June 4, 2022 — GSEP Trip Report
Submitted by Chuck Noe
On June 4th, 2022 the GSEP conducted reconnaissance and maintenance dives at Goodenough to restart team diving activities following a 3-year hiatus. Team members in attendance included: Chuck Noe, Rick Aurich, Mike Gault, and new team member Jef Frank. Jef is a technical rebreather diver based in Austin, Texas who’s previously made several dives at GE as a volunteer servicing the drift-trap and datasonde deployed for a cooperative research project headed by Peter Sprouse currently underway at the spring.
This trip also reintroduced Mike to the project following a period of absence. Mike has dived back into technical/cave diving in the past couple of years returning to active instruction and has even opened a new DOT certified hydrotest facility in Austin. His goals include reinvigorating our project with new members and resuming a leadership role. I fully support these efforts and have nominated him to be the next Project Director for the GSEP as my participation lessens. I hope to call for a vote on Mike’s nomination soon and look forward to working with him and the current membership as well as the new members that will follow in our finsteps.
Conditions (lake, dive-site, & spring)
Cloud Cover – 0-25% (mostly sunny)
Air Temperature – 94 F. (recorded @ 5 pm), Del Rio reported a high of 101 F. earlier in the afternoon
Wind Speed/Direction – 11 mph/90 degrees
Precipitation – none
Surface Boil – present, with schooling fish
Surface Temperature – 81 F.
Bottom Temperature – 79 F. (no thermocline evident)
Lake Elevation – 1,059’msl (58’ below “normal pool” of 1,117’)*
Waves – medium chop
Lake Vertical Visibility – 15 dm/5’ @ GE, 20 dm/6.5’ @ buoy #19, 21 dm/<7’ @ buoy #14
Spring Temperature – 82 F.
Spring Flow – medium**
Spring Horizontal Visibility – not measured (estimate 20’-30’)
*The lake is very low, only slightly above its historical low. As such there are several boat-ramp closures and we were forced to launch at the Diablo East ramp and make a 12 nm (no gear) run to the Box Canyon ramp where we loaded all our equipment for the additional 6 nm run to the spring/cave.
Due to my errant fuel-planning we opted to acquire 5 gallons additional fuel on the return stop at Box Canyon to assure adequate reserves to reach the Diablo East ramp at day’s end.
**While still in the “medium” range, the flow inside the cave was somewhat diminished from what we’ve typically witnessed over the past 20+ years. The flow in the Fire Hydrant Tunnel was certainly not “swimmable” but it did allow divers to pull themselves forward a fair distance. In the main entrance tunnel it was possible to hold one’s position with minimal effort (holding on). In spite of significant drought conditions throughout Texas and the Rio Grande valley Goodenough Springs continues to flow substantially.
Background and Diving
Prior to this trip I had significant concerns about the condition of our 24’ dive vessel “Bag O’ Gnomes” (B.O.G.) so we were prepared with various tools/supplies/air-compressor to make any needed repairs. After reinflating tires, pumping out old fuel, changing filters, replacing the battery, and generally cleaning things up we were able to return the boat to good running condition with no serious issues.
That was a big relief and allowed the rest of the events to proceed on schedule. Still, due to uncertainty of our boat’s condition, arrangements had been made for the NPS to provide transportation to the spring so that Jef could retrieve the existing datasonde in case we had trouble making the B.O.G. operational. So according to plan Jef met the NPS at 7am on Saturday morning while we finished preparing for the day’s events. I would like to comment on how pleased we’ve been with the functionality of this customized dive vessel; from the in-water gear donning platform to the ample cylinder/equipment storage it continues to offer great functionality for our operations. It’s also excellent news that Mike has recently acquired a large, capable R.I.B. (rigid inflatable boat) that will be utilized at GE for diving operations requiring smaller groups.
There were several objectives for the trip in addition to restoring the B.O.G. and retrieving the deployed instrumentation. Background information on one of those goals is provided below. Discussion of further goals will follow.
In December of 2020 we were contacted by Sarah Howard with the NPS that our surface buoy had gone missing and that the anchor chain had apparently broken at some earlier point. Since their divers were not qualified to conduct working dives at those depths she inquired whether the GSEP was interested in repairing and maintaining the mooring. After private discussions among board members we decided to decline those requests. We verbally agreed to either remove the remaining components or to abandon and donate them to the NPS in exchange for a waiver of liability. They indicated a need to reestablish a mooring to accommodate another ongoing project and eventually decided to install a simple block/chain/buoy of their own in 2021. In conversations I cautioned them about dropping a heavy concrete block-anchor on the shallow area near the Flowstone Room due to possible collapse risk and they eventually placed the block close to the ledge in a more stable location. At this time their temporary mooring does not provide a continuous path from the surface to the cave and requires a short jump-line to be installed.
Because of the mooring situation noted above one of our primary goals on this trip was to ascertain the cause of failure and the condition of our previous mooring. I had received varying reports of its status ranging from “the chain is broken 20’ from the anchor point” to “the chain ascends from the anchor point up the ledge continuing towards the surface”. Until our trip nobody had accurately surveyed the mooring’s condition and reported their findings to either the GSEP or the NPS. I’m pleased to report that we found the mooring to be intact from the anchors to a point a few feet above the ledge along the shallower lake-bottom. At the location of the break an unidentified diver/group had attached approximately 25’ of carbon-steel chain to our stainless-steel chain using a carbon-steel carabiner. At the upper end of their chain an empty propane cylinder acted as a sole subsurface buoy serving to keep the chain from falling back to the deeper lake-bottom below. I applaud the work of these anonymouscontributors and thank them for their efforts. Additionally we inspected the 4 sacrificial anodes attached to our chain at the cave/lake water interface and found one of them displaced laying on the cave floor. Another was removed from the chain for closer inspection on the surface and we plan to replace all of them on an upcoming trip to assure minimal galvanic degradation to the chain in the future. Due to concerns about rusting/corrosion (and possible failure) of the propane cylinder and chain currently in place we completed a subsequent dive attaching an inflatable Norwegian-ball subsurface buoy to the stainless-steel chain adjacent to the carabiner noted above. Additional repair options will be discussed moving forward though interference/entanglement with the NPS’s temporary mooring is of primary concern.
