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NEST TRIP REPORT
Project Z Trip Report 17 Apr 99
Pushing Sump # 3 & High Flow
The Northeast Sump Exploration Team, NEST, returned and continued its
exploratory work at Project Z on 17 Apr 99. We also began work on a new
site later that afternoon. NEST is a formally recognized Project of the NSS
and consists of a team of sump divers and dedicated support personnel who
are pursuing original exploration efforts at several caves in the PA,
Virginia and West Virginia areas. The team surveys and further documents
these sites through the use of still and video techniques as well as
engaging in biological surveys and water sampling at these locations. NEST
is also available to support the NCRC in situations involving flooded
passage and beyond sump rescues. Below is an account of the Teams most
recent explorations.
It was Robs first visit to Z so before I began my dive he got the
opportunity to take a look at the passage leading off the head pool.
Wearing a wetsuit, mask with snorkel and with a meteor 4 on a belt he
carefully entered the pool. Once he was floating free of the bottom I gave
his feet a shove to propel him forward with the minimum amount of
disturbance to the fine sediment that lined the bottom. As the light from
his primary illuminated the clear water and surrounding cream colored
limestone Paul and I were rewarded with a spectacular show.
After Rob exited I finished my final gear prep and entered the first sump
breathing from my hand held 30 cu ft stage bottle. As I passed down the
vertical slot leading to the bottom of the first sump the fastener on the
top of my left knee pad came loose and it flopped down snagging the line. I
stopped, reached back and freed it. Being unable to reattach the Velcro
fastener I removed it and passed it to my right hand, grasping it and the
stage bottle at the same time and continued. Although frustrating, the knee
pad had actually functioned correctly since it was designed to
intentionally fail and pull loose if it snagged. After surfacing on the
other side of the first sump I reattached it and continued on passing the
second sump without any further incident.
The crawl down the mud lined air filled passage to the third sump also
proved uneventful. Mindful of the problem with the knee pad I removed both
before entering the third sump to insure I would have the smallest possible
profile in case the lead in the third sump was pushable. I passed the first
two minor restrictions, the first major one, the low mud flats beyond and
exited the last major restriction into the large room in sump 3. Floating
out into this room above the sediment bank I followed the line down the
steep slope toward the reel. Hovering carefully I took another look around
the corner to the right in the hope that I might have missed a lead in this
area on my previous pushes but found only blank walls. My buoyancy control
and finning technique was perfect and I turned, returned to the low section
and gently floated down to the bottom for a good look at the restriction.
At last I was able to properly examine this area and I found that it was
flat, several feet wide with only 2 to 3 inches of clearance between the
gravel floor and the limestone ceiling. It was definitely going to require
a great deal of digging to make any progress. I placed the spike I had left
here on my last push in the gravel in front of the restriction and secured
the line to it. This action was enough to wipe out the vis so I turned and
finned back to the top of the large sediment mound. The vis opened up to a
foot at this point, enough so that I could tie in the line from the yellow
reel I had prepared and positioned here on a previous dive to the main line
and head upward. This was an area that I had not yet completely checked and
was definitely worth a closer look.
As I moved toward the ceiling I could feel my ears popping and I saw
the reflection of an air surface above me. I soon found my self in a small
dome big enough so I could float with my shoulders out of the water. I
looked around expectantly for a dry lead but none was present. The airspace
was fairly large, larger than one that my bubbles would have created so I
had technically cracked the third sump. This made a lot more sense in that
this fit the pattern of the previous sumps. They had so far all gone to air
after beginning to rise. After a final look around I dropped back down and
continued with my exit and surfaced in the head pool.
I reattached my knee pads at this point and began the slog back to the
second sump. After crawling about 30 feet the sucking mud lived up to its
reputation and my right knee pad vanished. After pawing in the slime
without success for several minutes I gave up and used the end of my fin
pack in its place. Despite this small impediment I made good progress and
retrieved my stage bottle to make an uneventful exit through the next two
sumps.
I surfaced and passed the less than positive news on to Paul and Rob.
Paul suggested we drive to another nearby site and take a look at it. A
short time later we pulled into a field and made our way past several farm
buildings to the edge of a steep hill. Below us a large creek wound past us
in a lazy loop. Rob and I were still outfitted in our exposure suits from
the dive at Z so after grabbing a few additional pieces of gear we followed
Paul down the slope to our objective, a large spring discharging twice the
volume of Z. The springs resurgence was complex with water issuing from
several spots.
The owner of the property had been told that a low water filled cave
passage with air space above it could be found here and that it headed back
into the hill. A quick examination disclosed no enticing leads of this
nature so I put on my mask and examined the area below the water line. At
two points I found openings heading into the hillside. The flow was high
enough to blow the silt that I was creating downstream so I got a good look.
It was tight but it might go.
