Spelunking Tips

Spelunking, as defined by Professor Minecraft himself, is the exploring of caves. But, without the proper tips you'll be doomed for eternity stuck in a corner screaming like a little girl every time a creeper pops it's head around a corner. First I'll be going over required equipment, and why you need it, then tips for the actual exploring.

-Firstly, you need a bucket of water. We all saw just how angry the Walrus got without his bucket..(see below). You'll need a bucket if you mine into a lava lake on accident. You'll need a bucket if you wish to collect obsidian. You'll need a bucket if you wish to take lava back to your base. Basically, no matter what, you need a bucket.
-Torches, and plenty of them. This should go without saying, but at bare minimum you need a full stack.
-Stone picks for exploring, trying to find a cave, steel when your down low looking for diamonds. This means only when near the core use steel.
-Lumber. Lumber. Lumber. If you need to make a makeshift forward base


The most important thing to do is insure you can navigate the cave effectively. Included in this is not getting lost. So, developing habits would be a great way to start this. Most will be personal, but there is a few that can be universally helpful. Firstly, when first entering an area, try to put all of your torches on the left side of a cave. So, you know you're going deeper in the cave when the torches are on your left, and you know you're exiting when you have torches on the right. Secondly, bring signs or some kind of block for marking dead ends. It'll aid you in not traversing the same part of the cave several times. For example, dirt could mean dead end, cobblestone means loop, or whatever system works for you. Alternatively, and much more easily, simply make a sign and name them what lies ahead.
Now, what your goal is while your down here is to collect resources, correct? But, there's some key things to ensure you get the maximum amount of resources while in the cave. The first thing to practice is always digging around an area when you find one iron. Iron spawns in clusters of 2-3 veins, which means after you find one, it's highly likely you can find another 3 or 4 nearby with little effort. Secondly, try to establish a makeshift base near the front of your cave. Bring lumber along and other essentials(see needed items list), to ensure you don't have to back up top to restock. Keep your cobblestone, gravel, and other non essentials in the chest here. Or, you can make more picks by crafting a worker's bench.