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NEST TRIP REPORT
Project X Trip Report 21 Feb 2000
The Northeast Sump Exploration Team, NEST, returned to continue
exploration efforts at Project X on 21 Feb 2000. 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.
As we crested the ridge the trees on either side of the road glowed with
a soft white brilliance, the layer of ice created a spectacular effect as
the sunlight glinted from the billions of facets created by this
translucent coating. The snow that had finally melted in our area was still
present in abundance in Pa. It was going to be a clear but cold day.
On the other side of the mountain we pulled in at Dave�s house and
joined him and the rest of the support team. Gathered around his dining
room table we put together a basic game plan and looked over the map of the
cave that JD had drawn. With any luck this would only be a preliminary
draft. Dave Eric and myself then donned our dry suits in the warmth of the
house and then transferred the gear to two vehicles for the short ride to
the site.
A walk of 600 feet from the road took us to the entrance sink hole,
this 30 by 20 by 20 foot deep shaft provides a karst window into the cave.
Although the sink is free climbable, a rigging system is necessary to safely
get the gear down to the entrance which consists of a short hands and knees
crawl that opens to a medium size room. While the rest of the team set
about putting together the haul lines Dave Holick and I climbed and slipped
our way into the cave. The water was definitely up, and vis compared to
our last visit was an incredible 3 feet. Although three feet may not sound
like much compared to the 1 inch to zero which is what we experienced last
time we were here this was very encouraging.
While we were reckoning the site the team began the process of lowering
a couple of hundred pounds of gear to the entrance. Tim Fronk perched on a
ledge half way down the drop to steady the gear as it was lowered passed him
while other team members moved it into the cave. The support team soon had
three sets of OMS 45s and assorted gear inside the entrance in about 40
minutes. The entrance room was large enough for three divers to lay out
their gear at one time and provided an excellent staging area. A few feet
upstream lay the first sump. The water from this disappeared in a cobble
fill on the left to remerge down stream in a low wide crawl that led to a
large lake room where the water siphoned. This area still needed to be
looked at but today our objectives lay upstream.
I was geared up first so while Eric and Dave finished their preparations
I entered the water, performed a reg and equipment check and headed upstream
through the first sump to verify the status of the line. Today instead of
my trusty Aul Meteor 4 I had Arnolds latest development, an 18 watt HID in a
Meteor four size package. Instead of a burn time of a little more than 30
minutes with a 50 watt bulb this light provides well over 81 minutes of burn
time and was as bright as the surface of the sun. At well over 6500 degrees
K when compared to a 75 halogen bulb it made the halogen look like a candle
in a bottle. Since it uses an arc to create the light there is no filament
to break so it is even tougher than a standard primary. Another advantage
of this technology is that since the light uses most of the energy to
produce visible light it burns cold and does not over heat out of the water.
This unit is a quantum leap forward in primary light design and the usual
response of any one who sees one is, "I got to have this!" The only short
comings are that the lights are not cheap and they do produce quite a bit of
UV so you have to be careful not to look into them even under water.
Despite the higher cost they are well worth the investment.
After verifying the line and conditions I surfaced in the room beyond the
first sump. What had previously been a sand bar was now covered with a foot
of water. As I turned to exit I noticed that the flow was quite swift for
this site and quickly cleared the silt that my passage had stirred up,
conditions were perfect.
While doing there pre dive checks Eric noticed a leaking no pop on one of
Dave�s valves which they were still trying to resolve when I surfaced.
Although this was probably not a big deal cutting corners on a sump dive is
not acceptable so it would have to be fixed. Despite the argon in my DUI CF
200 the 42 degree water was definitely chilly. Waiting any longer would
further lower my temperature and limit my ability to safely explore so we
made a quick decision and modified the dive plan. The original plan called
for us to proceed upstream through the first two sumps as a team with Dave
and Eric each carrying extra Disler spikes and reels. I would then attempt
to push the line forward in sump 3 while they stood by in support. The new
plan was for Eric to join me while Dave corrected his equipment problems or
changed tanks and then he would replace Eric on a second push as my support
diver.
With Eric in the lead we entered and passed the first sump which was only
50 feet long and a few feet deep. We regrouped in the small room on the
other side, 25 by 15 by 5 feet high, and enter the second longer more
restricted sump. This sump was about 80 feet long and had a few snug
sections. After passing this sump we found ourselves in a slightly larger
room and at the beginning of the sump three.
