Trip Report – August 11-12 2001
Chuck Noe, Mike Gault, Rick Aurich
– – – – – – – –
From Chuck:
I have begun correspondence with a Park Service representative. He was very nice, a diver, and seemed cautious. He had initiated a dive with a group earlier in the year but had terminated it prior to reaching the cave due to entanglement hazards along the buoy line (good decision).
For this trip, we accomplished a couple of major objectives.
1) We have attached a taut 3/16″ braided nylon line from the tire/anchor’s eye to a ceiling projection on the left side of the entrance tunnel. The connection to the projection was made utilizing a bridle of 1/2″ three strand nylon (military surplus green-line) with two eyes which was wrapped twice around the projection and then with one eye slipped through the second forming a slip-knot of sort. The 3/16″ line was then tied into the free eye using a simple bowline. The other end of the 3/16″ line was tied directly to the eye with a double wrap and a series of simple overhand knots (I was in a hurry<g>). The line DID pass over one other projection on the ceiling which presents the possibility of future abrasion problems.
The consensus was that we should eventually secure the tire/anchor with the use of a heavy line secured low to the right-hand wall (smooth) utilizing pitons and carabiners. We were unable to do that on this trip.
2) We, with some difficulty, managed to install a secure guideline of 7 /16″ solid-braid nylon from the right wall (across from the Fire-Hydrant Tunnel entrance) all the way TO the tunnel’s major restriction. This line terminates in a horizontal fissure on the overhang directly above the restriction. The attachment point is a #6 (medium) wedge-piton driven in at 90 degrees to the direction of pull. It supports an oval non-locking carabiner that is wedged at a fixed angle, but whose gate is fully accessible and operational. The line has a simple overhand loop knot which is attached to the carabiner and has approximately 3-4 feet of free line (tail) remaining. From that attachment, the line follows the right-hand wall (entering) where it is again anchored using a #6 knife-edge piton in a vertical crack, with similar attachment methods. The line continues downstream with one simple wrap around the existing mainline’s projection-attachment then on to the right entrance-tunnel wall. That attachment was made using a #2 channel piton which was placed in a small isolated wall perforation. Again an oval carabiner and loop-knot is the method of attachment. A tail of approximately 5-6 feet is coiled from the remaining line. Accounting for the remaining line and one wrap, the distance from this right wall to the restriction appears to be about 90 feet linear. The line and anchors are substantial enough such that divers can pull their way through the tunnel. It is still not easy, but it is easier than the flywalking we had been doing.
Robert’s original floor line remains in good shape and was left in the cave. I believe that the line should probably be left in place, but it could be tightened to eliminate loops and slack which are a hazard.
In addition to the two accomplishments listed above we made contacts and are coordinating with Steve White to improve and maintain the buoy line to the surface. His efforts with this are ongoing and appreciated.
Another thing that should be noted is my observations while at the restriction. Once the line was secured at the restriction I utilized a jon line (clipped into the end carabiner) to hang at the entrance to the restriction and observe the possible routes of attack for it’s penetration. For the first time I discovered that there is a significant vertical fissure to the right of the restriction which seems to have some reduced flow. It is quite narrow, though, and may not be passable.
Also, as previously reported by Robert, there is indeed a significant gravel dam which stretches along the entire length of the restriction. I feel like this dam does not necessarily pose a prohibitive barrier to penetration by a sidemount-equipped diver. It may certainly be impassable to a backmounted diver though. I was encouraged by the fact the the restriction is much wider across than I thought, so that an entering diver would have very little “plugging effect”. The cave DID appear to open up again beyond the restriction though no “significant rooms” are immediately obvious. Regardless, it will be difficult, at best, to penetrate beyond this restriction. I am now starting to explore ways to make it possible. Any good ideas will be considered and appreciated.
– – – – – – – –
From Mike Gault:
The lake level is apparently still dropping. The ranger (Greg) told us the rate. It was 4 inches over a certain time period, but I don’t recall the time period. Anyone? Was it per day? I recall it seemed to be a very fast rate. He mentioned that they were releasing lake water to flood some wetlands downstream.
