Update:
As promised to the forum, a few of us went out to the "Bat Cave" very early this AM. I went with the intention of scoping the place out, looking at the dimensions of the area to fly the drone into the cave, seeing if there would be a lot of "would-be" dutch-hunters out there thanks to the series, if the area looked overly dangerous, if there would be suspicious people, etc.
When we got there, I immediately noticed a gentleman wearing what looked like to be a "Bee-Keepers" suit, standing at the base of the cave. We introduced ourselves, talked to this guy a bit more to find out that he is a nature photographer that has a special interest in bats. I inquired about the legend of the mountains, Dutchman Lore, etc. He started laughing at me and said that he had heard of those rumors, but they didn't interest him.
He has been coming out to the cave and the general area for quite some time. He says he enjoys the tranquility of the area & enjoys photographing the wildlife (in particular, bats). I asked him if he has been up in the cave and he said that he had....many times. He said there are many caves within the mountains that have a lot of bats in them. I asked him if he could explain it to us, what it looks like inside, etc.
Prior to us going, I recorded parts of the episode on my phone, so I could use the geographical areas the actors and crew took to make it to the exact location. I played parts of the episode to this gentleman and he started laughing. What he told me is when "Eric" was up in the cave, that was most definitely a different cave all together. The caverns in the "bat cave" look NOTHING like what Eric was in for many reasons.
1 - the formation of the rocks inside the cave are totally different.
2- the colors of the rocks inside the cave are different
3- There are thousands upon thousands of bats inside that cave and in the 20+ times he has been up there, its nearly impossible not to be swarmed by bats. (there were no bats in the footage with eric in the cave, nor any sounds of bats flying around, nor did he mention any bats once he was in the cave - only outside of the cave)
4- He has been all around the caverns, and there is most definitely not any crosses, nor is the area clean enough to even see a cross as easily as Eric did, because bats have been occupying that cave for 100+ years, and its filthy.
5- He wears quite a bit of protective gear to ensure he doesn't get bitten by one of the bats, which he is convinced are full of diseases and rabies. Eric had on no protective gear, at all. (that we could see in the episode)
So - I want to issue a public apology to the folks that told me that have told me they have also been in the cave (somehiker in particular) that told me I would be wasting my time. You were right.
My curious mind just wanted to see for myself, and now I have.
I don't plan to go and fly a drone up there, nor do any sort of exploration in that area. While we can confirm that part of the series was shot at that cave, the footage inside the cave was 99.9% shot somewhere else entirely. (someone else told me that as well, apologies for not believing you)
I believed this gentleman, and given the quality of the camera gear he had, the passion he showed in explaining his love for his wildlife photography, his total dis-interet in dutchman lore or gold hunting, he wouldn't have any reason to mislead my group.
So once again - sorry for not believing you folks sooner. You were right.