"Project" Cave Continued

Disclaimer: The name and location of the project is not being provided externally until the conclusion of the project at the request of the park ranger.

The Tritrogs first organized trip to “Project” cave to assist the park work on their cave was a success. The team was small, Ken, Christian, Linda, and myself, the work accomplished grand. At the risk of repeating information, it is rumored the cave was purposely blocked to prevent people from going in to far; we are trying determine if that is true and what else lies within the cave.

Given the size of the cave, the number of participants was about correct; future trips may opt for one or two more individuals to help with dirt management once the dirt is outside the cave (the park management would like to sift through the dirt for any possible artifacts before disposing of the dirt).

Our mission was primarily digging, and digging we did. The dirt was rather loose and easy to dig; a garden hoe was the prized tool, unfortunately we had only one. The weather was actually appropriate for digging, in the high 60’s with heavy cloud cover and a fine rain.

Several potential leads were selected, then the team set to work. I worked on a lead that snaked slightly downward at the backside of the cave. Christian and Linda worked a lead nearby which also had a downward angle. Ken and Tanya hauled dirt out of the cave; interesting enough using “Flying Saucers”…you know the round things used for sledding! Ken and Tanya hauled all afternoon, an extra thanks goes out to them!

My lead pinched down to something impassable; Linda gave it a try just to insure I wasn’t loosing my sense of dimension due to being positioned head down for too long. We can with certainty say this passage was not traversed by anyone holding a torch.

I then worked on a lead we suspected Christian and Linda’s effort would connect into. At some point Linda focused on another lead between their original lead and the one I was now working. Eventually I was able to hear Linda’s efforts in my passage. A possible connection inspired Linda; she was determined to make the connection today. Soon Linda was digging from both sides…well not at the same time, but you get the idea. I moved further into the passage to work toward Christian; it wasn’t long before I could hear him, but more distant.

After the connection, I thought the effort would conclude but it was not meant to be. I went back to check out the tremendous effort Christian did, while Linda checked out the continuing lead I had been working. Linda and I quickly found we were closer than expected. Well Linda quickly jumped on the task of completing another connection. It wasn’t long before I was pushing dirt her way and working myself through. We may have robbed Christian of some glory, but we wouldn’t have been able to make the connection without him.

After a day of digging we feel confident that this section of the cave was not filled in by human efforts. It must have been filled in during repeated floods or surface erosion. How much cave remains is still unknown; there are more leads and significant amounts of dirt yet to be extracted. That will be another trip.

"Project" Cave

Disclaimer: The name and location of the project is not being provided externally until the conclusion of the project at the request of the park ranger.

The Triangle Troglodytes had received an email from a park ranger associated with a park that has a cave on its premises. The cave is thought to have historical significance. The park is looking to explore deep routed rumors pertaining to the cave. Among them is the strong possibility of there being more passage is the cave, the story is the cave was filled or blocked to prevent people from going in further than they should. I decided a trip to the park would be most beneficial in understanding what lay ahead.

I took Devin, my four year old, along with me; Devin was very excited to go caving (he enjoyed his previous caving experience). We met the park ranger, and she took us to the cave with the parks “gator”. Devin wasn’t so sure about riding a gator until he realized the gator being referenced was a small vehicle and not a reptile.

The present passage is probably around one hundred feet; there are several dig areas. Unfortunately it couldn’t quite be determined where the cave might have been filled in. Doing some digging revealed the soil that is actually loose and easy to dig. Devin enjoyed digging to.

The tour continued; there is “shelter” besides the primary cave that has a possible dig or two. Another small cave was pointed out, another dig. It was noted there is another cave on the property but location unknown at this time. And there is a distinct ridge all the caves appear to be in.

The cave sounds and looks like an interesting project.

Triangle Troglodyte Conservation Trip

The annual TriTrog cave conservation trip this year was planned for Marion County VA; more precisely, Hancock cave. Hancock actually has two entrances; the back entrance is part of a sink. Unfortunately the sink was used for household trash; the trash was buried with dirt during one of the sales of the property. However over time the dirt has eroded; the process of erosion has helped to fill in the back entrance and exposed the trash.

The trip ended up being a small group, but an effective group; Ken, Susanna, Mark, Tanya, Dave and his son Dawson. At the last minute we chose to stay at one of the cabins in Hungry Mother State Park. And once again, Virginia state parks continue to amaze me; the cabin we rented was really nice and included linen service…too bad our hours were such a fire in the fireplace just wasn’t an option.

Susanna did a terrific job organizing the cleanup. She had all the details worked out; the owner met us as we drove up, we had the correct tools (ok maybe garden sheers and wire cutters need to be added to the list), and an excellent lunch spread.

A sizeable dent in the trash was made, but another trip to get the smaller house hold trash is needed. Given some time the freshly exposed dirt will wash away allowing easier access to trash buried below. Some interesting discoveries were uncovered; a kitchen stove, drier, three washing machines, metallic shed roofing, TV, bike, bedsprings, chairs, big wheel toy, and freaky doll parts.

The cleanup culminated when the map of Hancock cave was presented to the owner. The landowner was extremely appreciative of the efforts performed by the caving community to help him understand, protect, and to work to keep his cave clean.

The afternoon was spent caving! During the cleanup a single lead found near a washing machine, it was worth investigating. Unfortunately the lead immediately led back into known cave, the top of a high fissure. In addition we stopped briefly in the back entrance to Hancock and Little Hancock.

We traversed over to the main entrance and ventured in for a three-hour tour. Dawson performed his first arm-rappel; something he still is talking about. Ken led us around various parts of the cave, some new areas for both Mark and myself.

