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NEST TRIP REPORT
Buchanan Cave 3 June 2000
The Northeast Sump Exploration Team, NEST, conducted exploration efforts
In Buchanan Cave Virginia on 3 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.
It had been another long week at work and it felt good to load the gear
and head south. I was looking forward to continuing our efforts at the
Buchanan resurgence. The site had immense potential with a two mile linear
distance between it and the first down stream sump of the cave it was named
after. We had cracked this sump on a pervious dive only to find a second a
short distance downstream. Die tracing had proven the hydrological
connection, it remained to be seen if a physical connection could be
accomplished but we were certainly going to make our best effort at this.
After spending the night at Paul�s place we set out for the spring
Saturday mourning. The sun was out and it was the perfect day to go sump
diving. As we pulled up to the site my hopes for good vis were dashed. The
bottom of the stream that flows from the spring was not visible, since it is
only a foot deep at this point, this was certainly not a good sign. After
an 8 hour ride I was not about to give up that easily so I geared up and
set off for the cave entrance.
The flow was noticeably higher than last weekend and to my surprise the
first 100 feet of cave had its usual three to four inches of visibility. I
was beginning to think that maybe things were not as bad as I had thought.
Beyond this point on my first dive I had found 15 feet of visibility, today
I had a foot if I was lucky, a half foot less than the previous weekend.
Owe well I thought, if I wanted visibility I should have been diving in
Florida, at least the water was a balmy 53 degrees.
Since I could see the line I pressed on carefully following it from
belay to rebelay dipping down to a depth of 34 feet in the first sump. Past
the second spike the line went limp, never a good sign, so I placed a
supplemental spike and did a line wrap before continuing. As I reached the
next Disler Spike, where the line made a 90 degree turn to the left, I
found that it had been pulled out and was lying on the bottom, explaining
the looseness in the line. The sediment was not as deep as I would have
liked at this location making the spike placement a bit precarious. I
realized that I must have snagged it on my last exit without realizing it.
I carefully reset the spike, and then continued on up the gradual slope and
to the air bells that marked the end of the first sump, I was almost five
hundred feet in.
I passed under these air bells without surfacing and continued down slope
into the second sump. Ahead of me my explorer reel appeared from the gloom,
resting on the bottom like some long abandoned artifact covered in a layer
of fine sediment. After verifying my gas supplies I decided I might as
well try to move it forward. I had a good mental image of the passage from
my last dive to this point, it had been wide low and sloping downward.
Operating on memory I began laying line along what I hoped would be the
correct azimuth. I was now traveling by instinct since my only visual
reference was a few inches of the floor. After about 40 feet I ran into a
wall. A glance at my Nitek 3 showed I was now at a depth of 27 feet. I
decided I had gone as far as possible without running the risk of going in
circles so I placed a small Disler Spike, did a line wrap and turned to
begin my slow exit.
For the next several minutes my entire world consisted of a seemingly
never ending patch of brown sediment and a thin piece of nylon illuminated
by the warm glow created by my HID. I felt quite relaxed and focused, the
slightly higher flow helped me to maintain some vis but I maintained touch
contact with the line for the exit. I surface refreshed, it felt good to
get back under water.
After an hour and a half surface interval and a fresh set of tanks I
headed back in with the survey slate, I might not be able to push the line
forward but I could certainly collect some more data. I picked up where I
had left off near the end of the first sump and managed to add another 130
feet of data to the survey pushing it out to 469 feet. I stopped just
before the slope began heading down in the second sump and called the dive.
Although I had not achieved a major break through or laid much
additional line it was still a worthwhile effort. We had managed to advance
the line forward as well as adding to the survey. I now also had a good
feel for the flow and water conditions as they related to a number of area
river gauges which would allow us in the future to hopefully better predict
conditions for our next effort. A plot of the survey data disclosed that
the cave was heading in the right direction, toward the downstream sump in
Buchanana Saltpeter.
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 Members
Paul Montgomery Virginia Area Coordinator
Pam Montogomery
Aaron Montgomery
Stand By on call Divers
Eric Tesnau
Dave Nicholas
..
JOSEPH
KAFFL
SUMPDIVER@MS*.CO*
NEST
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