Cold Sink Oct 2012: limitless walking passage.

It's been more than a week since the last CS trip and I’m still riding high. The prospect of running a survey project in an ‘unknown’ cave starting from zero feet that pulls in over a mile of surveyed cave is just too exciting. On this last trip we pulled off 1017.2 feet surveyed. I tried to plan far in advance to build interest in this trip, but somehow I still managed to only pull out two teams. I’d emailed with Brian Williams a few days before the trip convinced we still could pull off three teams, but there were a few late bail outs which left us with only six surveyors. I was not too concerned though. The weather was looking good, and we had a good set of experience participating in the trip so I had high hopes we’d make good use of the weekend. I was not expecting what we found.

After the last trip I knew the cave continued but we had a number of leads to knock off before we could get started on the lead which had potential to extend the total cave length. My first goal was a nagging lead below the crawlway to heaven. On the last trip I finally got around to poking my head into this often passed lead and in so doing I decided the passage was in need of surveying. It would be a small two man survey, but I felt it needed further investigation. There was also a pit discovered on that trip which had an inaccessible bottom. We've done a good job of cleaning up our leads as we go so these got first priority.

With that small crawl in mind for this trip I divided our six cavers into the following teams. Myself, Jacob Jackson and Buford Pruitt on survey group ‘N’ (aka the Ninnies), and Ken Walsh, Brian Williams, and Stephanie Petri in survey group ‘M’ (aka the Monkeys). Stephanie had come with Brian and was new to surveying so I wanted to keep them together with someone who’d had some experience in the cave making Ken a natural choice. Of those signed up I figured Jacob was probably the most masochistic and likely the only one willing to help inspect the low crawl, so he ended up on my team. Surprisingly it took very little begging for me to get his assistance. Unfortunately Jacob was also the only other person on the trip who’d been past the pencil junction which meant the monkeys only had a vague idea where they were going. I really should have given them a copy of the working map.

When we arrived at the cave on Saturday morning around 10am, the monkeys headed in first followed by the ninnies. In the first room we noticed a bunch of harvestmen gathering on the ceiling, some cave crickets, and a small cave salamander. I even managed to convince the salamander to crawl up onto my hand for a brief moment. I might have damaged him before saying hello had Jacob not warned me of his location. He seemed mostly ungrateful if not perturbed by our luminous presence so we crawled on. We continued down the passage eventually reaching our starting point where we were blessed to hear Stephanie and Ken still working their way through the crawlway past the crawlway to heaven. (We really should name that passage. As it really is considered separate from the crawlway to heaven. Any suggestions? I think ‘Pergatory’ might fit nicely.) While we surveyed Buford worked on creating profile sketches of the cave since there was no room for a third where Jacob and I would be working.  


That low crawl was boring, but it still has a soupy wet tight lead at the end of it. If the cave is ever really dry it would be cool if someone poked their head down it, but I’d suggest making the attempt as a group of two so there can be a backup to extricate the brave if they get stuck. There are a number of down sloping hard rock pinches on that side of the cave so I assume this will probably end the same. For this reason I don’t feel this is a lead that really needs much more pushing.

When we finished that section of survey we joined back up with Buford to eventually stop at the traverse pit to take some exact measurements of the pit. We measured 18’ from the lip just as we’d estimated, and 15’ from the lip of the nearby pit, a few feet deeper than originally thought. We then cut the excess rope we’d stashed at the traverse, and stuffed it into an extra pack I’d carried. Jacob, ever the masochist, volunteered to hauled it to the delay chamber for us. I would have hauled the rope, (really I would have) but from this point I was the only one carrying my vertical gear as the others would leave theirs behind at the traverse pit.

We worked our way through the  cave eventually arriving at the delay chamber where we would again be slowed down. We bumped into Ken’s group who’d surveyed a crawl back to that room while we rigged to drop into the nearby chimney and subsequent pit. We took a while to find something solid to rig to for the unexplored drop, but once we did I was on rope and peering down into a a 6’x8’pit that was 11’ deep from the lip. It was about what I’d expected having thrown a few rocks down the slopey squeeze to get to it. My only hope was for the possibility of a multi-drop, but the bottom of the pit drained out in a small uninteresting looking hole. Bummer. The one novel thing we did here worth mentioning is the way we protected to rope over the sharp rocks the rope must cross for the drop. Buford’s volunteered on of his external knee pads to pad the rope which we attached to the rope using a small prusik I always carry with me on my harness. It worked out very well.