Dawson informed us he was tired and ready to exit, however I suspect his abrupt interest in exiting was probably more related to the spaghetti dinner promised earlier. Ken took us through the breakdown staircase; it was the quickest way out. For those that have not been through that section, it is a series of step-downs through a vertical maze. Dawson did great, dad worried to much but was calmed by taking Ken’s mentally comforting suggestion…leashing Dawson to me with some webbing.

Sunday found us at Rowland’s cave, is anybody actually surprised? Ken, Dawson, and myself toured the lower section; found two new areas that need surveying. One will require some digging. Dawson named one of the rooms the Rock and Roll room; he found his name very funny, as there were rocks and the rocks rolled as we passed through.

The upper section was visited, as it is the prettier part of the cave; however Dawson was more focused finding new passage and wanting to know where every lead went rather than looking at the formations. The Screech Owl wasn’t in the cave; hopefully the owl will return when the weather cools more.

As it simply wouldn’t be right to go to Rowland’s without doing at something toward completing the ongoing project we did some digging in Sentinel cave. Ken found that to proceed might require more serious modifications to get through. An option we will hold off on for now as it would appear another lead was found below it. The dirt was easily dug, and soon I was able to get in about six feet to observe the airspace continues. And I think there was airflow; yet another promising lead to work on.

VAR trip to Culverson Creek Cave

I've always wanted to visit Culverson Creek Cave but was disappointed when I arrived at the VAR registration desk. We were told that all of the sign up sheets had been filled before 10:30 PM. On the outside chance that something might still be open, I went to the pavilion to find many empty slots on several trips. The TriTrogs split up onto different trips, and I joined Dave Socky for my first trip to Culverson Creek.

We squeezed into the Wildcat Entrance and found that the climb down into the stream passage consisted of well dug holes with an easily traversed path. Wandering down the stream passage it was hard to hold a quiet conversation. Every word reverberated from the walls. Along the stream we managed to get wet up to our ankles, but no one seemed to notice.

I must admit that I had more trouble with the Hairy Spot than anyone else. Climbing onto the wall twelve feet above the stream was easy, but I couldn't seem to lower myself to the footholds that laid below. It may have been because my elbows were in the wet potholes instead of just my hands, but my hips kept pushing me off balance. That was the only tough spot on the trip, but we had more adventures. Boot sucking mud, salamanders, millipedes, a fifteen-foot high log jam, crayfish, sliding boards, frogs, and a belly crawl along loose gravel all marked the way to the Echo Tubes.

The Echo Tube made the whole trip worthwhile. That passage, like many others in Culverson Creek Cave, were formed when the water flow was too massive to be controlled by the log jam. The phreatic tube was twelve feet high and twenty feet wide. The Echo Tube ran hundreds of yards polished smooth and slippery. The pools of water all along the passage let us know that it still floods regularly.

The Echo Tube ended in an unexplored breakdown pile. I dug in to find a passage that sumped about fifty feet down in one direction. Unfortunately the other direction of the pile ended in impenetrable breakdown after walking a few hundred feet. During the trip out we were covered in fog but managed to exit in just 1.5 hours. Plenty of time to get back for the VAR dinner. I even had time to wash the mud off my face.

Tritrog Annual Trip

The Tritrogs annual trip came together at the last minute; a few minor changes landed the event at Claytor State park instead of Douthat, and James cave instead of Breathing cave. Planned were 13 individuals, some of those being new cavers and one being an eight year old. My oldest son Dawson enjoys caving; I thought it would be interesting to see how he would do without any influences his younger brothers have brought to past caving “adventures”.

Friday evening proved to be hot and muggy as we set up camp. Ken and I pitched our tents, put up the canopy, and dragged much of the food out while it was still light. While waiting for the others to arrive, Dawson and I walked down to the lake. Claytor is actually a very nice park; Ok Virginia state parks actually rock! I would recommend giving them a try.

The last group arrived sometime after 2am; or so I am told, Dawson and I didn’t wait up for them. Since it was too hot for a fire, we opted for lights out and some sleep in preparation for a big day of caving.

After a big breakfast, we all set out for James cave…in the rain. Not quite what we expected, but then again its August and when isn’t there a change of rain. Fortunately the rain paused long enough for 13 cavers to rampantly dress and dash to the cave.

James cave is horizontal, though does have a few short climb-downs and several belly crawls. An ideal cave for new cavers; provides a nice variety. Two teams were formed; through past experience, one team would be too slow given the obstacles. The groups ventured upstream toward the other entrance first; not the pretty section of the cave but a good introduction to crawling and walking through the stream passage.

Returning to our starting point we continued downstream, through the culvert and into an extended belly crawl; only to discover the belly crawl is actually a hand and knee crawl for Dawson. Here the cave immediately becomes more interesting; there are multiple levels and directions to continue downstream and formations become much more prevalent. The challenges presented in the cave are actually fun, there are two climb downs that took a few minutes to get everyone past.

Over four hours into our journey we made it back to a highly decorated room, the soda straws numerous, the flow stone flows, and the stalactites tall and proud. It was here that Dawson stated he was ready to leave; his sediment quickly spread to everyone.

After a brief rest and pictures the teams planned their exits. Rather than return with a team of seven, Diana volunteered to exit with Dawson and myself (making the trip a bit more exhilarating for an eight year old). We made record time getting out of the cave, under 45 minutes. And Dawson still had time to step into water up to his waist, climb every climb, with the exception of one, and tell us how we weren’t keeping up.

After everyone got out, a bit muddier than expected, we loaded up and headed back to camp for dinner. The rain was gone, the sun out, and the temperatures pleasant. Everyone pitched in with the meal preparations and consumption of the simple spread, before long s’mores were being made over the warm glow of the remaining embers.

