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NEST TRIP REPORT
Alexander�s Trip Report 10 Jan 98
The NEST, Northeast Sump Exploration Team, returned and continued its
exploratory work in Alexander�s Cave on 10 Jan 1998. 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 passages and beyond sump rescues. Below is an account of
the Teams most recent explorations.
Eric Tesanu waded into the head pool of Sump J2 and carefully felt
around for the dog spike that served as the first under water tie off for
the line that runs into this sump. The water levels in this pool where over
one foot higher than I had ever seen them before and the visibility was a
foot or less. After a bit of effort Eric was able to locate the spike and
we took our final survey shot of the day. This last 12 foot shot took us
over the 400 ft mark and tied together a section of survey which had been
located at each end through the use of a cave radio system on an earlier
trip.
The area of the cave that we were working in was a dry section of passage
that lies between sump J1 which is 350ft long and sump J2 which is
approximately 150 ft long. Beyond sump J2 are several hundred feet of
addition dry passage and Sump J3 which has not been pushed. Over the last
year we had been methodically exploring and surveying this section of cave
as part of a Bald Eagle Grotto project headed up by Dave Holick as over all
project coordinator and Bob Zimmerman as the cartographer to remap and
further push Alexander�s cave.
With our last shot completed we gathered up the survey gear and began
the trip back to our sidemounts. The passage started out as a 20 by 7 foot
high flat floored walking section with a bare dark colored limestone floor.
The floor itself in this area was very unique in that a single long groove
about half an inch deep and one inch wide ran down the middle and was
crossed at right angles by other similar grooves. These were further
supplemented by groves that also ran at a 45 degree angle to the primary
crossing ones that were in turn parallel to each other. The whole effect as
Eric noted was that of a giant herring bone over 40 ft long. We stopped for
a moment to ponder what could have caused this interesting configuration
before continuing down the passage which rapidly became a low hands and
knees muddy crawlway with a high water overflow stream meandering down the
middle. We soon reached our gear and took advantage of a small waterfall
that exited out of the ceiling to wash most of the mud off our drysuits
before donning our sidemounts and proceeding into the pool that leads to
sump J1.
Under normal condition one has to perform a climb down to reach the pool.
The water levels were so high that sitting down and floating was all that
was required to enter. After donning my fins and doing a regulator check I
floated in the pool while Eric completed his preparations. As I did so my
mind drifted back to the beginning of the days activities. The three hour
ride to the cave had a been a pleasant one and unseasonably warm for this
time of the year. As we got closer to the cave we noted that all of the
water levels in the rivers and creeks were up several feet above normal
levels . The water levels in the cave mirrored this with the run from J1
dumping large amounts of water into the main river passage. Visibility
appeared to be one to two feet. Dave Nicholas had geared up first and
performed a recon and orientation dive to the major restriction 50 feet
into J1. He observed that although the vis remained marginal the site was
still diveable. I took a quick look myself and noted that the higher flow
was quickly pushing the sediment out that entry to this area inevitably
stirs up and we decided to press on with out plan to put a two man team on
the other side to survey the dry section. By this point Eric had finished
suiting up and joined me. He entered first carrying the tape measure and I
followed with the rest of the survey gear in a half gallon nalogene bottle.
The swim in proved to be uneventful with visibility remaining a comfortable
one foot most of the way.
The only question now was what the exit would be like. When Eric
completed his checks we discussed our dive plan. He would enter first and I
would follow at a 3 minute interval. We reminded each other that if we
experience any problems the survey gear would be jettisoned to be recovered
at a later time. As the light from Eric�s Aul Meteor four vanished from
sight I found myself alone in the chamber, the only sound being that of the
waterfall and my own breathing, the minutes seemed to crawl by. At the
appointed time I did a final reg check and submerged and entered the sump.
For the first 5 feet I could actual see the line and then things went to
absolute zero. The next 250 feet I spent carefully following the line from
tie of to tie off, and negotiating around the limestone protrusions that
reached out to block my progress. The feeling of the survey knots passing
through my right hand and the dog spikes at regular intervals being the only
reference to my progress. As I neared the restriction the visibility opened
up to six inches and I could actually see the line. It is amazing how much
six inches of vis is after an extended period of absolute zero. As I enter
the restriction I could feel the cave gently in contact both above and below
me and I gently wiggled out into the room beyond. After a further 50 foot
swim I surfaced to find Eric, Dave Nicholas and Bill Scheely waiting for our
return and we began the process of packing out our gear to the surface.
It had been another successful operation for the team. Dave Nicholas
had been able to get in another orientation dive in preparation for passing
the restriction at J1 and Eric and I had been able to add over 400 ft of
survey to the cave in the B survey.
Once again 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 Jon Breazile who has provided us with other
vital support. A special thanks also go to Bill Sheely, the support team
leader who personally made over 10 trips to the surface hauling gear in and
out of the cave as well as those folks listed below who also assisted our
efforts.
Eric Tesanu
Dave Nicholas
Tim Fronk
Bill Scheely
Dave Hollick
Bob Zimmerman
Jack Rice.
Jody McNerney
& Others
..
JOSEPH
KAFFL
SUMPDIVER@MS*.CO*
NEST
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