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Locust Creek Trip Report 12 Jun 99
The NEST, Northeast Sump Exploration Team, returned and continued its
exploratory work in Locust Creek Cave on 12 Jun 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.
It was one of those letter perfect West Virginia mornings, the sky was
clear and the weather was warm. As we drove up the road to the spring the
effects of the drought were quite evident, the creek was low and running
clear. With any luck these dry conditions would bring us good visibility.
We pulled up to our normal spot and unloaded our gear in the shade of
some large trees onto the tarp. The entrance to the cave was several
hundred feet away and we bush whacked a trail through the tall grass and
briars that had grown up since our last push the year before. Several trips
to the entrance carrying weights, packs, fins and other gear soon produced a
reasonable trail.
With our sidemounts set up and other gear positioned at the cave
entrance we began the labors task of donning our wetsuits and caving boots.
After all the dry suit diving we had been doing at our other sites we were
definitely spoiled. As we struggled into our suits the warm weather
suddenly became oppressive and we hopped into the creek to cool down. The
chilly 47 degree water provided us some welcome relief and reminded us of
the extremes in temperature that were in store for us over the next several
hours.
After donning our sidemounts we made the hike to the cave taking care
of the moss cover breakdown debris field in front of the entrance where the
winter floods had rearranged some of the smaller boulders, a testament to
the vast quantities of water that the cave can pump out. The first sump was
open with a few inches of airspace but we opted to dive it to verify the
line and test our gear. On the other side of the first sump is a sizable
pool that leads to a section of 200 ft of breakdown floored passage. With
fins and packs in hand we began the trudge toward the second sump. The
passage starts out as a wide crawlway and then turns into walking passage.
At first the floor is littered with three foot high breakdown, sticking up
like dragoons teeth. This in turn leads to a section of angled floor that
forms a vee in the middle, the result of a ceiling collapse. The angle and
the slippery surface requires extreme caution or rewards you with a
demonstration that the laws of gravity still apply at this location. By
the time you have negotiated this section your temperature has once again
climbed dramatically and the water of the next pool comes as a welcome
relief. In past years this pool led to the final sump but a major ceiling
collapse in this area the winter before last dropped a 1000 tons of rock
filling up most of the area requiring a further dry traverse over mud cover
limestone that provides the footing one might find in a skating ring. We
are always quite when passing through the Chicken Little area out of concern
for the stability of the new ceiling. On the other side is a pool that
leads to the second sump. The winters floods had altered this considerably
enlarging it to twice last years size, the result no doubt of the water
surging through this restriction during floods and washing out debris from
the collapse.
After prepping my gear and adding weights to the 50 cal ammo can that
held out photography gear I submerged and entered the overhead environment
with Eric close behind me. I gently finned forward examining the guideline
with my meteor 4 for any possible damage from the winter floods. It had
survived amazingly well. Despite the dry weather the visibility in the
second sump was only 5 feet. I followed the line through this shallow but
wide sump from breakdown pile to breakdown pile. It terminated on a
limestone protrusion on the floor before angling up the sandy slope in front
of me. As I followed it toward the surface it vanished buried under the
sediment. With Eric hovering behind me I began to move upward, gently
pulling it out of the slope as I went. My activity created a small
landslide of debris and a Cray fish the size of a small lobster tumble past
me in the avalanche, claws waving wildly. The dry weather probably
explained his presence and the other dozen I had seen on the swim in since
they may have entered the cave to escape the low water levels in the creek.
As my head broke the surface I was surprised to discover how much the
landscape had changed. A large sandbar now lay directly in front of me
connecting to the shore where before had been wide open river. Using the
bar as a convenient shelf I placed the 50 cal ammo can containing 5 strobes
and our camera on it while I remove my fins. Then Eric and I crawled across
this now shallow area to the ledges on the left of the river where we
dropped our gear and prepared for the dry cave that lay beyond.
This involved shutting down our tanks and dropping our side mounts as
well as removing our wet suit tops, hoods and the weights from our packs.
From here on we would cave in our farmer johns. The passage continues for a
few hundred feet as a wet stream before you climb up through a hole and
through a section of breakdown. At the top of the climb you find yourself
in a large room that echoes with the sound of two water falls in the
distance.
After negotiating the break down we climbed around the left waterfall and
followed the river passage through a beautiful light brown limestone
sculpted passage full of intricate pot holes and erode limestone
protrusions. This in turn led us to three thousand feet of flat sand
floored river passage divided by deep pools. While Eric worked the edges I
swam and waded enjoying the cooling effect of the water which was now a deep
shimmering blue. The Hydrology of the cave is quite complex with at least
four separate major water sources entering the cave. The source we were now
following was quite clear.
