About Kyle Mills
Founder, Karstlands & Wildwater Institute
Let’s get one thing straight: I’ve spent as much time in the wilds of West Virginia as I’ve spent trying to explain to my family that yes, crawling through muddy holes with strangers is something people actually pay me to do. I’m Kyle Mills, founder of the Karstlands & Wildwater Institute, and for nearly two decades, I’ve been immersed in the rugged, humbling, and deeply rewarding work of outdoor education.
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It all started when I was 17. My first job was at Beech Fork State Park down the road from where I grew up in "Out" Wayne, West Virginia. Since then, I’ve carved out a career that bridges muddy boots, headlamps, and harnesses with lesson plans, mentorship, and leadership development.
I started caving under the Mountain State during college and never stopped. I’ve explored and mapped miles of passage in the major systems like Friars Hole and Hell Hole. I've dug open dozens of new entrances, climbed domes, pushed sumps, and helped bring West Virginia’s caves into the next era of exploration. I once spent 923.5 hours underground in a single year—yes, I counted—and have led over two thousand people through their first wild cave experience. My caving resume includes things like founding camps in Friars, helping to discover major passages like Big Water and remote sections of the Droughtway, and discovering the oldest carbon-dated black bear remains ever found in Appalachia.
But I’m not just a dirtbag caver with a headlamp and a hammer drill. I’m also a professional educator. I’ve spent the last decade designing and leading outdoor programs that meet people where they are—and push them further. As a Senior Lead Instructor with Experience Learning, I’ve taught students of all ages leadership, risk management, and backcountry living. At Davis & Elkins College, I served as an Adjunct Professor of Outdoor Recreation Management, building curriculum and teaching courses in experiential education and expedition planning. And I’ve worked with Garrett College, West Virginia Wesleyan College, and other institutions to train the next generation of outdoor professionals through intensive, hands-on instruction in caving, climbing, paddling, and wilderness medicine.
I hold certifications as a Wilderness First Aid Instructor through Survival Med, and I serve as the Eastern Regional Coordinator for the Vertical Training Commission of the National Speleological Society, mentoring cavers in vertical rope systems and safety protocols across the region. I’m a Lead Guide certified through the Professional Climbing Guide Institute and a guide at Seneca Rocks through Seneca Rocks Mountain Guides. I'm a dual-certified Kayak and Canoe Instructor with the American Canoe Association. These aren’t just patches on a vest—they represent thousands of hours of fieldwork, instruction, and trust from the people I guide and teach.
I founded Karstlands & Wildwater Institute to bring it all together: the dirt, the skill, the stories, and the sense of purpose. Our programs are not tourism—they’re training. We teach vertical caving, rope systems, self-rescue, wilderness first aid, whitewater kayaking, canoe expeditions, and leadership development in some of the most rugged terrain on the East Coast. You won’t find Wi-Fi, but you’ll find mentorship, sweat, good coffee, and a team that actually knows how to use a prusik.
When I’m not underground or in front of a class, I paddle, climb, and generally explore the Earth. I’ve completed the entire Florida Keys Overseas Paddling Trail, dodging storms and soaking in the sun one key at a time. I’ve skied into Baxter State Park and summited Katahdin in winter, carrying everything I needed to survive on my back—including the irrational need to celebrate a friend's 40th birthday in sub-zero temperatures.
If there’s a theme to my work, it’s this: wild places make people better. They test us, strip away the noise, and reveal who we are. Whether it’s a freshman tying their first knot, a guide learning to manage a rescue, or a student realizing they’re stronger than they thought—they all leave changed. That’s the real reward.
People ask me what my greatest accomplishment is, what my favorite activity is, or what my favorite place I've explored is. I wish I had a cleaner answer—something involving a proud summit, a heroic rescue, or some legendary epic of "battle caving. " But truthfully? I think it’s just sticking with this path long enough to turn all the strange, muddy, freezing, hilarious moments into something I can teach—and sometimes write about. I’ve published stories, essays, and a book, all rooted in the same question that gets me back out there every time: What else is waiting to be found?
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Whether it’s a new cave passage, a student’s first roped ascent, or a story worth retelling, I want to dig it up, pass it on, and do it justice—with mud on my boots and maybe a few too many metaphors.
So if you’re ready to go deeper—underground, into the wilderness, or into something you can’t quite name yet—I’ve got a helmet, a paddle, a half-filled notebook, and enough coffee to get us there. Let’s go.
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