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NEST TRIP REPORT
High Flow Trip Report 1 May 99
The Northeast Sump Exploration Team, NEST, returned and continued its
exploratory work at High Flow Cave on 1 May 99. 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.
I strained to look around the corner of the low tight tube as the silt my
entrance had stirred up was wafted away by the substantial flow. The passage
turned to the right 70 degrees, continued and appeared to get a bit bigger
so I moved forward into this larger section. Beyond this point it changed
into a taller narrower cross section, slanting downward and continuing as
far as my meteor 4 beam could reach. It was definitely snug. It was now
time to see if I could turn around so I tucked my fins tight to my body and
visualizing the location of the line behind me tried to turn. No luck, it
was just too tight. Extending my fins behind me I rested for a moment. I
now had three options, continue on in the hopes that the passage would get
bigger, remove my gear and try turning around again, or back out. I
opted to try the backing method first. Using the ends of my fins as giant
feelers I inserted my legs into the snug tube. The flow helped push me
along and once or twice I had to readajust the position of my tanks to pass
some tight sections. After a few minutes I popped into the main trunk
passage.
It felt good to be out and I rested on the floor for a moment before
collecting Eric�s stage and finning through the restrictions and out to a
bright sunlit late afternoon. It had been an incredible day for NEST with a
great deal accomplished at our newest site.
Eric, Tab and I had rolled down to Paul�s Friday evening and after a good
nights rest we had set out for High flow to be joined by Jesse Giebell at
the site. After staging the gear down to the spring and a brief encounter
with a copperhead that believed he had squatting rights at the spring I had
made the first dive carrying 700 feet of # 72 line on a custom spool. I
passed the first two restrictions without any problems getting quite
comfortable with the hard S turn after the entrance. To pass it you have
to rotate on your side with one tank up and the other down and then arc your
back and ooze around the corner. Past this point the passage gets up to 8
to 15 feet wide and is three feet high. I finned and pulled and glided my
way to the first large room. Retrieving the drop weight I had used to
secure the end of the line I attached my new spool and continued on. The
passage remained large and inviting and began to slowly head upward. I soon
found my self in a very low airspace with a small passage continuing above
water level. It was too small to enter so I backup and reeled in my line.
All of this water had to becoming from some where and as I returned
along the passage I notice a high canyon on my right. The passage cut off
from the main trunk at over a 160 degree angle so I had swum right passed it
on my inward journey. I Wrapped the line around a limestone projection at
this junction and finned forward into the canyon. It was tall and narrow
and the large reel was a bit too big to fit easily. The flow had also
dramatically increased so I opted to back up and exit to return with a
smaller more appropriately sized reel. As I was cutting the end of the
line free at the projection I notice that a large part of the flow was
heading down another passage across from where the canyon intersected the
main trunk. I took a closer look and verified that it was indeed a sizable
syphon. High Flow was a much more complex cave than we had imagined. I
turned and exited.
After loading a smaller Dive Rite reel with # 72 line I headed back in,
tied into the line at the pinnacle and proceed up the tall narrow canyon.
I had to pull and glide to make any progress against the increased flow.
After approximately 90 feet I surface into a small air filled room. This
space was similar to the first room. Dry passage but not passable. With
no signs of water flow I realized I must have missed the main route again so
I reel back down the passage. To my left a low wide passage exited from the
top of the canyon. It resembled the lips in Ginnie Springs on a smaller
scale. I pulled my self through until the passage turned to the left and
got bigger. Almost out of line I locked the reel off and placed it in a
convenient crack. I rode the current out in clear visibility wondering what
the cave would do next.
After filling my low tank from a LP 120 Eric and I suited up and headed
in, Eric led and we joined up on the other side of the restrictions heading
to the first room as a team. After admiring the room and discussing our
options from this point we dove and proceeded to the beginning of the lips
before turning and exiting. Eric was as ecstatic as I was, his
description," like Florida but colder" about summed it up perfectly.
After a quick lunch I headed back in with a new full reel recovering
the drop weight as I passed through the first room.. After passing the lips
I secured the line at the turn with the weight. The flow was so high that
all of the fine sediment had long ago been blown out of the cave. All
attempts to place spikes as belays had thus far proven unsuccessful. A few
feet further and I found myself in a sizable air space just as I ran out of
line. I surfaced and tested the air. It tasted fine so I used it while I
tied in the next reel.
Submerging I found the passage continued low and wide before
dramatically changing in character. It almost resembled the Key Hole with a
roof. This restriction once again elevated the flow and I had to pull my
way forward. This is where the resemblance to the Key Hole changed for the
passage had a thin wall of limestone dividing it in half. I chose the right
half and had to turn on my side to fit. Several feet further a window in
this dividing wall appeared and I passed through it to the other side
following the passage into a room that led to another airspace. Surfacing
I looked around and noticed several reasonable high dry leads 10 feet above
me. The area was partially filled with a mix of breakdown, more than
likely caused by one of the many sinks that covered the field above me.
Diving again I fin forward to yet another restriction. This one was 5
feet wide and very low. A limestone projection resembling the pummel on a
saddle rose from the floor and I wrapped the line around this. It looked
very tight but the passage beyond appeared to go. I again turned and exit
gathering up the empty reel. The current flushed me through the lips the
flow pushed me out just like the Florida version. I was in sump diving
heaven.
With a fresh set of 45s, a new battery pack for my primary and a fresh
reel of line Eric and I headed in. After negotiating the lips, and the
great divide Eric waited in the large room while I pushed the restriction.
It turned out to be a lot bigger than I had though and I was able to pass
without any body compression. It continued for 40 feet to again surface in
yet another sizable room that made a hard turn to the left. The character
of the passage had once again changed and it now resembled the low river
passage I had seen in many large dry caves that sumped and I hoped that this
time I was seeing it from the other side. A dry area on the right featured
a small pile of breakdown and I warped the line around this before crawling
forward and ducking underwater once again to enter sump 5.
The passage continued wide and low. As the line spun off my reel I
noticed a conveniently place ceiling protrusion and looped the reel over
this. The passage continued in front of me as far as I could see and I
reluctantly turned and allowed the current to flush me down stream. When I
surfaced I found Eric on his reg, and he noted that he suspected the air
quality in the room. Taking no chances we turned and let the flow wash us
from the cave.
It was now my turn to stand by as safety diver and Eric entered the cave
with the slate and surveyed to the first room. He returned at the appointed
time and after wolfing down some food it was time for one more dive.
The site was very shallow so I had plenty of gas left. After almost
two hours in the 51 degree water my core temperature was dropping a bit so I
opted to stay near the entrance and check out some of the passages in this
area. Proceeding past the first room I tied off to the pinnacle at the
beginning of the canyon and headed into the syphon. It got narrower but
continued to go. Worth pushing but not today so I turned, recovered a stage
Eric had dropped in the first room and headed down the trunk to the side
lead that entered the main passage at a right angle. A clump of roots
protruded from the ceiling and streamed from the passage like a mane of
blonde hair. I tied into the line and finned into the passage, but you
already know that part of the story.
All in all an incredible day, we had added almost three hundred feet
of line, for a total of close to four hundred feet, surveyed 100 ft, and
pushed the cave to its fifth sump, discovered two syphon tunnels and
several small air filled rooms. The cave more than lived up to its name
with the flow increasing the further we penetrated. The visibility had been
a good solid 25 feet and based on the recent rains in the area would
hopefully be better in the future.
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 Explorers
Joseph Kaffl
Eric Tesnau
Support Team Members & Guests
Paul Mongomery, Va. Project Coordinator
Tab Sommer
Jesse Giebell
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