Sunday brought breakfast, camp cleanup, and determining what lay ahead; some opted to go mountain climbing, others opted to check out the cascades nearby, and the remainder chose Tawney’s cave just outside Blacksburg Va. Tawney’s is not as long as James cave, but very impressive. The front room is highly decorated, has a nice stream traversing the cave, and had an enormous sinkhole on the backside.

Dawson found the stream irresistible and had to personally verify the depth numerous times; in addition Ken introduced Dawson to the stickiest mud he had ever had the pleasure of standing in, and even more pleasurable after almost loosing a boot. After a few hours, it was time to think about the trek home and retuning to our daily routine.

I hope everyone had a good time and hope to see him or her in a cave again soon!

Wrapping up leads

Ken and I met up with Tanya in Marion VA for a weekend of caving; but not any caving, surveying. Tanya had two leads on possible new cave in the area; and a team was in place to continuing work inside Rowland Creek cave.

First stop, a cave that Tanya described as a hole in the ground next to a house, vertical in nature, and determined after tossing a few small stones into the hole there was an un-quantifiable distance and some water. We met with the enthusiastic owner; she had just bought the property and was very excited to have two springs and a potential cave. She, and her son, escorted us maybe twenty-five feet to the cave entrance. Removing the “gate” produced an entrance wide enough to slip into without digging.

After suiting up and armed with a hand-line thanks to Ken as the anchor, I dropped into the cave. The cave initially was dirt, but quickly changed to rock walls and ceiling; the floor was steeply sloping, consisting primarily of dirt and roofing shingles. The slope ended in a deep pool of water. After cleaning out the shingles, Ken and I surveyed the cave. The cave is 30ft in length; the pool is probably a sump and could be dived. However I question the water quality, as the house’s septic system is upstream and in close proximity with the cave.

The woman’s son was given the honors of naming the cave; he decided to call it Rodas-Wolters Pit. After eating some tasty cookies, thanks to the landowner, we hit the road for our next stop, Five Goat Cave.

Five Goat Cave was mentioned in a previous caving report; at the time of initial investigate the river was too high to cross. Today the river was not running high. The trek across the river was soothing as the water was cool. The trek up the hillside, not as pleasant, was covered in underbrush and the summer heat and humidity was present.

The location was eventually reached. I started to check out Five Goat, while Ken pushed on to investigate another rock outcropping. As I approached the “cave” the strong smell of scat was abound; this should have registered as a sign. Looking into the small hole light could be seen from the right side. There was no way a goat could get into what I was standing in front of; going around the corner to check out the source of light I found there to be a large fissure crack. I also found two raccoons; I could see them in the shadows, and I could now hear them as well. The sounds and body movements told me I was a very un-welcomed guest. To reduce bodily harm I quickly retreated. Five Goat Cave looks to be a massive rock that slide down the rock outcropping, creating a shelter. Perhaps another look after the current residents have moved out may be in order just to insure no cave lies within.

At this time, Ken was beckoning our presence; he had found a cave nearby. Still being caught off guard by the raccoons and telling myself I was never going to repeat that, I was a bit hesitant standing outside the entrance even though there was no nasty smell; that is until Ken told me he threw a few stones into the cave and listened for any additional movement (though I was happy that Ken volunteered to go in first).

The cave had an interesting upper entrance or skylight. There were very old formations in this cave, and the cave looked to be comprised of dolomite. The cave, including both entrances, was quickly surveyed for a grand total of 37ft. Tanya named the cave “Chip on the Shoulder”.

We retreated back the way we came, though the step hillside in front of the cave looked like an easier route. Unfortunately during our walk back someone stepped on a Hornets nest; and yes there were causalities, Ken and Tanya both took the brunt of the anger.

Sunday Robbie and Jason joined us; Robbie, Jason, and myself were to survey a lead and check out a pit in time and conditions were right. Meanwhile Ken and Tanya were going to work/dig on Sentinel cave and Animal Den located on the same hillside.

The team I was on quickly got to our destination and started surveying. We had a rough start, as the numbers were not matching, most likely accountable to the 70-degree inclination. Soon we were making good progress; the lead had a low, muddy room, which opened up, into another room. This room had massive breakdown blocks, a sizeable pool of water and is well decorated on one side.

Retreating back into the muddy room we pushed the other lead; we had a shallow sloping room to the left. To the right Robbie stated we had connected back into known passage. At first I didn’t believe him, he said I would recognize it when I up to where he was at; and he was right. It was a lead we had left before. The survey of 213ft closed three leads.

We proceeded to check out the pit lead; it held the most promise as it blows air and is in a location on the perimeter of known cave. Robbie had the honors of dropping the pit. He described the pit as being narrow but wide. The pit broke into two passages; one passage joined another known lead with a low pinch. The other passages lead back to another lead. Three more leads closed out.

As we retracted, one last lead was looked at. The lead continues, but some small modifications to some breakdown are in order, something to consider another day. I took Jason to the upper entrance; he graciously climbed a ledge we could only inspect from a distance. The ledge didn’t hold much promise, and he confirmed there was no lead.

I checked out the efforts of Ken and Tanya on the other caves. Animal den was obviously worked on. After parting the Mosquito curtain and crawling inside it became apparent the cave terminated at 6ft. Later it was discovered that Ken and Tanya surveyed the cave and renamed the cave to Mosquito Den…I wonder why? I quickly stopped at Sentinel, seeing no fresh dirt piles, and another cloud of Mosquitoes; I quickly deduced that Ken and Tanya didn’t work on this cave today.