Another objective was related to the earlier deployment of our own HOBO datasondes. On our last trip in September 2018 we placed 2 of these instruments in the cave at separate locations near the “Well”. These data recorders had been set up to detect and log area rain events for ~25 months. On a previous trip we’d asked another of Sprouse’s team (Matt Turner) to retrieve them for us but only one unit could be located. Thus another of our objectives was to (hopefully) locate the missing unit, but alas it was not found at its deployed location. It did not turn up in a search of the immediate vicinity either so we will continue to look for it on future dives, perhaps expanding our search outside the cavern zone onto the adjacent lake-bottom. We re-deployed the other unit which had been recently serviced and its battery replaced by the manufacturer.
An additional objective was to inspect the placement and condition of our guidelines/pull-lines and other components inside the cave. Aside from the mooring/chain previously described the heavy nylon knotted-line leading into the main passage appeared to be in good condition and was attached to a stainless-steel anchor drilled into the far wall of the “Well”. No permanent line currently leads directly into the F.H.T. from the main passage.
A short distance down the F.H.T. two broken heavy knotted-lines trail outward in the flow and eventually join together on the gravel floor. These lines are joined together underneath the gravel and are attached to a lead weight. These lines previously led through the Laird Restriction but have both been severed over time. With significant effort we were able to pull forward along the ceiling and acquire the ends of the two lines which still remain intact into the restriction though no attempts to traverse it were made. The opening on the left side appeared passable while the other line passes through the center of the restriction and is somewhat blocked by gravel. Extreme caution is recommended in this area of the cave as the flow remains very substantial and the lines have deteriorated over time and may not be secure.
The guideline leading to the “Flowstone” room had been pared back on previous dives to dissuade novice divers from entering the dangerous area. A guideline (#24 cave-line) remains in place at the restricted entrance leading into the passage. I cannot overemphasize the instability of the substrate in this room as it only takes a couple of exhalations before exhaust percolation causes severe turbidity. Exiting this area blind requires negotiating the complex restriction and is highly discouraged. The last diver report from that passage was from a rebreather diver who noted that in spite of producing no exhalation bubbles the simple venting of his BC quickly caused the visibility to diminish to near zero.
The “Grim Reaper” warning sign remains at the entrance to the main cave but is partially obscured by sand captured between its acrylic cover and the sign itself. The original sign was previously replaced as it had no acrylic cover for protection and the sign’s writing had been worn off by the abrasive gravel/sand in the cave entrance. Plans are underway to remedy the obscuration in the near future.
Post Dive
Following the second dive to further support the broken mooring chain (as mentioned above) we packed up our equipment and completed the site-condition reports including visibility measurements using the secchi disk at GE, buoy #19, and buoy #14. Upon reaching the Box Canyon ramp to unload equipment from the boat we found a large number of people who had taken over the unused ramp and converted it into a swimming area. The ramp itself had been turned into a parking lot but the crowd was quite cordial and gladly moved cars so that we could drive our vehicles down to transfer gear off the boat. All the while we were peppered with questions about our activities at the spring. More than one person mentioned that they’d noticed our lack of presence lately and also mentioned that they had visited our website www.goodenoughsprings.org on occasion. I, for one, appreciate the interest shown by the local population and am happy to engage with them. I believe we all feel that same way.
Conclusion
This was an invigorating and productive trip to Goodenough. Being on the waters of Amistad and experiencing the majesty of the spring once again was great. I felt surprisingly comfortable in the environment again and am excited about the renewed interest in our project. Still, I must admit that it was a lot of work and my youthful vigor was a bit lessened but I’m optimistic that I’ll be back for more as
the project moves forward with new leadership and more youthful participants. I hope some of you will be back to join in as well. I’d like to thank not only Mike, Rick, and Jef, but also all of the 40+ individuals who have participated in our project over the past 20 years. Every single person has made a contribution in some way and I appreciate you all.
I encourage this trip’s participants to submit their own comments, corrections, and additions to this report.
Chuck Noe – Director
Goodenough Springs Exploration Project
Additional comments from Mike Gault:
1) There was some additional line (small gauge rope) fouled in the chain outside the cave. We were able to remove some of this line, but more remains that can be pulled on a subsequent trip.
2) As we followed along the mooring chain along the lake bed, which sometimes required physical contact due to the reduced visibility, I noticed a few fishing lures. This reminded me of the early days when our mooring/downline used to snake through the brush outside the cave and was dotted with fishing lures. There is much I missed about diving GE. Fishing lures along a line/chain I’m following by touch in near zero visibility is not one of them. 🙂
3) It was nice to see the school of drum hanging out by the Well. This was a first for me. I can add those to the crawdads and catfish that have appeared there at times. I took a very brief and amateurish video of them, but the file size is too large to attach. I’ll see if I can get this out to folks another way.
Photos that were taken on this trip can be viewed here.