We were fortunate when we arrived that Steve White and his group had already confirmed that the down line was clear (fish hooks etc.). Steve had a good idea for anyone making the initial trip down the line. He used some sort of clip that he attached to the line and slid it along as he descended. This way the clip will catch any hooks, not your hand. A fortunate side effect of the garden hose is that it is not as prone to snagging fish hooks as the nylon line. The hose is pretty slippery when it gets some growth on it and it has the potential for sliding up and down the line, but I believe its usefulness in preventing line abrasion outweighs the downside.
I’m looking forward to returning to take a better look at the room Chuck found. After struggling through the restriction I had little opportunity to take a close look at the room. Vis had been reduced and I was trying to get my bearings/buoyancy under control when I popped into the room. I was virtually blind as I passed through the restriction. When I first reached clearer(but not clear) water, something on the wall looked a little unusual. I did a quick double take before looking to Chuck(I could see him in my peripheral vision). The small part of the wall I could see looked a little like flowstone and there were parts that looked like they were drooping down where there was a slight undercut in the wall. My geology and my brief glance are not enough for me to say with any certainty, but they looked a little like what I would consider speleothems. The small spot on the wall kinda reminded me of a small version of what the roadside cuts on Loop 360 look like, where water runs down the side of the cliff. I wonder if this was a dry chamber?
– – – – – – – –
From Rick Aurich:
The trip went really well. Chuck managed to place 3 pitons w/ carabiners and attach a line from the right-hand wall in the entrance tunnel all the way to the crack above the restriction. It was actually a joint effort with tasks divided between all four of us. One carabiner is in the crack just above the restriction, one is about 30′ before the restriction on the right-hand wall of the fire hydrant tunnel and the third is on the right-hand entrance wall just across from the fire hydrant tunnel entrance. The fire hydrant tunnel was pumping as usual. Chuck discovered a new room at the top of the entrance tunnel almost directly above and just slightly to the rear of the fire hydrant tunnel entrance. I never made it into the room so I’ll let Chuck and Mike describe it. Chuck had silted the entrance to this room really bad going in (the entrance to the room is a silty clay bottom restriction), and Mike backed up to make another attempt at the restriction which made me think Chuck had turned the dive, so I exited. Chuck (sidemounts) and Mike (backmounts) made it into the room and explored it. Chuck said he got to 68′ and that the room is huge. Mike said he saw what looked like some flowstone and possibly some speleothems.
The tire, upline and buoy were still in place. There was another boat moored up when we got there. An instructor named Steve White from Seguin was there with Don Dibble and some students. Steve White had placed a slit garden hose around the upline (held on with cable ties), where it rubs the rocks to try to prevent abrasion. He had also brought another line with a whole garden hose on it to install, which he did but it was only 100′ long and the garden hose did not fully protect from abrasion. Chuck and Mike managed to temporarily secure the tire into the cave.
The lake water was 84 F, as well as the cave, so there was no temp difference between lake water and cave water. Lake water was near zero viz as usual.
The fire hydrant tunnel is about 90′ from the entrance tunnel to the restriction.
– – – – – – – –
Follow up from Chuck re: the “room in the back”:
I didn’t say much about the room Mike and Rick mentioned. FYI, the entrance to the room is located high in the back of the main entrance tunnel, above the bedding plane I had originally hoped to negotiate on sidemounts. I was just checking all the nooks and crannies at the end of dive 1 and found a small (but passable) hole at the far back of this tunnel. I’m not certain but I believe this restriction is at a depth of between 85 and 90 feet.
On the first dive I didn’t have a primary so I only stuck my head through the opening where I saw clear water and a significant room. On the next dive we brought a primary and I squeezed through the hole (running a line) and entered into a large room which I would estimate to be about 40 feet long, 25 feet wide, and 25 feet tall. I performed a somewhat thorough search of the room finding no significant openings nor flow.
All the time I was in there the visibility continually worsened due to percolation and my venturing into the smaller recesses. Near the end of this excursion, I rose to the highest dome on the ceiling where I was able to get my head and shoulders into an air pocket. A quick look at my depth gauge showed my depth to be only 68 ffw! This was a full 93 feet shallower than my earlier (same dive) visit to the Fire-Hydrant Tunnel restriction! Robert, were you aware of this room? I removed my line on exit to discourage ill-prepared divers from entering it should they find it. I wasn’t as keenly observant as Mike and didn’t notice any geological features. I was looking for more cave. <g>