Creepers make free explosives. Yep they walk on water. So do animals. Had a chicken swept into a cave with me.
I got a snow level and dug straight down, grabbing dirt and iron, clearing out a cave. Spiders.....ew, they are creepy. Especially when its dark and you got no clue where they are.
I put a tower of torches and got a compass (useful) to find my way back. I ran into a Zombie nest. I went all MTV with gold stuff. That worked, but the sounds cleared me out of that cave. I left 64 diamond, 29 coal and 13 torches