After walking for 45 minutes we reached the base of a massive breakdown
mountain and began the climb across and up boulders the size of busses to
the new section that Jeff and I had discovered a few years ago. This was
our object for we had yet to capture this area on slide film. After
traversing the entrance pit we found ourselves in the kitchen, one of
several areas in which we have propositioned supplies. The fridge was well
stocked and like any good house keepers we placed the food we had brought in
today in the back and used the oldest first. Eating and drinking enough on
a cave trip is vital to maintaining your energy levels. If you wait until
you are hungry or thirsty it is already too late. I chowed down and Eric
pulled a poly shirt out of a quart nalogene bottle. I tend to cave warm and
only require a polly tee shirt while Eric chills faster. The top which had
gone in with mechanical assistance came out of the bottle reluctantly and
provided great dinner theater as well as an unexpected source of warmth for
its owner.
After lunch we began our journey down a crawlway/ stoopway that took us
to the beginning of the Glory Road. This passage is a high level area that
probably has not flooded since the last ice age and is covered with an
amazing collection of intricate formations and crystals. In order to
protect its pristine nature we had established a trail of small ceramic
tiles, the key is to walk to the right of these tiles. Even following the
trail our steps still produced crunching sounds, it is almost like walking
on newly fallen snow. The flat floored trunk passage is intersected by a
series of deep wide pits which can be bypassed on ledges and by doing climb
ups into upper levels. We easily passed several familiar landmarks such as
the Ledges of Doom and the Monolith, stopping to enjoy the incredible
beauty of the cave at several points. After a few thousand feet we reached
our primary objective for the trip, Gravity Pit.
This is the first spot in the cave where no natural bypass exits for the
pit level and Jeff Mott and I had bolted our way across this obstacle
several years ago. The name was picked when I made my final lunge to the
other side and in the process lost the battery pack for the drill into the
pit. While Eric geared up in vertical gear that we had positioned here I
began the process of setting up our 5 slaved strobes. The traverse for the
pit is on the left side with a large ledge complex on the right that almost
but does not quite reach the other side. I was able to scramble out on this
ledge and get some great positions for slaves as well as the camera. After
capturing Eric�s traverse we returned the way we had come and took a right
into the formation room.
The formation room like the rest of this area is almost perfectly
pristine and full of a wide variety of objects from squat white stalagmites
the size of a car to intricate flowstone that in one place covers the floor
for over 150 by 50 feet resembling a glacier. After shooting a roll of film
we moved to an upper level walking passage that cuts back the way we had
come. This passage itself is one giant formation and we were able to get
several long passage shots as we carefully moved down it. Eric had the
privilege of being only the third person to ever see it.
We then retraced our steps taking photos as we went. Close to the
beginning of the glory Road Eric did an assisted climb up the left wall into
a virgin crawl that unfortunately connected back to the known passage.
Then it was back to the kitchen for a early dinner and a pleasant trip out.
That is till we had to make the traverse from the beginning of the second
sump to the vehicle.
This part of the trip is definitely the most challenging segment.
After 8 hours of caving you are a bit tired by this point, the back of your
knees, despite the lycra under garment you are wearing are sore from the
rubbing of your wet suit. Combine this with the slippery passage, the
weight of the gear and warmth generated by doing this in a full wet suit
makes this final segment a short death march. As we gasp for breath at one
point I offered Eric 5 dollars for his gear and he accepted if I would carry
it out for him. Even with practice this part of the trip is as Jay Kennedy
would put it is," UN YUM." We have had more than one diver or support
person quite for good after this ordeal. With practice it becomes quite
bearable but boy does it feel good to take off the gear once you reach the
truck. Several yauls of relief usual accompany this ritual.
The slides have come back and I had the chance to reviewed them just
before writing this article, several are truly spectacular and have been
added to the Locust Creek presentation. They were definitely worth all of
the effort placing us close to having a formal slide presentation, just a
few more shots need to be added to achieve this goal. We plan on continuing
the survey of the new section that lies many pits and drops beyond where we
turned this trip on our next effort at Locust and once this is complete to
begin the next bolt climb across the last pit that has stopped us.
Hopefully Locust has much more virgin passage to show us 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 other critical gear 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, and our most recent sponsor, DUI for our
outstanding CF 200 series Dry Suits, Tim Walker, Hank and Jane Anderson,
and the Sovik and Mothes families without whose support none of our efforts
would have been possible.
..
JOSEPH
KAFFL
SUMPDIVER@MS*.CO*
NEST
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