Nov 25-26 2000 Trip Report
We got on site and passed back and forth using the new sonar to paint a mental picture of what was below. The warm water in the boil tends to screw up the readings (making the depth readout show 6 ft. or so). Repeated trips across the top revealed the sharp drop from about 50-60 feet to 110 or so. The water level was up approximately 9 feet from our previous trip. Finally JG and I suited up and I did a glory dive to locate and temporarily mark the entrance.
I located the entrance and from clear water I used a DR blue reel and JG’s C02 bag to shoot a line to the surface. Of course at this point (in clear water) there is an overhang, and the float hung on the overhanging shrubs above. I had to attach the reel to the existing main line and leave it to free-spool while I moved up the line to free the float. I didn’t have any fun at all on that dive. I was VERY careful to avoid entanglement and carried another safety reel and small marker bag in case I needed to signal the surface for assistance. I was diving a single LP PST 95 with h-valve and full cave gear for redundancy.
I surfaced from the dive with 2,000 psi. On the surface and after much debate we pulled the float-line as near vertical as possible and dumped the new anchor/tire (with line attached) over the bow. Our hope was that the tire would land on the ledge just above the cave opening and that we would be able to pull the tire just enough for it to fall into the cavern opening below. We were fairly successful as the tire rested about 75 feet below the surface after we dropped it. We then held the attached line and backed the boat up until the tire broke free and fell an additional 25-30 feet. At this time I clipped an al 63 and the 500# lift bag to the new descent line and allowed it to drop to the bottom of the lake in case I had the chance to use them for subsequent clean-up.
At this point JG and I went back into the water to have a look (feel) and to possibly roll the tire into the clear water. At the surface we pulled the two floats together and descended holding the two lines in proximity until approaching the bottom. At this point we connected the two lines with a carabiner, assuring that we would have a continuous path from the cave to the new permanent ascent line and buoy. We referenced our position in the clear water then followed the lines back into the zero vis making our way toward the tire. We passed the al 63 and 500# bag and reached the tire after what seemed like a 150′ swim (which was actually less than 50′). We managed to stand the 250# anchor/tire up but were unable to roll it forward as the bottom sloped UPWARD towards the cave entrance. We laid the tire back down then proceeded back to clear water to converse.
Fully aware of our situation I signaled to JG that I was low on air (same tank as first dive) and gave the thumb. We exited without incident. Once we were back on the surface I vowed to make another dive to actually SEE the cave and began a surface interval to eat lunch. Rick decided that being warm and dry was better than the alternative and decided to not join us for the return dive. As it turned out this was probably a good decision as our day got very long (again) and his role as surface support made our exit much more efficient. Thanks Rick.
On the final dive JG and I went in with a couple more objectives. I was to attach a permanent guideline from the tire to the permanent line in the cave and retrieve the al 63 and 500# bag which remained below. JG was to recover Rick’s “screw anchor” (which I had unsuccessfully deployed on dive #1) and my blue reel and C02 float. Our objectives also included making a full survey of the cave. We made our way down and installed the permanent line then spent about 20 minutes in the cave. JG and I both made it past the end of the existing line and to the restriction in the Fire Hydrant Tunnel. We both agree that the restriction poses no deterrent to passage by side-mount and that no gravel need be removed.
The objective on subsequent dives will be to establish good holds or lines to make the passage more efficient, considering the strong flow. I recognized two possible areas of passage with one on the right being a gravelly horizontal slot and the one lower on the left as being an irregular rocky hole (which seems to drop in depth somewhat). We were able to use rock climbing techniques to reach these restrictions but were still faced with a daunting flow to overcome at this point. I don’t believe that this is impassible, but I believe that we need to determine the “easiest” way to approach it.
We exited the cave following this dive to 158 fsw, picked up the deco bottles we had brought down, and made a cold and difficult decompression before returning to the surface. All of this was not without some difficulty.
Chuck