Eventually, we escaped that boring lead to find the monkeys now working their way through the crawing lead at what was then the back of the cave. With no real leads to survey in the cave before that point, I broke out some line plots of the profile and had my team start sketching profiles. Ken suggested that we finish their next couple of crawl survey shots so they could start in the subsequent walking passage, but I declined thinking our time would be better spent working on profile sketches. Boy was that a silly decision. 



Giving Jacob, Buford and myself a different section to work on we split up heading back in the direction of the cave to work on profiles for the already surveyed passage. I finished before the other two and decided to dance off to where Ken, Stephanie and Brian were at. When I got there the whole group was giggling and generally acting sillier that they had been earlier in the day. It was easy to see why. They’d gotten into walking passage with great leads running off in multiple directions. Apparently Brian had scooped a little bit so I figured I could  look into what he saw so I ducked around the corner and started walking around. There was nice cave every where! It didn’t take long before Ken shouted at me for scooping so I easily concluded I needed some man power to back me up. I literally raced back through the crawls telling both Jacob and Buford to drop their sketches because they we’re going to love what we’d found. If I’d taken more than just a couple steps into that passage on the last trip I probably wouldn’t have been patient enough to wait till October to get the next trip in.
When we finally were established surveying things went rather smoothly. We hadn’t made the breakthrough until 7pm, but with that discovery, both teams seemed happy to keep surveying for another few hours. Ken worked until he got cross eye’d from trying to do plan and profile sketches while working in larger cave passage. I kept my team going after that team left so we could finish surveying a loop we’d started and by that point I felt as though I was going to get a headache. I was making silly mistakes in the book so I needed to stop. We took about 1hour 15min to exit the cave and got back to the cars around 1am with a fresh coat of frost forming on the ground. We got back to Tanya’s around 2am and stayed up for another 1.5 hours eating soup and talking about our new discoveries. I was on cloud 9. 

The next day we got to a slow start and had breakfast at the golf clubhouse near Tanya’s house around 10:30 am. The service was the best I’d experienced in the county, so we’ll certainly return. We didn’t feel much like caving, but did do some ridgewalking trying again to find that elusive second entrance to CS, and to try following up on a blowing lead Tanya had on the edge of the county. We didn’t find anything that day, but the weather was great, the sky was clear and the leaves were changing on many of the trees. It’d be hard to find a nicer day to wander around outside. 

Early on in this project I gave myself two goals as motivation to help the project move forward. Get three teams working the cave on a single survey day, and survey over 1000’ on a given weekend. We just barely eeked out the 1000’ goal, but I’d still hope to push for three teams at some point. I’m guessing the temptation of virgin walking passage might be a nice hook when advertising the next trip. For a while now I’ve thought it would be really cool to explore a “new” cave from station A0 to something longer than a mile. There is now 4318.5 feet in the included survey length, andd with the leads we left behind I’m fully expecting we’re going to achieve that large goal. Hopefully on the next trip!

This picture could use 100 captions, but I think it most important to note there are no footprints past the last station!

For another perspective on the trip see Buford's trip report from the weekend at his blog onrappel.blogspot.com

Just a Jump to the Left and a Step to the Right

The title is not describing political indecision or the way to cross the traverse in Cold Sink Cave. I'm sharing lyrics from a song we heard in Marion's Food City. Who would've thought that Marion has Rocky Horror fans? 

Carlin had asked that I take my team, Brian Williams and Stephanie Petri, to survey two crawling leads in Cold Sink Cave. Because Stephanie was new to surveying and Carlin knew that one crawl just led to another lead, he agreed that we could start in the walking passage and work Stephanie up to a bellycrawl survey.

I knew the first section of the cave on the way in, and Brian had surveyed the second section. After that, we followed the K survey markers through squeezes and around turns. Eventually we found ourselves on the map where the L survey began (won't it be great when the cartographer names all these passages?).

My team first closed a loop from the previous survey. It was easy survey that took us into the Screamin' Jerky Room, but then the ceiling dropped down to two feet high. We finished surveying the loop in that low bellycrawl and popped into a room where Carlin's survey team was checking out a shallow pit. 