After donning my sidemounts I began the process of enlarging the first
entrance. As I pulled rocks out of the bottom Rob grabbed them and dragged
them out of the way to Paul on the shore. After several minutes I was able
to get my head and shoulders into the passage but it was still too tight.
We moved to the second entrance and started the process all over again.
After 15 minutes we had removed most of the rocks that we could easily reach
and were left with a narrow tall limestone slot.
I surfaced, put on my fins and collected my thoughts. Grasping my
reel I submerged and began to worm my way inside. It was tight and I had to
rotate on to my side with one tank up and the other down in order to fit.
It took a bit of effort but I was finally able to pop into a small room. In
front of me I could see that the passage made a hard left turn around
another narrow but tall restriction. This would have to wait, for my next
goal was insuring that I could get back out. By tucking my fins in I was
able to rotate around so I could face the entrance. The rapid flow blew the
silt away and I was greeted by a beautiful sight. As the sunlight streamed
into the entrance I could see Rob floating on the surface watching me. He
positioned the stage bottle so I could reach it if I needed it. Before
attempting my exit I moved some large rocks out of the way digging from the
inside. After a few minutes I began the process of exiting. I had to place
one arm ahead of me and one behind and wiggle vigorously to make any
progress. I was amazed at how calm and comfortable I felt since tight
passage in dry cave have always gotten my attention. For a moment I though
I might have to remove my gear to get out, a viable option I was prepared to
execute if necessary, but I was finally able to squeeze through with my
tanks scrapping the limestone for the last few inches.
Having determined that I could get out passed the first restriction
without an extreme amount of difficulty I was now ready to give the second
a try. A little more digging and I entered again. The second restriction
was just a bit bigger than the first, it is amazing how much difference
another fraction of an inch can make in a situation like this. I passed it
and found myself in a 6 foot wide by 4 foot high passage that vanished into
the distance. I tried to place a spike to belay the line at this point but
the rocky floor proved unsuitable so I did a line wrap around a nice loose
15 pound rock and proceeded on for another 40 feet. Once again it was time
to turn and make sure that I could easily exit. The flow gently pushed me
back and I successfully negotiated the newest restriction without any major
problems.
After sharing my progress with Paul and Rob I reentered and recovered the
reel proceeding on. On the left side I soon discovered a very snug freeatic
tube entering the passage at a 90 degree angle. A clump of white roots
pierced the ceiling at this junction and was being blown in to the main
passage by the flow that emanated from this lead. The passage looked like
it might be barely passable and appeared to get bigger after 20 feet. The
visibility was excellent and at least 40 feet.
I opted to continue down the main passage and was rewarded by several
beautiful limestone projections that had been carved by the water into
streamlined sculptures and rose from the floor. As the reel reached its end
I noticed the reflection of an air surface above me. I surfaced into a 30
foot long room with a 10 foot high ceiling. The passage dipped underwater
at the end of the room and again vanished invitingly into the distance.
During my exit I was amazed at the flow that pushed me along at a nice clip.
It almost felt like I was in downstream Cow. I enjoyed excellent
visibility even on my exit and was definitely in sump heaven.
I surfaced and Paul passed me a drop weight and I reentered, this time
using the first entrance which I had slightly enlarged from the inside
before my last exit. This proved much easier than the first restriction.
After reaching the air filled room I cut the line and used the weight to
secure the end in a crack for my next effort. Since we had not planned on
this second trip we were out of line so we had to call it a day.
To say the least we were happy campers, our new cave which we
appropriately named High Flow had rewarded us with 130 feet of passage with
the potential for more. The visibility, lack of depth and flow made it one
of the best we had seen thus far. Only the future would reveal its true
extent. One that we look forward toward exploring. Once again Paul had
demonstrated his ability in finding us another excellent site.
We would like to recognize our sponsors and all of the supporting cavers
who helped make our efforts possible. A special thanks to Arnold Jackson Of
American Underwater Lighting who supplied our exceptional primary lights,
meteor 4�s, and Jon Breazile of the Fifth Dimension Dive Center who has
provided us with other vital support. We would also like to thank Terry
Brady, of the Brass Anchor who has provided us with generous audio visual
support. Additional sponsors include Lamar Hires of Dive Rite, Gene
Weisheit of East Coast Divers, Alex Sproul of Inner Mountain Outfitters,
Brad Bason, of Bason Rescue Equipment, Adrew Kipe of Maryland
Reproductions, and Robert Carmichael of Brownies, The Doing It Right
Equipment Company, Tim Walker, Hank and Jane Anderson, and the Sovik and
Mothes families without whose support none of our efforts would have been
possible. A special thanks to Paul Montgomery and his family for hosting
us this weekend and the landowners who permitted us to explore this unique
site. I would also like to thank Robert Laird who put Paul in contact
with me when he called looking for sump divers to look at these incredible
springs.
Diver Explorer
Joseph Kaffl
Support Team Members
Paul Mongomery
Rob MacCracken
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