This was the world explored by Marion Smith, a cave-obsessed explorer unlike any the world has ever seen. Born in Fairburn, Georgia, in 1942, Smith spent the bulk of his adult life enthralled with caves. Marion Smith, a relentless, irascible subterranean explorer who was believed to have visited more caves than anyone else in human history, died on Nov. 30. Such was the case with the cave Smith is most associated with—the Rumble Room in eastern Tennessee. The irascible Smith continued peering into caves until his body no longer allowed, though he’d made plans for even that contingency.

Source: New York Times January 19, 2023 18:54 UTC