Guided Tour at Organ Cave

Being in West Virginia for a family vacation, it seemed fitting to get a bit of caving in, and to expose my kids to caving gently. Our two older kids have done some caving; my youngest child has not. It was decided to catch the Organ cave guided tour; the cave would be lighted and the route would be easy to accommodate the masses.

After paying, we met our guide and were quickly on our way. The boys were very excited to be caving, dressed with their caving helmets and light. The main entrance into Organ cave is quite spectacular despite the massive wooden staircase consisting of 93 stairs. Our first stop was a dilapidated shed with a few rusted out storage barrels. It was presented to us as a rations storage area for the government as part of the cold war; when the cold war ended 50 years later the rations were given to tour patrons as samples.

Further back in the cave we were enlightened with proof of Noah’s flood; that was the explanation as to how the seashells found in the cave walls got there. There was no mention that the cave is limestone; and that marine animals, thus the shells, form limestone. I’m not going to debate the account of Noah as it is documented in the Bible; but I’m quite sure that the oyster shells imbedded in the rock didn’t get there by a massive Oyster migration inland during a massive flood that lasted 40 days and 40 nights (and 300 days as the water receded).

Organ cave has some large trunk passage; the lighting was done well, with very little evidence of algae growing due to the process of photosynthesis (water and light). Much of the initial passages had very few formations. Much of the front area of the cave was mined for Saltpeter during the Civil war; many of the vats used are still present today.

During the tour we came to a section of the cave where there were many, many “pockets” in the ceiling; the pockets were probably a foot in diameter and 6 inches deep. Our guide proceeded to tell us that a large number of animals lived in the cave at some time; during a massive flood the animals got trapped and drown. The dead animals rose to the ceiling and became pinned; while pinned there, the decomposition of the carcasses created a chemical imbalance that eroded the limestone to form the pocket.

About this point, my youngest tells me he had to go to the bathroom; what timing, a much-needed diversion from the tour guide. Fortunately I had carried a pack and in it was a plastic bottle. Unfortunately it still contained water; after gulping down the water, my youngest was in his defining moment caving…peeing in a bottle. A few minutes later he told me his legs were tired and wanted to be carried; he then promptly fell asleep on my shoulder.

We eventually got into some passage that was highly decorated; in this passage the infamous Organ formation can be found. Many of the formations were pretty; unfortunately the tour pretty much ends at that point with a quick retreat back to the entrance.

I think Organ cave is an amazing cave and has a lot to offer; the tour was obviously disappointing, in the end I doubted everything said which is a shame for there is some good history in that cave that needs to be properly shared. I think my boys had a good time, the older one wanted a bit more excitement, it was the appropriate level for the middle child, and well the youngest one couldn’t stop talking about it (after he woke up).

SERA / VAR

This year’s spring VAR was combined with the annual SERA event; the event was held in Bristol TN. Since I was leading a tour into Rowland Creek cave, I thought it best for Joe and I to rig the rope and check the lower stream passage depth. The stream passage is affected by precipitation. While in the cave Joe wanted to spend some time exploring the new passage opened up since he’d been here last.

The stream was low, but present. We checked out a few leads throughout the cave; saving the most promising for last. The lead had good potential. And in fact the lead did produce more cave, estimated to be around 200ft worth (a follow-up trip to survey is in order). The passage is rather challenging as there is a tight squeeze followed by an eight-foot drop. The new passage seems to wall out, the only thing left is the pool of water that extends around a corner.

Friday night at camp an unexpected down pour provided some relief from the heat, though added to the humidity. The combination of humidity and people talking into all hours of the night yielded a sleepless night.

Saturday I met up with the crew I was taking to Rowland; four individuals. Joe met his team going to Berry Hill; Joe decided that since he had seen Rowland the day before he would check out another vertical cave in the area.

The tour of Rowland’s went smoothly; a group of five is slow due to the technical challenges presented in the cave. Josh Rubinstien really enjoyed the cave; so much so he volunteered to survey the short, muddy section in the stream passage I have been holding off on doing. Approximately 100ft of cave was added.

Joe said that Berry Hill cave was a great cave; he was however stuck with a large group trying to get through the cave and the vertical challenge at the entrance.

Saturday evening consisted of listening to some music, drinking a few drinks, and generally just milling around. It was surprising to see how quiet our neighbors were; must have been the previous night of partying and today’s caving.

Sunday we drove over to check out Bristol caverns, on someone’s suggestion of a short, easy, guided trip before heading home. However the caverns hadn’t yet opened; in the end we decided to drive home and clean gear during the daylight hours.

SERA/VAR Trip

I arrived at Bristol Campground for the joint SERA/VAR at the same time the rain arrived. It poured, and then I set up my tent. The rest of the weekend was warm but not unbearable.

Saturday I led a horizontal, intermediate trip to Hancock Cave with Dave and Nick Socky, Andrew and Ann Hindman, Witt Reddinger, Karen Willmes, Susan Burr, Patrick Simms, and Winnie Miller. After the drops the group traveled to the Octopus Room and waited for me to lead. In order to start them off right, I led them into Harrington Hall and up the long slope into the Anastamoses Maze (I know that some TriTrogs recognize that this is the harder way into the maze). We then slid down the Corn Cob Crawl and discovered that Nick has outgrown his cave suit.

Pat, Nick and Susan checked out Echo Hall and Hickory Dickory Pit (through the tight slot), then we headed down to the junction between TJ's Trap and the Breakdown Staircase. Nick and Witt followed me down one tight slot that appears on my map. The survey notes had been confusing but were quite accurate. Unfortunately the other seven laughed at us as we struggled our way out of the slot. So I sent them up into the High Root as a punishment; I think the seven that climbed it found a short climb considerably challenging.

