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NEST TRIP REPORT
Buchanan Cave 16 June 2000
The Northeast Sump Exploration Team, NEST, conducted exploration efforts
In Virginia on 16 Jun 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.
The Skies opened up and a massive deluge of water poured down obscuring
everything except for the faint glow of brake lights from the vehicle to our
front. The traffic came to a complete stop, not the best position to be in
on a major highway full of large trucks. As the rain slackened and traffic
began to creep forward we followed the vehicle to our front around a tree
that had fallen across both lanes of traffic. Sometimes getting to the
dive site can be the most challenging part of the trip.
Although we hit several additional areas of heavy rain the rest of the
ride to Paul Montgomery�s home, NESTS Virginia Coordinator, proved much
less eventful. After a good nights rest we completed our ride to the
project site. My last dive in the resurgence of Buchanan Cave had
disclosed going passage at a depth of 28 ft. On this first exploratory dive
I had laid 130 feet of line only stopping when I came to the end of the
reel. Since the linear distance between the resurgence and the first down
stream sump, we had cracked this two weeks ago, is almost 2 miles as the
crow flies the potential for significant cave is very high so we were exited
to get back and continue our work at this location.
For the Mountains of Virginia it was a warm muggy day so it felt good to
hit the water. On my first dive I followed my previous line to its end.
Hovering above it I cut free the empty AUL reel and attached the line from
my home made light weight exploration spool. With 500 feet of # 72 line I
was ready to do some serious pushing. Despite my best efforts these
actions significantly degraded the local visibility and as I picked up the
large reel I noticed that I had managed to tangle it with a loop around the
axle. Definitely not a good way to start out the day. I considered
trying to sort this out on the spot but decided that I would only make the
situation worse so I picked up the empty AUL reel and exited.
After a 10 minute surface interval to allow the silt to settle I headed
back in with a Dive Rite Explorer Reel loaded with 200 feet of line. I
attached the new reel and then carefully cut free the large spool, placed
this to the side, and pushed forward following the right wall. The vis
was about 6 feet, much better than the entrance passage which had been
around 5 inches. The passage was wide and low and continued to slope
downward on a gentle angle. It bottomed out at a depth of 33 feet and then
began to slowly trend upward. I angled to the left away from the wall up
a more pronounced slope and deployed a large Disler Spike and belayed the
line to this before finning onward. After several feet the passage became
too low to follow so I turned to the right following the far wall as it
curved around. Shining my AUL HID downward I could see a line below me, in
an instance I realized that I had turned completely around and was now
headed back out. It is amazing how large a 40 foot diameter room can be in
six feet of visibility. I reversed my direction reeling in line as I went
and then drifted downward to hover above the bottom. Using the angle from
my last tie off as a reference I headed to the right and found more going
passage at this level. I belayed the line with a second spike, the PVC
tube slid effortlessly into the deep sediment covered floor, and continued
onward. A glance at my Nitek 3 disclosed my depth was now only 15 feet.
To my front I could see that the passage continued upward and became more
restricted. Almost out of line I placed another spike, wrapped the line
around it and after placing the reel gently on the floor turned to exit. I
recovered the large spool as I passed it and as I headed up the slope to the
entrance spotted a crayfish below me. There was nothing unique about this
guy other than the fact that he was grasping the line firmly in both of his
claws. I continued on and joined Jeff Mott at the entrance. Jeff had
just moved back to the area from Florida and graciously offered to provide
surface support and act as my on site backup diver this weekend.
I decided to give the sump a chance to settle and during an hour and a
half surface interval we loaded another 130 feet of line on to the AUL reel
from a larger spool brought along for this purpose. My third dive
proceeded smoothly although I discovered that the low flow in the sump had
not been able to wash out all of the sediment stirred up on previous pushes.
It had settled instead forming a layer just above the floor. As I finned
forward my eyes were just above this, it was a bit like flying over a cloud
bank which My HID lit up in a beautiful display. I reached my previous
point of exploration and hovering carefully above this spot spliced in my
new reel. Attaching a new reel is always a touchy exercise, especially when
the floor is made up of loose sediment. In this case I pulled it off
perfectly and after double checking the integrity of the connection passed
through the low point which proved quite roomy. I spiked the line on the
other side just to be on the safe side. As I finned forward my computer
stopped registering depth, I was now within five feet of the surface. A
few feet further and I could see the reflection of an air surface above me.
I rose into a small low air filled space about 6 feet long. Dipping down
again I proceeded on and almost out of line came up in a larger air bell.
This one also failed to go so I belayed the line with a drop weight on the
hard bottom and turned to exit. Once again as I neared the entrance I spied
my friend the Cray fish still firmly grasping the line in both claws.
Although I doubted that he had the strength to damage it the general concept
bothered me so I moved him along with a wave of my hand, he spiraled off
into the silt cloud.
After another hour and a half surface interval I headed back in with an
additional 200 feet of line and fresh tanks. Taking my time in the shallow
water I attached my reel and continued onward examining the ceiling above be
for more signs of dry passage. I felt sure that I was going to hit going
dry cave. To my surprise the passage began to dip down ward again,
continuing low and wide. At a depth of 15 feet I placed another spike and
locked off the reel. I was now 550 feet into the cave. My finning
technique had been fairly good and I enjoyed excellent vis till I reached
the deep point in the first sump, then it was back to 3 inches or less.
As Jeff and I compared notes on the surface we realized that the cave
was actually being quite kind to us. By staying wet we had been spared the
challenge of crossing dry cave to get to the next sump, never a fun task
when you are wearing 115 pounds of gear. Out of gas and time we opted to
called it a day and headed North to visit Mike Dore and his wife Pat to
discuss future plans for the upstream sump at Scott Hollow. Then it was on
to Friars Hole for a lazy day spent with Hank and Robert. All together a
great way to spend the weekend. In the last four weeks we had laid over
1000 feet of line in virgin sumps in Virginia and West Virginia, cracking
two in the process, not a bad month at all.
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, , 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 Explorer
Joseph Kaffl
Support Team Member and On Site Backup Diver
Jeff Mott
Virginia Area Coordinator
Paul Montgomery
Stand By on call Divers
Eric Tesnau
Dave Nicholas
..
JOSEPH
KAFFL
SUMPDIVER@MS*.CO*
NEST
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