confident enough to lead cave trips and inspire new people to take up the hobby.

One bat monitor jerry-rigged up and ready for operation