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NEST TRIP REPORT
Locust Creek Trip Report 4 Sep 99
The Northeast Sump Exploration Team, NEST, returned and continued its
exploratory work in Locust Creek Cave on 4 Sep 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.
While the dive team geared up Bill Sheely led the support group
Consisting of Tab Sommers and Donald Wanless through the first sump with a
small mountain of gear. We were loaded for bear and in addition to our
regular packs we also had a backup hammer drill, multiple battery packs and
200 feet of rope donated by Jay Kennedy. The collection of bolting hardware
we were packing in would enable us to place 20 heavy duty bolts, hangers and
quick links, all in stainless steel.
Despite my description of the massive roof collapse that had filled most
of the pool before the second sump Bill was astounded by the change that had
taken place in the cave since his last trip. This new terrain posed a
momentary bit of confusion for the support team. Instead of a hundred foot
by seventy five foot lake they now found a shallow pool, followed by a large
expanse of flat mud covered break down with a small pool on the other side.
Despite this new obstacle the four man push team and the gear made it to the
second sump at the same time. Jeff and Eric dove first and Hank Fannon and
I followed as the second two man team. In addition to my pack I also had a
second full of supplies for emergency dump 2. With my packs grasp in my left
hand I lit up the sump with my meteor 4 as I gently finned through this
shallow but wide sump. Errant fish startled my light darted off into the
shadows. It felt good to be back and I resisted the urge to linger
following Hank and the line as it zig zaged back and forth along the
passage. The sump gods were smiling on us today and we enjoyed almost 10
feet of visibility, excellent for Locust.
After dropping our dive gear we headed up the stream passage, through the
breakdown room and continued along the main trunk passage making excellent
time. This flat floored stream washed passage is interspersed with
beautiful pools, delicate eroded features, is still pristine and never
ceases to impress us with its beauty. After clambering to the top of the
breakdown mountain, a pile of limestone blocks, some of them the size of
buses, we climbed across a deep crevasse and crawled in the kitchen at the
beginning of the new section. Here we changed out new supplies for old and
had a quick snack, donned our polly tops and pressed on reaching Gravity Pit
in a record hour and 20 minutes. We were now a mile into the cave.
This was Hanks first time across gravity pit and he did it like a pro.
One crosses this obstacle by attaching two cow tails to your seat harness
and hooking into a fixed line that is attached to the left wall with bolts
every five to eight feet. With the assistance of the fixed line you then
inch your way along some thin ledges. The ledges themselves are not
continuous and are at different heights so you are stepping up and down
while you traverse the pit. It is definitely entertaining the first time
across. We moved on another hundred and fifty feet and reached Cow Boy Pit.
This pit is longer than Gravity and to add even more excitement half way
across you reach a spot known as the Beer Belly. At this point the ledges
end and you are completely dependent on the fixed line. Once past this
point you then have to cross a natural bridge and a deep crevasse. This
leads you to a pleasant walking passage several hundred feet long and full
of intricate gypsum formations. Locust contains more gypsum than I have
seen in any cave other than in Crystal cave left of the trap in the Mammoth
Cave System, it is like walking through a layer of newly fallen snow. The
walking passage ends with a repel into the bottom of the pit at the Ledges
of Insanity.
This area got its name when Jeff and I first explored this section of
the cave. On the other side of this long pit is a vertical face that we
had not been able to ascend. We had backtracked at this point and through
the creative digging of steps in fill on the right wall above a drop and a
buddy effort involving boosting each other up to ever higher ledges been
able get Jeff to a point where he could traverse the pit along what appeared
to be mud fill stuck to the walls all the while hoping that the coefficient
of friction was on our side. After making this hairy traverse Jeff had
rigged a rope down the drop that I climbed to join him. This rope
unfortunately lay in a crack with the walls on either side covered with cave
coral. This was not obvious until one climbed it. To make matters even more
entertaining a large block of breakdown that had fallen from the ceiling was
wedged above the repel making crossing the lip almost as much fun as the
ledges themselves. On out last push to this area Eric and I had surveyed
to the bottom of the drop and I had managed to loop the rope to the right
onto a small protrusion, hoping that this would make the climb easier.
Jeff now had the opportunity to put this concept to the test and found
that the new rope position made life bearable. After getting the team up
the climb we continued forward. The passage rapidly changed in character
and became a 15 to 20 foot wide canyon with large pieces of breakdown wedged
between the walls which we used as foot holds as we canyon hopped down the
passage. After 150 feet we reached a flat section and another lip that
dropped into a 100 foot long by 70 foot high chamber. Eric repelled down
this 20 foot drop and we began surveying while Jeff and Hank started
reconing the upper ledges to find a route for us to begin bolting. We
could see a large lead above the pit on the other side that appeared to
continue, the only problem was finding a way to get to it safely.
