Into The Absolute Darkness
“One air tank, no lifeline, and a plunge into total darkness—read this book to experience the daring discovery that rewrote science and made survival uncertain with every breath.”
Into The Absolute Darkness tells the true story about the early adventure filled life of Glenn Thompson and the events that culminated in the underwater exploration of Blanchard Springs Caverns . This story is about: 1) human survival in extraordinary situations that normally end as tragedies, 2) discovery of vast new underground chambers with beautiful and unique cave formations accessible only by scuba diving, and 3) scientific discoveries about Arkansas climate during the Great Ice Age and its effect on the development of Blanchard Springs Caverns.
Book Reviews:
InDepthMag.com
By InDepth
There is a particular kind of exploration story that belongs to another era: one in which curiosity, improvisation, youth, geology, and nerve converged before the procedures and equipment we now consider essential had fully taken shape. Glenn Thompson’s Into the Absolute Darkness: The Epic Drama of the First Underwater Exploration of Blanchard Springs Caverns is such a story.
Read More @ https://indepthmag.com/into-the-absolute-darkness-book-review/
Reviewed by Fred Stratton
Glenn has crafted an engrossing read that left me wanting more. When he dived into a frozen Rhode Island pond wearing a thin wetsuit and no booties, I felt a chill. When he and his teammates crawled over sharp shards of suit-ripping stones cemented in calcite to reach water, I winced. I listened with them in wonder at the sound of water gently cascading over a staircase of rimstone dams. The book is riddled with such moments.
Each chapter left a visceral imprint and yet this is much more than a book about cave exploration. It is an inspirational journal of a curious, adventurous soul. It is an unearthed time capsule of a period in American history when the Apollo space program inspired many to ask “What’s out there in the darkness?” That question drew Glenn to a remote cave system in Arkansas where this adventure unfolds. This book belongs in the library of all who admire intrepid spirits who confront seemingly impossible obstacles and triumph in the end.
Fred Stratton
Chairman
National Speleology Society-Cave Diving Section
Review By Nan Weber
This journey by Glenn Thompson was about the exploration of the underground watercourse at Blanchard Springs Caverns in Arkansas. I have taken cave tours in the past, but Glenn’s story let me know I have never really experienced or understood cave life.
The second chapter, which explored Glenn’s youth, set the stage for me to understand his curiosity with water and his fearlessness in exploring. It prepared me to hear about his journey to enter this cave system in a way no one had tried before.
Glenn’s photos and maps punctuate the text, allowing a novice like me to visualize what he was experiencing. His way of telling the story made me feel as if I were diving right alongside him and his co-explorers. Not to be a spoiler, some of their experiences were on the edge, and their actions exemplified their wherewithal to find ways to safety.
In Chapter Seven, when Glenn explains the scientific and technological findings he discovered in Blanchard Spring Caverns, he carefully guides us to understand the significance of his conclusions. Having worked in Yellowstone National Park, I especially related his discussion of the growth of stalactites and their relationships with other geographical events to the ancient volcanic explosion in the Yellowstone area.
In his conclusion, Glenn shares how his time in Blanchard Springs Caverns led him to find his current career. I will most certainly visit the Caverns on my next trip to Arkansas.
By Nan Weber
Nan Weber is an author, actor, and lover of the land. She has published three books: Mattie: A Woman’s Journey West, Singing in the Saddle: The Life and Times of Yellowstone Chip, and her latest release, Richard K.A. Kletting Utah Architect and Renaissance Man: His Life and Works.
About the Book:
In the rugged Ozark Mountains of Arkansas, two Memphis State geology students—Glenn Thompson and Bob Langford—set out to solve a baffling mystery: why did the green die injected where the stream disappeared inside the massive Blanchard Springs Caverns, take 24 hours to emerge on the outside at Blanchard Spring, barely a mile away? Cave experts calculated it should arrive at the Spring in only 3 hours. Where did the water go, and what was it doing for the other 21 hours?
Denied access to the cavern system by U.S. Forest Service officials, they hatched an audacious plan—scuba dive directly into the spring and gain access to the main cavern through the uncharted watercourse. Their exploration revealed extraordinary discoveries and nearly cost them their lives.
With minimal gear, a single shared air tank, and a Kodak Instamatic camera carried underwater inside a mayonnaise jar, they descended into a world of total darkness where no human had ever been. Battling violent currents and inching through claustrophobic tunnels, they advanced through the labyrinth on sheer grit and instinct. Every foot forward was a victory. Every breath could have been their last.
Expecting a reprimand when reporting their findings, they were stunned when the U.S. Forest Service recognized the magnitude of their discovery and funded further exploration. That unexpected twist launched them into a surge of subterranean adventure that reshaped their futures—and the legacy of Blanchard Springs.
Told by Glenn Thompson himself, and featuring 84 color images, this gripping true story of risk, resilience, and the thrill of discovery plunges readers into the claustrophobic darkness of the Ozarks’ underground frontier, following two unlikely pioneers as they uncover secrets only the courageous dare to seek.
Read the Book's Back Cover:
“DEEP INTO THE CAVE SYSTEM, Bob and I noticed our flashlights were rapidly dimming, meaning it was past time for us to be on our way out of the cave. Due to the excitement of our big discovery, we had avoided talking about the peril we faced to get back to the Griswold Room through the underwater passage with only one tank between us and no lifeline to follow.
I planned to go first with the string tied to the tank. We knew the string was too short and would run out at least thirty-five feet before I reached the Griswold Room. When I reached the limit of the string, I would ditch the tank for Bob to pull it back, and I would swim the rest of the way, holding my breath. I would need to catch a breath from an air pocket against the ceiling to make it that far. But clearing my snorkel in a thin air pocket would be a challenge while holding my breath. If I did it wrong, I could inhale water, causing me to choke and cough.
But swimming straight in the darkness without a lifeline to follow was the biggest challenge. It is like trying to walk straight with your eyes closed. I knew if I didn’t reach the Griswold Room after one or two minutes of swimming once I’d abandoned the tank, it would mean I had swum offcourse and would likely drown.
Bob would then be on his own to MAKE IT OUT ALIVE.”