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NEST TRIP REPORT
Buchanan Cave 16 Sep 2000
The Northeast Sump Exploration Team, NEST, conducted exploration efforts
In Buchanan Cave Resurgence in Virginia on 16 Sep 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 was one of those perfect late summer days in the mountains of
Virginia, cool enough to make wearing my DUI CF 200 drysuit a comfortable
experience as I completed my gear preparations. Around 10 AM I took a break
from this task and walked across the small bridge that spanned the run to
look down at the flow as it gurgled by below me. It was running as clear as
I had ever seen it. Perfect conditions for another push to see if I could
move my 500 foot reel further forward.
A half hour later I set out into the first sump, carrying a buoyancy
compensated OMS 45 stage in my left hand while I illuminated the passage
with my excellent AUL HID primary. The first 100 feet of passage offered
two feet of visibility and as I moved through this section several small
bottom dwelling fish startled by my passage darted away creating small puffs
of silt in their haste to escape. They had eyes, were fully pigmented and
not true troglibites seemed to be concentrated in the area near the
entrance. This first section of sump has consistently had lower visibility
than the rest of the cave, a situation that has puzzled us for some time.
We had assumed a dirty infeeder but the reason for this may be due to the
activity of these small fish. The silt itself contains a fair amount of
clay and during tests with samples from the site the time required for this
material to settle out of suspension is very long. It is quite possible
that the moment of the fish in this confined passage combined with the long
suspension time of the clay might be the reason for the reduced visibility
in this section.
After passing the first 100 feet of sump one the vis opened up to 14
feet. Since I planned on dropping the stage just past the first sump I had
plenty of gas and time so I took advantage of the excellent vis to look over
this section of passage. I was amazed at how big it was, almost Florida
size. If I could get passed the entrance section it was big enough for my
large side mounts. As I floated in the section that headed up to the air
pockets that marks the end of the first sump I also notice a number of
fragile jet black nodules protruding from the ceiling. I hovered below them
for a few moments to examine their intricate structures before moving on.
I finned past the first sump and into the second dropping my stage and
switching over to my side mounts at 25 feet. The passage continued deeper
and lower and after a pleasant swim I found my self at the end of the line.
I recovered my 500 foot reel and continued forward. After 50 feet the
passage jogged to the left requiring a line belay. With no natural tie offs
available I retrieved a small Disler Spike from the inner tubes on the
side of my right tank. It went in three inches before hitting a hard layer
and stopping. I now moved to plan B and unclipped a three pound weight I
had brought long for this purpose and attached it to the line with the
integral continuous loop that was tied to it, this acted like prussic and
was a bomb proof attachment method. After verifying this placement I finned
forward through a low wide section successfully placing a spike at the next
turn to the right. The ceiling to floor height dropped for a few feet
before opening up into a slightly taller and wider room. My depth was now
58 feet and I found myself facing a sediment covered slope that led to a
vertical wall. The bottom easily accepted a spike and after belaying the
line to this I followed the wall to the left for a few feet before opting to
make a right turn. As I finned forward the ceiling height again dropped and
the vis went to zero. Deciding not to push my luck I opted to turn and
easily retraced my route retrieving my stage as I went. At 20 feet I
hovered for a short stop and as I floated above the bottom watched a pure
white crayfish raise his claws toward me before backing away, a moment later
a white isopod scurried by oblivious to my presence, this cave was full of
life. I enjoyed reasonable vis on my return swim and exited with a 40
minute bottom time.
After close to a two hour surface interval I returned with fresh tanks
and a buoyancy compensated Alum 30 stage. The clay I stirred up on my last
dive had greatly reduced the vis but I still had over 5 feet so I pressed
on. I did a knot count from the end of the survey to the end of the line
and was at 720 feet when I reached it, not bad for a Virginia sump. As I
finned into the room in which I had placed the reel I noticed a layer of
clear water just above it, I rose a few feet and checked above and to the
left. It seemed like the cave narrowed and did not continue in this
direction so I again turned right and pressed on in this direction laying
several more feet of line and placed an other spike. The passage continued
deeper, got lower and had poor vis. Unable to easily continue and now not
sure I had chosen the correct direction I placed the reel on the bottom and
turned. At the silt bank I again rose above the layer of poor vis for
another look. Their was no detectable flow but based on the clarity of the
water it appeared that the flow was coming from the left and that the
passage might be headed up. Out of time and with the vis rapidly dropping
I turned and exited. It had been a great weekend with more line laid in
our effort to connect with Buchanan Cave almost two miles away. It
appeared that the second sump might have bottomed out and begun to ascend.
Only another dive would answer this question but that would have to wait for
an other day.
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 Tom
and Jon 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
Stand By on call Divers and Support Team
Paul Montgomery Virginia Area Coordinator
Eric Tesnau
Dave Nicholas
..
JOSEPH
KAFFL
SUMPDIVER@MS*.CO*
NEST
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