Everyone dropped successfully down the Breakdown Staircase, but few recognized Harrington Hall. I ran them out toward the back entrance, and Karen was the only one silly enough to follow Nick into a hole back near the Long Room. I remember when that hole was marked by a wooden dowel to remind a nutty traveler of a hard way to close a Hancock loop. They rejoined us shortly back into the crawlway, and then everyone went down the sliding board.

From the overlook we watched the group shrink. I then asked the remaining group to find their way back to the Corn Cob Crawl; close enough. We dropped down it again and headed for the top of Which Glob Pit. Susan wasn't willing/able to squeeze into the blowing hole at the top of the pit, but Karen Willmes was able to get inside. She found a virgin room within the breakdown, but the blowing lead would require a prybar to go further. To get Karen out, I had to reach in and pull her by her coveralls. That is one tight lead.

We slid down TJ's Trap and then crawled upstream back to Harringon Hall. I then led the group up into the Vertical Maze. I had forgotten that the easiest route through the maze required me to crawl on my side, but Karen asked "What tight passage?" I found my way back to the lead that Melanie McCullough, Yu Liu, Dave Duguid, and Mike Davidson had surveyed last year. The way out of the maze from there was supposed to be straight ahead, but all I saw was a tight canyon. I worried the whole group when I consulted my draft of the map; could the passage have gotten thinner? I slowly pushed my body into the slot and stepped over an old beer can. It opened up after it couldn't have gotten tighter.

Susan followed me through, and I asked her to kick the beer can in my direction. It seemed like a good idea, but her kick punctured the can. I picked up the Bud Lite can that started spraying all over me. I held it up to my mouth, but the spray covered my face. The group found it easy to follow the smell of beer back to Harrington Hall where I packed up the can. Easy trip out followed by dinner at Marion's Tuscan Italian Grille.

On Sunday Dave West wanted to borrow my chair for the VAR meeting, so he traded Karen for the chair. We ended up going to the Gray Fossil Site Museum (just opened). I know that the five rhinoceroses, the pandas, unhumped camels, tapirs, etc. should've really impressed me. However, it was also fun to challenge my dung beetle against George Dasher's, to learn that elephants poop my weight every eleven hours, and to discover that Karen can identify every type of scat you throw at her. The fossil site and its incredible discoveries are really a must see for everyone in eastern Tennessee.

April Showers

One of the most prevalent events affecting the weekend to varying degrees was the weather. Mother Nature taunted meteorologists, which in turn hampered planning from a technology dependent group of cavers. Rain it did, and significant amounts; surprisingly enough the rain had little effect on the caving. In the end the weather provided comic relief as the weather related jokes and playful jabs were plentiful.

The basic plan was to cave with several Duke students on Saturday and exploration on Sunday. Ok for those that know me, the plan was more elaborate than that. But as we all know, plans change…my excuse; it was the weather’s fault!

We (Ken, Mike, and Dave) met the Duke students (Jake, Justin, and Charlie) Saturday morning as planned and drove to our predetermined destination, James cave in Pulaski County Virginia. After a quick rundown of the cave and the perceived objectives, done with a significantly reduced cave map, we entered through the main entrance.

We took the passage toward the “original” entrance first, said direction as a few options. As expected, we ended up in the low, crawling passage rather than the walking passage. Fortunately the crawl was brief, back in the walking passage we traversed the downstream passage with ease; popping briefly out into the daylight. Back in the cave we retraced our steps, well not the low crawl. Soon we were at the culvert used years ago to gate the pretty section of the cave off.

The upstream side is more expansive than the downstream side and generally contains two levels. To stay out of the water we chose the upper level whenever possible. The upper level was actually fun; it provided an interesting array of walking, climbing, crawling, and canyoneering. It also provided many formations to admire. There were several cascades of water where rim stone dams overflowed into flowstone. Further back in the cave, the formation become more prevalent and more pristine.

One interesting observation was a monitoring station in the cave; the exact intent of the setup was not known. But the general conclusion was the intrusion of water entering the cave through the ceiling was logged; how much water flowing through several formations was being tracked as well. We later found a monitoring station on the surface used to monitor precipitation.

The tour of the cave lasted approximately five hours; the cave was a cave worth returning too. The Duke students enjoyed the caving, but had to retreat to Durham as final’s are rapidly approaching.

Ken, Mike, and myself continued to Marion Virgina for the evening. Saturday evening resulted in enjoying some fine home brew and hours of fun playing the “Cave Game”. The revised plan for Sunday was rather adhoc; check out a possible new cave and go over to Rowland to determine what we could do there.

The new cave lead was, as Tanya mentioned, across a swollen Holston River and quite high on a steep hillside. We would not be getting to the cave today; the river was the major deterrent. But rather we conjectured whether or not the entrance would actually result in a cave; that discussion would only be settled when the possible cave entrance could be reached.

After confirming a topographical map of the hillside Rowland Creek cave is in, we opted to do some ridge walking. Ken, having an eye for possible dig locations, found two potential spots rather quickly. I worked on one while Ken and Mike on the other. I stopped the dig I was working on, slow going, in favor of checking out the other dig.

Mike broke into a small passage before calling it a day. There is more digging needed; but it was exciting to find there could be more cave passage on the hillside. The new found cave has been named Sentinel cave; named such as Mike was describing the two formations one has to squeeze through, it was like two sentinel’s guarding the cave.