This was easier said than done since this traverse would be the longest
obstacle thus far encountered in the new section. While Jeff began placing
bolts Eric and I surveyed from the drop to our position and looked for upper
level leads that might allow us to bypass this large area. The passage we
are in, the Glory Road is quite complex. It is an average of 70 feet high
and 10 to 40 feet wide. It drops in elevation as we move down it and
because of this we have theorized that it was the original flow route of the
main river in the cave. This water course abandoned this passage when it
found a lower and more direct path where it is currently flowing leaving the
Glory Road high and dry. When the river abandoned this passage sediment was
deposited in it up to a depth of 40 to fifty feet, this appears to have been
subsequently eroded in several locations causing the pits that make this
area so challenging. To make the equation even more complex it appears that
this passage formed in two separate layers. The first higher level being
the original water course. In some cases such as at the formation loop
large sections of the upper level are still intact. In other locations this
upper passage has collapsed into the lower section.
Above the point where Jeff was working we could see a section of what
appeared to be an intact part of this upper level which might allow us to
bypass the pit, the only problem was getting to it without a major bolt
climb. One option was a hairy ledge that meandered across the passage from
left to right and looked like it led to a crawl that was heading toward this
section, the other was a climb that would require a ladder or short section
of bolting that would get us to the crawlway and avoid the ledge.
None of these options looked viable on this trip so we returned to help
Jeff. His progress had been disappointing. The limestone was tougher than
any we had run across before and was making any rapid progress with our
current drill combo impractical. We would need a better plan so we opted to
pack it in at this point and begin our exit. The breakthrough we were
hoping for on this trip was not going to happen.
On the way out of the new section we stopped before the ledges of Doom
and took a look at a promising lead that had gotten our attention on our
many trips through this area. It appeared to be a section of the intact
upper level passage. The fascinating thing about it was the fact that it
did not appear to have a continuation on the other side. Was it possible
that the old upper level of the Glory Road continued above the current main
trunk passage. Could this be a way around the immense breakdown pile that
seemed to end progress in this direction? There was only one way to find
out. While Hank and I belayed Jeff, Eric made himself into a human ladder
by standing on a large block of breakdown below the lead. With a bit of
effort Jeff was able to get over this ledge. He now had to do this trick
one more time to reach the lead. This was easier said then done since the
human ladder would not work at this spot and Jeff was now dealing with a
significant exposure, one miss step and we would have a major rescue on our
hands. Although he was unable to safely climb this final drop he was able
to get his head to a point were he got a peek. The passage appeared to go
and would be worth pursuing with the proper equipment.
We were pushing ten hours in the cave and getting close to our planned
exit time so it was time to head for home. The trip out proved to be
uneventful with the usual agony experienced in the dry section between the
two sumps. After ten hours in the cave dragging your self and your gear
through this dry part makes you wish for an under water bypass. As Jay
would say UN YUM. We exited to a beautiful West Virginia evening and headed
back to the cabins for a well deserved dinner with the support group who had
gone dry caving in Norman. Although we had not achieved our main objective
we had pushed a large amount of equipment forward and developed a better
understanding of the next obstacle in the new section. We had also
identified a promising lead that might be the key to a great deal more cave.
Only time would tell.
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, Adrew Kipe of Maryland Reproductions, a special
thanks to Robert Carmichael of Brownies Third Lung and HALCYON, The Doing It
Right Equipment Company for the excellent compressor they recently shipped
to us, 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.
Nest always has opportunities for new members both on the Diving and
Support Team side, you must be a team player, be willing and able to follow
team operational and safety procedures and take full responsibility for your
own actions. We do what we do for the love of the activity, not for money.
We do not conduct formal training or issue certification cards but share our
experience with others who have a similar interest. You can�t buy a
membership in NEST but you can earn it if you want to make the commitment.
Although our explorations are inherently risky, nature is hard to predict,
we make every effort to do this as safely as possible. It takes time and a
commitment to learn how to do this safely. Although we have members and
sponsors who live throughout the US and surrounding countries living or
being able to travel to the Baltimore area in Maryland to enable you to
participate in local practice sessions is a major advantage when you are
first starting out. If you are a mature responsible individual interested
in working with the team or would like to support our activities in any
other way drop me an Email.
Diver Explorers
Joseph Kaffl
Jeff Mott
Eric Tesnau
Hank Fannon
Support Team Members
Bill Sheely Support Team Leader
Tab Sommers
Donald Wanless
..
JOSEPH
KAFFL
SUMPDIVER@MS*.CO*
NEST
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