While Eric stood by, or more accurately kneeled in the rushing water, I
entered the sump and followed the line down a 45 degree slope to a depth of
21 feet and the first of my Spikes. As I drifted down the slope I could
actually see part of the passage for the first time, it was smaller than I
had perceived it during by previous by feel push dives. The small fish that
we had noticed on earlier dives were still present in large numbers and did
not seem to react to my light, maybe they are true troglobites. At the
first spike I followed the line to the left a few feet to a second spike
before it made a 90 degree turn to the right and began climbing an other
steep 45 degree slope. Halfway up the line vanished into the silt where it
was attached to the last spike that I had placed the year before. A few
feet further and it emerge to disappear again into the silt. Hovering over
this spot I gently dug down 8 inches and pulled out the reel I had left
here. A good shake cleared the sediment which the flow quickly blew away
and I continued forward. My depth was now only 8 feet and the passage was
becoming a narrow tube. This was the end of the line and limit of my last
years exploration, at that time with one to two inches of vis it had seemed
too tight to pass safely and I had to back out of it, a less than pleasant
experience. Now with the improved conditions I decided to give it another
try. My first attempt failed and on the verge of calling the dive I tried
turning on my side, this did the trick and with my face inches away from the
left wall I was able to slowly make additional forward progress. The flow
emanating from the hole encouraged me and as I moved forward the passage
began to open up. It finally became big enough so that I could now turn
around, always a good feeling. Below me I could now see a deep canyon with
no visible bottom. A number of tube worm fossils, several inches long
stuck out from the right wall defying the current. I had progressed far
enough where it was time to find a line belay. If I dropped the reel at
this point it and the line would disappear out of reach and I would have to
find my way back without this vital guide. As I continued to gently fin
forward I noticed a large protrusion sticking out of the right wall. A
Wrap around this with the reel and I now felt quite pleased. As I hovered
over the projection I could see the passage headed almost straight down with
no bottom in sight. A check of my gauges showed plenty of gas but it was
now time to turn and make sure getting out was as easy as getting in. You
never can tell until you do it and pushing too far ahead with a restriction
behind you that you have not negotiated outward bound can be a real bad
career move if things go south unexpectedly. Fortunately the out ward ride
proved quite pleasant with the flow doing most of the work.
After a short surface interval I headed back in and found myself
hovering over my last tie off. I recovered my reel and followed the
passage downward. At a depth of 18 feet I found horizontal passage with
very little sediment and no good natural line belays. A check of my gas
supplies reflected it was time to go so I locked off the reel, placed it and
headed out. Eric then did an orientation dive up to the beginning of the
canyon and we headed out passed the two shallow sumps and joined out support
team to pass on the good news. JD would definitely have to redraw the map.
I was cold and needed a surface interval to warm up. After regaining
the feeling in my fingers and setting up a second set of tanks Dave Nicholas
and I set out on our second push. Dave led and I followed to the beginning
of the third sump. Once again I entered following my line through the trap
and up through the canyon and back down to my reel. Slowly moving forward
the passage began to trend to the right, since I was in a round tube with
no evidence of any line traps I opted to move forward without being able to
belay the line. After 30 feet a large solutional arch appeared and I was
able to pass the reel around this and execute a bomb proof tie off.
Although the sump was a complex multilevel puzzle these tie offs made it a
much friendlier place. As I continued to follow the passage it trended
gradually shallower until ending in a shear face. I followed this wall
upward a few more feet and soon found myself floating in a small air filled
space, large enough to get my head up and about the volume of a phone booth.
A quik look around disclosed no dry passage out of this pocket. I must have
entered a small side passage. I resubmerged and reeled back to the arch.
A check of my air reserves once again showed plenty of gas but by this point
my fingers were becoming numb, my previous emersion was starting to catch
up to me and it was time to go. I cut the line free and tied a loop in the
end to tie in to on my next dive and headed out. Dave then did a quick
reckon of the third sump to the third spike and we began our exit letting
the flow push us along until we resurfaced in the entrance room. Although
thoroughly chilled by this point I was also elated. We had not only over
come a major restriction but pushed the third sump to an air pocket and the
potential for more passage that might lead us to what Dave Holick theorized
was a large cave system. Only time would tell if this sump would provide
the entrance we had been seeking.
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 HIDs , as well as 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, and
Robert Carmichael of Brownies Third Lung and HALCYON, 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.
Diver Explorers
Joseph Kaffl
Eric Tesnau
Dave Nicholas
Support Team Members
Dave Hollick Pa Area Coordinator
J D Lewis Site Cartographer
Tim Fronk
Jennifer Albin
David Wonderlick
Kim Smith
..
JOSEPH
KAFFL
SUMPDIVER@MS*.CO*
NEST
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