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NEST TRIP REPORT
Water Fall X Cave 22 Oct 2000
The Northeast Sump Exploration Team, NEST, conducted exploration efforts
In Water Fall X Cave in Virginia on 22 Oct 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.
After completing my Dive at the Buchanan Cave Resurgence I packed up my
gear and drove over to the base camp to find it unoccupied except for
several solar showers warming in the sun. It was still early so I pulled
out an insulate pad, a good book and set out on a short hike to the next
hill. I laid out my pad under the broad limbs of an old tree, relaxed in
the shade and spent the next few hours relaxing and enjoying the view. The
vista created by the rolling hills and the mountains on either side of the
valley was truly breath taking. Around 5:30 a brief shower drove me back
to the shelter of my car but it quickly passed. Shortly after ward Bill�s
station wagon pulled up on the rise and discharged a swarm of muddy cavers.
A camp rapidly sprang up and I soon found myself enjoying a steak dinner
cooked out under a darkening sky while Mr. Heater, a propane powered device
able to heat a significant part of the great outdoors, drove away the
evening chill. I had been considering heading for home early Sunday but
decided I would take Bill and Robin up on their offer to dive a new virgin
site they had discovered.
I woke up early the next day well before dawn and enjoyed a beautiful
star filled sky, gradually life emerged from several tents and after a
hearty breakfast we set out for the dive site. Access was fairly straight
forward and while the support team began the process of moving my gear into
the cave I donned my DUI CF 200 dry suit. Since I would have to traverse
some dry cave to reach the dive point I covered the valves on my suit with
duct tape to protect them. I was glad I had taken this precaution because I
soon found my self head down in a belly crawl. My hard plastic knee pads
and Halcyon Gators protected the lower part of my suit and the tape kept the
soft fill out of my valves. After passing through 200 feet of cave and two
restrictions we enter a section of walking passage with a small stream
running down the center. This in turn lead to a deep blue pool 15 feet long
and 4 feet across that narrowed into a canyon that appeared too small for a
diver as it got deeper. Bill and Robin had plumed it to 14 feet of depth
and it looked quite enticing. Our objective though lay a few feet beyond
this point and I used the pool to cool off while they moved the gear across
the top by use of a fixed line.
The sump lay 50 feet beyond the pool and a low wide flat section of
walking passage just before it provided the perfect spot to assemble the
gear. The head pool itself was fairly small, 20 feet across and the over
headed appeared to begin 15 feet from the shore with the bottom gently
sloping downward to this point. The vis was excellent, at least 30 + feet
but the bottom appeared to be made up of clay fill.
In order to maintain visibility as long as possible I secured the line to
a mud bank on the surface with two Disler Spikes and placed the reel on the
edge of the pool, I then donned my gear and knelt in the shallow run
emanating from the head pool while Bill attached my fins. Only then, as
slowly and smoothly as possible did I enter the pool, retrieve the reel and
move forward to a point where I was barely floating above the bottom and
performed my equipment checks. My concern about the unstable nature of the
bottom was valid because I soon found my self in a silt out. This is where
my previous experience paid off. I kept my movements slow and gentle
reducing the amount of energy I imparted to the silt and thus kept the silt
out localized. With my checks successfully completed I moved forward and
out of the cloud with the barest of fin flutters back into crystal clear
vis.
In front of me I could see the beginning of the overhead, it was about 6
feet wide and 3 feet high. I finned forward to this point and belayed the
line with a Spike. The vis again dropped almost to zero until I moved
forward back into the clear water. After 40 feet the passage opened up into
a wide low room about 5 feet high and 15 feet across. I was now at a depth
of 11 feet and the passage now trended upward. It appeared that this might
be a short sump leading to more dry passage but as I moved forward and up I
discovered that I was in a room with a solid wall to my front. I dropped
down again and discovered the water appeared to be entering the room by way
of a low wide crack on the left wall. This passage was 8 feet long but only
5 inches high. With no way on I placed the reel and exited in zero vis.
After sharing the results of the dive with the support team I turned and
reentered following the line in a � inch of vis. The water at the crack was
a bit clearer supporting the fact that the flow was entering from this
point. With my right hand on the line I reached into the slot with my left
and began digging. The bottom in the slot was made up of a matrice of
gravel and sand and was probably the low point of the sump. After several
minutes once again in zero vis I turned and reeled out. On our way out of
the cave I dove the deep pool in the middle of the passage but vis
conditions were so bad I had to abort this effort.
This sump might be pushed with a considerable effort, it would require
several hours of digging in zero visibility assuming that it opens up on the
other side, something that I could not verify by visual examination from
this side. The potential for more cave is definitely there although at
this point other more promising projects will receive our attention. The
deep pool before the sump is definitely worth a closer look, although very
tight it might go. Although our hopes for this site had not panned out it
was a pleasant way to spend a Sunday mourning.
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
On Site Support Team
Bill Schwabenton
Robin Hinkle
Marilyn Schwabenton
Chad Hock
Stand By on call Divers and Support Team
Paul Montgomery Virginia Area Coordinator
Eric Tesnau
Jeff Mott
Dave Nicholas
..
JOSEPH
KAFFL
SUMPDIVER@MS*.CO*
NEST
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