A quick peek in the upper section was done; Mike had not been in that portion of the cave. The screech owl was inside the cave; the cave must be his/her nesting ground as it has been seen in the cave multiple times over the last 15 months. Also a quick peek in the lower section was done; wanted to check the stream level given the amount of rain over the last few days.

Weekend Ending in Tragedy

From Chapel Hill to Staunton we traveled
To watch how plot twists slowly unraveled.
Characters were scheming but phony
In Ben Johnson’s play called Volpone.

Just a short distance to Grand Caverns Park
Did we find cold cavers camped in the dark.
We rose next day to find frost-covered tents,
Clear sign that we lacked any good horse sense.
Next morn past tour groups did we travel
As we hauled our buckets of gravel.
We spread the stones beneath the tourists’ feet
Whilst staying silent to remain discrete.
Free lunch did salve the strain felt in our arms.
Repainting stairs to stop rust’s future harms.
Limestone walls tightly clenched the screws of old
With our vise grips we cried “Out, out damn bolt.”

A sumptuous feast of shrimp and beef burgundy,
An evening tour that lasted near to Sunday.
Some guesses at my age did flatter me,
Enjoyed Easter breakfast at Batterby.

From Grottoes to Staunton did we make way
To relish performance of the Bard’s play.
The ASC matinee was splendid
And so our Shakespeare weekend was ended.

Paxton’s Cave: February 23, 2008

After nearly two and a half years and nine caving trips, I am finally writing my first trip report. I suppose it is time…

Howard and Hayden Holgate and I had all had to cancel a caving trip just three weeks earlier, so we were anxious to get underground. Ken Walsh was gracious enough to organize a photography trip to Paxton’s Cave in western Virginia for Saturday, February 23.

The four of us met on Friday evening and began our adventure. After stopping for dinner at Los Tres Magueyes, where Hayden dined on a plate of rice, we continued our journey to Covington, Va.

Words can’t really describe what awaited us at the lovely and rustic Pinehurst Motel. Really, they can’t. I should have taken a picture so that I can share it with all of you. However, with my camera buried in my Pelican case with my caving gear in Howard’s truck, I will just have to rely on the memory of the décor emblazoned in my mind.

The first thing that Hayden noticed was that the dark wood paneling on the walls was actually real wood. That wood paneling was on the bottom four feet or so of the wall. It’s what was on the top portion of the walls – and the curtains – that have my eyes still straining to see a 3-D image in the patterns. Yes, that’s plural. The wall paper was a very busy pattern consisting of two- or three-inch shapes in brown , turquoise and black. The curtains, surrounded on three sides by the lovely wallpaper, was a very different – and also very busy – pattern in various shades of red and blue. It was a sight to behold. Next time you take a trip to Paxton’s Cave, I recommend room 32 (I think) at the Pinehurst Motel.

While the decorations were not what I would have chosen (which is good, since those patterns have not been sold during my lifetime), the room was comfortable and clean, so we got a good night’s sleep before heading into the cave the following day.

After loading up on carbs for breakfast on Saturday, we headed to Paxton’s Cave. We briefly met the landowners, signed the log book, and headed to the cave. There was a nice waterfall at the cave entrance, but we managed to get into the cave without getting wet.

Ken had studied the map, but warning us that this was a cave he struggled with finding his way around, turned over the navigation duties with a shrunken map to Hayden. The first objective was to find the Throne Room.

Well, we didn’t exactly accomplish that mission in a timely manner. After what I would guess was about two hours of walking around in various circles (and watching Ken trip over the same rock three or four times), we finally pulled out a compass, studied the map (which was not overly helpful) and determined to head generally southeast. That got us on track. We moved away from the rock that kept jumping out and tripping Ken, and eventually found some passages that did not look familiar to us. Well, to me, Howard or Hayden, who were in our inaugural voyage to Paxton’s Cave. We welcomed Ken’s shout of “This looks right!” as we finally neared the elusive Throne Room.

We had enjoyed exploring along the way and had paused for a few photo opportunities here or there, but the Throne Room was a welcome sight. It did not disappoint. The Thorne Room had all kinds of interesting formations. Ken and I pulled out our cameras and started taking a lot of snapshots. Climbing over breakdown while trying to protect my camera proved to be the greatest challenge of the day. But it worked, and I took photos of helictites, soda straws, bats (there were quite a few in this cave), various unknown formations and a couple of stalagmites. As Ken and I snapped away, Howard did some exploring and Hayden rested. Eventually Ken and I recruited Howard and Hayden to pose for some photos as we attempted manual cave photography. I’m definitely a novice at this, and my snapshots on auto function still turn out better than those in manual settings. I’ll keep working on that, though.

Once on his feet to pose for photos, Hayden joined in the exploration. He discovered a stalagmite that glows for a couple of seconds when illuminated with a flash, so he and Howard showed that off for us a few times.

We took a few more pictures, explored some more and then headed out of the Throne Room and back, we hoped, toward the cave entrance.

Ken had told us upfront that he had an easier time finding his way out of the cave than into it, and this held true. While we managed to throw in a few more wrong turns, and gave Ken the opportunity to trip over the same rock one more time, we did get back to the entrance without too much trouble. We noted the breakdown that looked (a little) like a set of jaws. As you enter the cave turn right there, toward a passage with a very large rock, and you’ll be going toward the Throne Room.

Anyway, after a few wrong turns we pulled the compass back out and headed northwest. We got to the entrance with just a little bit of daylight remaining. Ken took one last picture at the cave entrance and we headed back to the Pinehurst Motel.

After taking a few minutes to get cleaned up at the motel, we feasted on pizza (except for Hayden, who continued his all-carb diet with plain spaghetti) at Cucci’s. With full bellies, we went back to the motel, enjoyed hot showers and a game of movie trivia that Ken had brought along for entertainment.