Our team proceeded to our second lead, a low bellycrawl out of a big room. I looked carefully at my copy of Carlin's map, but it didn't seem as though Carlin had saved any walking leads for his team. We started surveying the belly crawl though yet another blasted U-tube in this cave. I think I have to negotiate my tall frame through six of those awful U-tubes to get back to this point in the cave, and I hate every one of them.

Carlin's team came up behind us and asked if they could pass us while we were in the low crawlway. We all laughed and offered that we'd go through to the other side of the bellycrawl and let them survey the really tight stuff. They left to do profiles. 

Then our survey opened up into the Stately Room--walking leads in many directions and ten-foot wide passages. Excitedly we called back to Carlin's team and brought them through to help us survey. My team surveyed up into the Pan Flute Room, but the passage there ended in a mud plug. An easy side lead led us down to Tombstone Junction. We took the left lead, and the passage looked a lot like the walking passages in nearby Hancock Cave.

Our survey ended near the Oculus Malcognito, and we noted cave rat signs, a bat and a salamander.  However, we still had a long way to go to get out. It took more than an hour to exit the cave, and we got back to the car around midnight. Good survey for my team with around 640 feet.

2012 TAG Fall Cave-In

Went to the TAG Fall Cave-In last week and had an amazing time. 100'+ drops everyday, awesome old friends, super cool new friends. Even though my TAG daddy is a bit upset with me now (sorry, inside story) the long weekend was well worth the drive. I was a bit wishy washy about going considering the drive, and the lack of plans, but those I cave with down there have got it together. I came back from the trip refreshed and super jazzed about caving again. Arriving home from the trip at 2am early Monday morning didn't make working that day so cool, but the trip was totally worth it. 

Considering I'll have a real exploration trip to write up next week after running the next Cold Sink survey, I'm going to keep my text to a minimum. If you want more details, come to the next grotto meeting. :-)

Russels cave. Fun wet multidrop cave.
Bolts are foolishly placed  so we diverted the water on this drop.

Tabbatha Cavendish frogging out of the bottom of Lost Canyon Cave

Alan Grosse in some large popcorn.

Did anyone sleep last night?

To see more pictures from this trip go to:

https://picasaweb.google.com/111606262660193613275/2012_TAG_Highlights?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCL6Hpb_-lKWlBw&feat=directlink

Fall VAR 2012

            We started off the trip by meeting at Carlin’s Friday after work – we were Jacob, Carlin, Ken, Diana, and Ava.  The boys rode up with Ken and girls rode in Diana’s car (boys smell bad anyway).  After quite a search we stopped for food in Danville at an Italian place, Jo and Mimmas.  We recommend this for future groups looking for a decent meal on the way to caves, it was delicious.

            After food and coffee we headed down the road toward Rockbridge County, Va.  We made a last stop for gas, bathroom, and beers in Lynchville just before midnight.  Diana stepped in to use the restroom and not long after they turned off all the lights and locked the doors!  Luckily, (as might be expected of a caver heading to a caving event) she had a headlamp on hand so continued to wash her face and came out (very much to the surprise of the workers) a few minutes later.  We all had a laugh.  VAR was ~ 20 minutes away down back roads.  We followed maps, gps, and finally the signs to get there.  Upon arrival there were several people hanging around registration and sign ups for trips the next day.  Because we were so late most were trips were full, but someone (maybe Bob?) recommended a couple of caves a little ways north, Belles Valley Wet and Dry caves, for us to check out on our own.  

            We decided to figure out the details in the morning and then headed toward the back of the property to camp.  We set-up tents and the grotto flag, had a beer, and chatted while scanning the beautifully clear sky for shooting stars.  Some of us saw several, Ken wasn’t having any luck so he went to bed.  No less than 2 minutes after he was in his tent we saw one that was so bright Diana had time to see its reflection in the car window and turn around to see it!  Moral of the story: don’t go to bed.  Then, against our better judgment, we went to bed.

            The next morning Ken had the fixins for French toast and Diana brought fixins for coffee (with a French press).  It was a French morning.  Tanya found us. We shared our breakfast with her and afterward Carlin helped move her tent near the rest of us.  

