1.8.1 cave travel

This map represents an underground travel through caves and abandoned mines, with the path marked with redstone torches rendered as an height map. (Dungeons were marked the same way) The goal was to see how far from spawn I could get while remaining underground, as an answer to the question "do those caves ever end?"

The travel was done in creative/peaceful.

Rules:

Exiting: no travel on the surface at all. While the outside world can be looked at from the inside of a cave, getting out into full light isn't.

no travel on the surface at all. While the outside world can be looked at from the inside of a cave, getting out into full light isn't. Block removal: in case of obstruction, blocks can only removed to free the path to an already visible cave (i.e. : with a single block entrance) or in case of obvious gravel collapse (i.e. : when the wooden support structure of a blocked mineshaft is exposed.)

in case of obstruction, blocks can only removed to free the path to an already visible cave (i.e. : with a single block entrance) or in case of obvious gravel collapse (i.e. : when the wooden support structure of a blocked mineshaft is exposed.) Backtracking is allowed.

is allowed. Flying over lava and obstacles is allowed, in any situation resolvable by bridges, stairs or ladders. So is cutting off lava flows.

The world:

Seed: -3272223238987808960

Spawn point (yellow + on the map): x: -131 / y: 65 / z: 256

The spawn point is placed right next to a cave entrance, branching near the entrance into a cave network and an abandoned mine. I was slightly familiar with it: it was my first seed in 1.8 pre 1, and while it has changed in 1.8.1 (the first mine size and density went down, a zombie dungeon at the spawn cave entrance vanished, ...), it at least kept the ease of access to a large network of caves and mines.

-128 / 44 / 297 : Cave spider spawner in a tunnel close to the entrance.

The mine eventually crosses a ravine (-138 / 39 / 399). I followed it to a lower mine branch, and eventually entered a merged cave network/mine network next to a lava fall.

As soon as I went down the lava fall, I could see mossy cobblestone, and ended up in a zombie dungeon. (-179 / 16 / 434)

-175 / 12 / 452 : Spider dungeon

Going down the hole under the zombie spawner, I saw this tunnel. Note that the wall at the back is four block high, including the mossy cobblestone of the zombie dungeon floor. But that side was a dead end, so I turned back.

After that, I ran around like a lunatic (and a lunatic with no sense of direction whatsoever), walked for some hours in a network of dead ends or paths to the surface. I met lost pigs, they met lava (one of them didn't even need my help). I finally backtracked again to try a different branch. Some more aimless wandering later:

-38 / 24 / 567 : Ravine and suspended mineshafts

Now that was something I hadn't planned in my rules. I was supposed not to take the exits, which in my mind were going to be fairly simple to avoid. I am not technically out of the caves. There is a ceiling above me, I am in the dark, and well below sea level. (Can you spot the chest?)

If you consider that I am out, this is as far as I went.

If you don't... A few dozens of mine shafts and some caves with lava were there. Down the caves I went.

My general travel direction had taken a 90° turn, and there was no branch I could find that turned towards the intended destination ("west"). That is not good in terms of "distance covered" vs "distance from the spawn.

146 / 16 / 588 : The caves connect with a mine again. 185 / 43 / 701 : After an ascending cave at the exit of the mine: waterfall with visible sand. This is a hole in the seafloor.

This is the path taken so far.

227 / 43 / 753 : After passing next to another seafloor cave exit, I found this spider dungeon (with a music disc). Unfortunately, this way was yet another dead end so I had to go back, and look for another path than the one that led me to the 185 / 43 / 701 waterfall.

I went back to the mine, and followed it to this ravine.

Spider nest and chest further along on the border of the ravine, but I turned right prior to that, and still ended up finding a spawner (those are everywhere):

And the mine crosses yet another ravine. At that point, here is the corrected path (the blue and green boxes are of course the dungeons):

I have only crossed two biomes and a sea so far, found 2 spiders dungeons, 1 zombie dungeon and saw five spider nests.. I was not too far from the spawn (-131 / 65 / 256)

The ravine naturally led away from the spawn, so I followed it and then continued through the various floors of the mine.

I eventually found this shaft to low caves and went down.

This led to more mines, and more spider nests (two relatively close), and then a large room that seemed to be the end of the mine.

I took the exit to the left of the previous screenshot (not visible on the image, it's where the lava is) and it led to this.

Some wandering later

The map again:

Update: cave render with path taken in red

And that's where I am stopping. (1.9 prerelease just annonced for today, there's no point anymore)

Spawn point: -131 / 65 / 256

End of the travel: 522 / 19 / 750

Dungeons found: 4

Spider nests seen: 7

Redstone torches placed: 1910

Ways lost: countless

I'm still not out.