The trip back on Sunday was uneventful. Hayden put his new driver’s license to good use and drove us home, and Ken helped me compile a list of all the caves I’ve been in. With his help in recording those caves, I decided it was time for me to give him a break from writing the trip reports and give it a shot for the first time. I still have a lot to learn about cave photography, but the exploration and photo attempts were a lot of fun.

New River Cave Beginner Trip February 1-3, 2008

So I was really aching to get back into caving and now I am just aching. Thank God for knee pads and gloves! My name is Andrew Donadio and I have the pleasure of telling you about our trip of Feb 1-3, 2008, to the New River Cave near Blacksburg(the true location being a tightly guarded secret). We started out with 9-10 interested cavers and left with 5 in one car. This was actually nice in terms of money and camaraderie, as four of us had never really met.

We left from the Cisco parking lot at 6:00pm on Friday headed to Chapel Hill to pick up Matt Lubin. Matt L. had organized a little navigation quiz to see if he really wanted to trust Ken in a cave. Ken(I got something against cell phones) Walsh fell for the old left turn at Albuquerque, but recovered and we found Matt after just about ten minutes. I asked every Carolina girl I saw, "Can you take me to Matt Lubin?", but they were totally useless! So we picked up Matt and headed north on 86 to good old Martinsville and a tasty Mexican dinner at Los Tres Maguyueres or something like that. All I understood was that Mag....whatever it is, is part of the Guava plant, which has something to do with Tequila.

One highlight, we did stop at a gas station with a remarkable amount of electronics associated with the Men's room. They had an unusually large"OCCUPIED" light/sign above the door and a big red button (like you would push to launch a torpedo or WWIII) to push inside if you were in any way displeased or without anything. It was so tempting!! According to the attendant, they were planning one of those bank drive thru suction tubes to deliver emergency TP but they needed to find a way to plug that pesky hole in the middle of the roll. So it would be a pleasant place to drop the kids off at the pool, if you know what I mean. And then we all discussed the many ways you could say that like sending an ambassador to Iraq...etc., etc.

So we got to near Blacksburg and it was just cold and windy, so we(Andrew, Matt W., and Ken) thought, "Gee, we need some beer." We hoped we could find some close by, but alas Christiansburg was aptly named, so we drove into Blacksburg where we found an aptly named bar, "The Underground". After a few beers, we decided that sleep might do us all good and we returned to the hotel around 1am. I think the beds at the Knights Inn were super! Matt, Matt, and Mark also thought so. Ken on the other hand said the floor was not quite up to his standards. Something woke me up Saturday morning and it sounded like a Walsh Horn. After 4 hours of listening to us sleep like angels, Ken had had enough!

Denny's gave us just the right mix of protein and carbs for breakfast.

We arrived at the cave which is near a beautiful, almost ideal, camp ground by the New River, I am guessing, and we started putting our equipment on. We started up the railroad tracks but before we could get to trail we were overtaken by a really freaking long freight train -- that's why the campground is nearly ideal. Ken says the trains come through every 20 minutes all night long!

We hit the trail and went up a good distance, found the entrance and went in around noon. We saw lots of really neat things, but the thing that stands out the most for me is the really tall waterfall room and the climb/crawl from there into another very large room where we would like to start next time when my teleporter is complete. At that point we crawled and climbed back to the waterfall using Ken as an anchor to belay us all. Then Ken came down with out belay, shame on him!

We then started the walk, climb, crawl out, which went pretty well until the second to last room where we found the way to forrest room rather than the exit. Eventually we kept following the room in the right direction and found the exit. We came out at about 6:30pm. We went down the hill and changed into our Guns and Roses outfits(Ken and I) and then went to dinner. Matt L. decided to wear his dirty clothes and skip the whole clean thing, so I gave him the name "Pig Pen" and by the way that jacket really was a pretty shade of blue! His before and after pictures are going on the "what to bring" page of our new website.

We all ate like we had never seen food before at BackStreet? I think it was called BackStreet. I don't remember much cause I got really hypothermic and peaceful until all that Pizza warmed me up again.

I am thankful to Ken for leading and standing guard through the night. I am thankful to Mark for helping us climb and making sure everyone -potentially-had a bed. I am thankful to Matt L. for the great conversation we had. I am thankful to Matt W. for incessantly talking about how great married life is. Check better be in the mail. And I am thankful that I found the Triangle Troglodytes and got back into Spelunking.

Andrew "My left arm works again" Donadio

Exploring Peacock

Tanya McLaughlin had insisted for years that she had explored the back way into Hancock Cave (not beyond the Funnel Tunnel) back in 1999. She, Paul, and Linda had found a place high on the rock wall thatled underground and dropped down a steep climb. It seemed like a reasonable Sunday goal to help me improve the map to Hancock Cave.

In our streetclothes, Dave Duguid, Tanya, and I were greeted by the landowner's dogs, and we discussed his hunting season with him for a while. Then we started poking around at the rock wall. High up Dave and I found nothing but wet leaves and slippery slopes. We circled around to explore the area where the water disappeared.

I found a crack that seemed to head into the hillside, not too far from the ice column. I tried to maneuver sideways over a rock to see if the crack opened up low. No luck, so I took my wallet and keys out of my pockets and tried again. This would've been an easier effort in my caving coveralls and boots. This still didn't work, so I thought I would slide my legs over the rock first and shove myself in.

Dumb idea but the right direction! When I slid my feet in, I noticed a hole in the floor of the passage where I had been sitting. It dropped down about six feet and out onto a balcony. Time for coveralls.

