We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Fennigan Spencer. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Fennigan below.

Fennigan, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you share a story about the kindest thing someone has done for you and why it mattered so much or was so meaningful to you?

Told me the truth. The hard truth. At a time when I felt I was handling my business a friend reminded me that I wasn’t. I had in fact hired him as an attorney to handle a messy deal I had gotten myself into. I didn’t want to face my responsibility in the matter and had hired him to make it go away. At lunch together I spouted off to him that unlike some others I took care of my business. My friend flatly replied with ” No Fenn you are not handling your business. You hired me to do that.”
This was rough to hear but I needed it. Its important to surround yourself with people who will speak the truth as they see it. Its also just as important to be willing to listen and learn from that truth even if it hurts.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Native of Birmingham Alabama now living in Chattanooga Tn. A lifelong adventure explorer and lover of all things out doors. Born into a caving family and have been venturing underground since six years old. As a member of the National Speleological Society I proudly engage with the general public in all areas concerning caving as a sport and or lifestyle. Promoting safety first, leave no trace, education and just plain ol having fun in Mother Nature’s playground is my passion.

Any advice for managing a team?

I have lead many explorations and adventures. The Spider drop is one of my favorites. This report was written by my good friend Sam Moore.
Rewind to 1967. While his peers planned their own special trips to San Francisco’s Summer of Love, 17-year-old Galen Hekhuis (NSS #9294) instead chose a more central location for a deeper trip, a drop to the bottom of an amazing natural wonder, the breathtaking 165’ open air pit in the heart of TAG known as Neversink. Fast-forward 55 years and 10 presidential elections later to the pre-dawn morning of August 27th, 2022. Galen, known as “Spider” to the caving community, lands his trusty white van in an SCCi parking lot in Alabama, having completed the long drive from his Florida home. His goal for the day was singular: a second bounce of Neversink to bookend his first and only such visit of more than half-a-century ago. This goal had been his dream for quite some time, postponed multiple times by geographical distance, health complications, and Covid. Those years of obstacles behind him, today was the day that his dream could finally happen. However, the most difficult obstacles still lay ahead. Unlike during his 1967 bounce, Spider was no longer a teenager. At 72-years of age, he had since developed a motor neuron disease. This disease prevents his muscles from fully, timely, or accurately responding to signals from his brain. As a result, simple acts like walking, sitting down, and even talking are jerky become unpredictable. A normal adult life would likely be impossible for a lesser person. This is why, 10 years into his disease, his doctor informed him that his caving career was at its end. That was 20 years ago. In addition to his determination, Spider is also renowned for being resourceful. Have you ever seen the “Solo Death Rig” at TAG and other southeastern caver events? It is a white van sporting an extension ladder angled off the front to form the backbone of a homemade, auto-lowering, portable rope treadmill of Spider’s own design. He used a similar design on his property to specifically practice for his dream bounce, being that his home state of Florida is not known for pits, cliffs, or tall, rope-friendly trees. He had the needed determination, knowledge, and practice, but there was one last key for Spider to realize his dream: a solid team to help get him there and back. Luckily, Spider is a likeable guy. He’s witty, clever, and funny…but never at the expense of others. While it may difficult to talk with him in person due to his motor neuron disease, one would never know by interacting with him online. There, he can accurately convey his thoughts. Online is where I first met him; I didn’t even know of his disease for years as he doesn’t let it slow him down and he doesn’t dwell on it. Online was also the best place for Spider to ask the caving community for help. Answering Spider’s request, his good friend Fennigan “Fenn” Spencer took the lead. A long-time friend, Fenn knew that Spider was actually more capable on rope than off. This is due to the vertical movements of rope work being more restricted, requiring less balance and focus than walking. Fenn eventually assembled a great 10-person team. The first issue this team faced was getting Spider up the mountain. We had somewhat jokingly discussed carrying him, but he naturally insisted on doing it himself. I led the advance team up the mountain to clear spider webs, haul equipment, and start rigging. Fenn led the team to get Spider to the top. It took my team about thirty minutes to reach the top. It took Fenn’s team