            We geared up and stopped for directions on the way out.  After some GPS difficulties we headed on the way (Carlin, Jacob, Ken, Tanya, Diana, and Ava).  There were lots of dirt roads, we were definitely in the middle of nowhere.  Both caves were right on the road so we parked at the intersection to get changed and went for the dry cave first.  Carlin tried to take some photos of the entrance but he didn’t have his SD card. He takes better photos than I do so I loaned him mine.  Therefor, all photos are courtesy of Carlin (and also do not show him, but I promise he really did come along).

            Diana and Jacob were the first ones in. It opened up into a little room and then to a belly crawl a few yards long.  Then on to kneeling passage with lots of rimstone pools with a few inches of water. 

 

We saw several bats on the way in.

  

We continued on to a small room in the back, nothing too special.  Ken thought there was a lead, Carlin checked it out and said no go.  So, naturally, Ken (the largest person in the group) proceeded to shove himself feet first into the hole to see if Carlin was right.  When he was chin deep in mud he decided it didn’t go--that was the end.  Carlin took some nice photos of Jacob on the way out, Ken helped with lighting.
               

            We exited for the wet cave only to find more cavers at the parking area. They were about to check out the dry cave too.  We were warned that the wet cave was REALLY wet and that we’d go in, start swimming, and swim until we were too cold to swim anymore.  It started off in dry walking passage for a few yards where we found a salamander and took pictures, then as expected it got wet really quick.  We were waist deep in 55 degree water almost immediately. 

Soon we were seeing salamanders everywhere!

And wading in water that was approaching chest deep!  We were able to get up a little higher to straddle the deep water by keeping feet and hands on the walls. The water was relatively clear, clear enough to see to the bottom in some spots.  We followed the water upstream for quite a ways, there was some nice flowstone and tons of salamanders.  So many that even I stopped pointing them out. They looked similar to cave salamanders but their coloring was more dull than usual.  

            We continued on, switching between swimming through, wading in, and straddling over the water until Ken got to a point where he said we would have to duck under and possibly get our heads/chests wet.  But, Carlin wanted to check it out and pushed through without getting too wet (ie. he didn’t have to submerge his head).  The cave continued up a flowstone waterfall to some rimstone pools and into walking passage.  The rest of the group followed.

We saw a dead bat in the water, gross!  Then came to what appeared to be a sump, checked it to the point that my right ear was very wet and very cold.  Decided not to push it so we headed back toward the entrance.  It was a lot of fun! Some of our packs were less waterproof than others.  On the way out Jacob was sending his swaygo pack sailing on top of the water through people’s legs as they straddled the stream passage, others had soaked lights and food that wasn’t as fun to watch.  We stopped near the entrance to take some photos, see below.

 

Daily workout

 

Diana had just told Ken to close his mouth, he obeyed. 

 

 

No comment

  

Ken and Diana headed out the way we came in, Carlin, Jacob, and I headed out the other entrance where we could hear the other group of cavers.  Jacob saw a froggy on the way out. 

            After trying to convince the other group to get wet and check the cave out we headed up the road a piece to scope out a few other holes in the side of the road.  None of them seemed to go so we headed downhill towards the creek to look for another cave we’d heard about.  We didn’t find it but did make it to the creek where we waded/swam upstream looking for the cave in the hillside bank, no luck. 

Ken, Ava, and Diana traveling up the creek

 But, Jacob did find an alligator snapping turtle! 

            On the way back we were halted by a road block...of cows.  Seems they liked being out of the pasture blocking the road better than life inside the fence.  We made it back for dinner, beers, and a presentation about caving in Mexico by Tony Akers.  There was a nice campfire after the presentation.  Then we headed back to the tents to look for shooting stars before we went to bed.  Ken saw 2!  In the morning we packed up camp and Carlin attended part of the regional meeting.  Then we headed toward Lexington to find breakfast.  After some trouble finding any open restaurants we found one, a place called Niko’s (for future reference).

            Then, at Ken’s suggestion, we made our way toward the Devil’s Marble yard to do some hiking on the way home.  It was a nice 1.5 mile hike up to a huge boulder field on top of a mountain.  Solid boulders for almost ½ mile!   

Ken, Diana, Ava at on the Devil's marbles

We climbed on every single one of them and then kept going toward the summit.   We hiked back down and headed for home.   We stopped for Mexican in Danville and then back to Carlin’s.
            Seems like everyone had a great time, I know I did.  Let’s go caving!