We suited up and surveyed the cave, despite the freezing temperatures. At the bottom of the balcony, the passage widened out to six feet but ended in a muddy drain in the floor. At least it mapped out at sixty feet.

I came back home and looked at the 1985 sketch (in meters) by Tom Moss of the Peacock Entrance to Hancock Cave. Tom Moss, Greg Kramer, and Jay Cox didn't use back sights or sketch to scale, but their drawings looked as though they had entered the cave near the garbage dump at the left side of the wall. We found no signs of cave there any longer.

Two days later, I wondered how their sketch would close with our survey of Hancock Cave (because we had completed a surface survey). I entered their data into the computer, noticing a lot of downhill shots. However, how could they be shooting down five meters below stream level? I shifted their data over to find that it matches reasonably well with our survey of the new cave.

It turns out that Tanya, Dave and I surveyed to the drain that is just about fifteen feet travel distance away from our survey inside the cave (based on the 1985 survey). Just a short dig to connect!

The Best Laid Plans…

The survey of Rowland Spring cave continues. A plan intended to yield the maximum data derived; and it may have been a good plan if everything remained constant. Constant, things were not. Despite the ever-changing environment, the trip was a success; fun and safe caving, additional survey data, and a renewed understand of the cave system.

To set the stage: It had rained in the Marion area two weeks prior, it also happened to have been bitterly cold only days before, and there was even snow on the ground. We know there is an active stream in the cave, but it has been dry for some time; and we know the cave had a tendency to be cold due to the significant flow of air between the two entrances.

Walking to the cave Saturday morning, there was evidence of the recent rain. The streambed outside the cave was decorated with an array of fresh leaf dams formed from heavy rains. The good news however was the stream was dry; if there was any connection between the outside stream and inside stream, the dry streambed was an encouraging sign.

Inside the cave the interior stream could immediately be heard, not that surprising given the stream in only 50ft from the entrance. Climbing down to stream level resulted in two observations; the stream was higher than ever seen before, but still below boot level. And the lower level of the cave was downright cold; in fact, the mud on the floor was frozen in a honeycomb of ice crystals a few inches high.

The pit was rigged and Ken descended first; his goal was to check out the stream level at the bottom of the pit. His initial report was satisfactory to continue into the cave. However, two leads in the stream passage were immediately scratched from the agenda.

As the remaining team dropped the pit, Ken’s continuing report became a bit less appealing. "The water could not be avoided, and the water was up to his knees." Knowing the remaining leads were out of the stream, we continued. Side note: the height difference between Ken and Lisa is such that water level for Lisa was well above her knees.

Out of the water and the settled cold air, the team initially set out to tackle the first lead. The lead presented an interesting climb; Mike managed to climb up with encouragement from Lisa and an excellent belay from Ken. Fortunately the lead looped back to one of the three leads we skipped in the stream; from this vantage point the second lead in the stream could be better viewed, the lead did nothing. Three leads knocked out!

The next lead was another promising pit, dropping mud into the pit resulted in a plunk rather than a splat…water. Ken found the deepest section in the big room to have water; at least 5ft of water. The pit would be done another day.

The next lead was a climb up a chimney; Mike continued to demonstrate his solid climbing skills. I on the other hand, opted to climb the rope. The lead ended in a solid rock hole that even Lisa would not be able to get through, disappointing as what little could be seen there appeared to be at least an additional room. Another lead completed.

As Mike and I wrapped up the lead Ken and Lisa investigated a different lead; their lead was a small vertical crack. Their effort, confirmed by a visual connection, brought the lead into a previously surveyed room. Once more lead down.

Mike and I investigated a lead near the graffiti in the big room; the lead has excellent potential and leads into some new passage. It was determined a team of three would be preferred, otherwise the survey effort would be hampered by one individual doing instruments, book, and sketching.

Instead, we found Ken and Lisa in time to check out a high lead. Sending Lisa,we were able to get a visual connection; in the process, Ken found a section of the cave I had previously hand drawn, he thought best to survey. In one section, a stream could be heard beyond a narrow, soda straw infested restriction. Yet one more strong candidate for continued cave, that came to an end.

Knowing what lay in front of us we opted to exit the cave. The exit went smoothly despite the bone chilling water. Before long we were all out of the cave enjoying warmer temperatures, a good Italian meal, and Mike’s home brew.

The good news, the cave continues to grow. While we knocked off quite a few leads, there are four remaining. The pit, a climb, a low muddy crawl, and the continued passage confirmed this trip. I am looking forward to seeing what other secrets this cave may reveal.

240ft surveyed, cave length now at 2840ft.

It should be mentioned that on a previous trip an unusual concentration of dead bats in a very localized part of the cave was found; Ken contacted a biologist whom recently published an article regarding an unknown bacteria that seems to be effecting bats to see if there could be any connection. The biologist was provided pictures and reported to Ken what to look for. We did not find any live bats showing any signs of the bacteria, nor did we find anymore dead bats.

Sunday’s caving put us back at Hancock; Ken had one more unconfirmed report of cave that needed to be investigated. After talking to the landowner regarding the status of his new house and a few other things, we looked around the rock ledge for something that fit the description. Ken found a passage, and it fit the description he had.

As we started the survey, the rain also started; fortunately we were soon protected from the rain once inside the cave. However we were not protected by the cold; this cave still had ice from the recent cold snap.

The cave had a large daddy long leg population; I was very surprised to find the “spiders” actually moving. I have no knowledge of spiders, but I would have thought they would be frozen solid like the surrounding water.

The survey didn’t take long, I don’t have the actual survey data, but I would estimate the cave is under 50ft in length.