close to two hours. “Just one more hard part” was uttered by Fenn repeatedly to keep things moving. Members of my team were about to go back down the mountain to see if additional assistance was needed or if something had gone wrong when we finally heard their jovial conversation as they neared the staging area. We all breathed a sigh of relief that they had made it. Both Fenn and I had discussed different ideas for rigging in advance, but hadn’t yet settled on anything. I wanted to treat it more as a lower and a haul due to acute safety concerns. Fenn, wanted to give his friend full control to best honor his dream. As others on the team bounced the pit for a few hours, Fenn and I continued discussing the options. This downtime gave Spider a chance to catch a second wind after his climb up the mountain. He was ready to go. Apparently, there was too much discussion and not enough action, so he simply got up and ambled down toward the pit as if he was going to somehow just down-climb it if we didn’t get moving. Noticing him above us, we rushed up to help get him on the various handlines that had been rigged prior. It was around this time that Matt Ward showed up, sharing his opinions on how things should be rigged. We now had three different rigging opinions. And then a miracle happened: three cavers with three different perspectives and three different opinions agreed on a single, specific rigging solution. For the descent, we would have two ropes. Spider on one, and Fenn on the other. Spider’s rope was rigged to lower in case something went wrong. Spider would be tethered to Fenn, and both would be on belay. This satisfied everyone’s safety concerns. It also allowed Spider full freedom to control his descent. For the ascent, we would rig to haul, with the haul team at the ready before Spider started his climb. Fenn would be climbing next to Spider the entire way. Since there was no risk of falling, a tether wasn’t needed. Walkie-talkies allowed clear communication between the teams at all times. The three of us agreed that it was a solid plan. Fenn asked Spider about the plan. “I’ll believe it when I see it” was Spider’s answer. He didn’t seem to care. He just wanted to fulfill his dream and was ready to go. And go is exactly what he did: his was a picture-perfect, smooth, controlled descent without issue. Fenn was right about his friend – he was much better on rope than off. After spending perhaps 30 minutes at the bottom, Spider was ready to start his climb. To ascend, Spider used his self-created “Texas Mitchell Walker” system. This unique system allows him to manually lift his leg via his hand ascender when his leg refuses to follow his brain’s command to lift itself. Seeing him in action, my apprehension about his ability climb was quickly laid to rest; Spider climbed out of the pit faster than some that day who were about half his age. For a second time, Fenn was right about him being better on rope than on the ground. The nickname “Spider” was well-earned. Climbing almost the entire way sans assistance, Spider only needed help for the last five feet of the climb. In response, the haul team slowly hauled him up past the lip. At this point however, Spider was completely spent. He had to rest for almost an hour before he could make his way out of the sink leading to the pit proper, a feat that itself took 20 minutes and the assistance of
five people. He then still had to make it off the mountain. Spider eventually made it back at the parking lot. It had taken two hours. Again, Fenn had to reassure him along the way that there was “just one more hard part” to keep his friend going. Spider had given it all he had, but he did it. It was 9pm when Spider got back to his van, capping a 15-hour day, a year of planning, many years of dreaming, and over half-a-century in the making. In the process, he brought together the best that caving has to offer in terms of teamwork, knowledge, and friendship. A truly inspirational story. Of course, no caving story would be complete without a shout-out to the team that made it happen. Those who helped with logistics, safety, rigging, getting Spider up and down the mountain, and getting him safely up and down the pit include Fennigan “Fenn” Spencer, Sam Moore, Matt Ward, Jacqueline Miller, Mike Berry, Amy Kolor, and Clint Bowe. Those who helped carry gear and provided moral support include Brianna Kufa, Omar Rashed, and Donnie Bittinger. Finally, special thanks goes out to the Southeastern Cave Conservancy for preserving this amazing pit and providing cavers the recreational access needed to allow such inspirational dreams to happen.

Have you ever had to pivot?

I moved to Chattanooga Tennessee in 2017. I had just turned 50. My plan was to semi retire and enjoy as much caving as possible before my body wore out. The universe had other plans. In 2024 I officially along with my wife adopted our grand daughter. We now live a s happy happy family of 3 humans , 3 cats and one big dog. I never dreamed I would spend my retirement years raising a child. It has its challenges but the rewards are so worth it. My granddaughter is also a caver. She is also vertically proficient and we enjoy many adventures together. It is a joy to watch her grow and become the human that she is. Life may have dealt us a difficult hand and with no regrets. We played that hand with honor and integrity and won! Work on your character and your relationship with God as you know it and all the other stuff will work itself out.

Image Credits

Fennigan Spencer
San Moore