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NEST TRIP REPORT
Alexander�s Trip Report 6 Jun 98
The NEST, Northeast Sump Exploration Team, returned and continued its
exploratory work in Alexander�s Cave on 6 Jun 98. 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.
As I gently kicked with my left foot I suddenly realized that my fin was
missing. With one hand firmly on the line I turned and felt around me in
the zero visibility of sump E1. This was not the way I wanted to end an
otherwise perfect day. My efforts proved fruitless so I continued on and
out before Dave became concerned over my extended absence and came looking
for me. We immediately did a quick search by feel of the area just below
the sump in the belief that the moderate flow in the sump might have pushed
the fin out to the slower moving water of the basin. After a few minutes of
fruitless searching I removed my remaining fin, attaching the line from my
backup reel to it and lowered into the river like a piece of bait on a line.
It sank into the brown soup of the turbid waters and lay placidly on the
bottom. I next moved into the low airspace section of the exit from the
sump and in this higher flow area tried my trick again. Once more it stayed
put after hitting the bottom. With the knowledge that the flow was not high
enough to flush it out I reentered the sump and began to carefully feel on
both sides of the line. Because the water levels were down I actually was
able to see almost 5 inches as I headed in against the current, incredible
vis for this sump. After a meticulous search I found my friend just in
front of the second Tesnau UFO, Underwater Fixed Object, a pyramid shaped
line belay made out of reinforced concrete that we had placed last year in
this otherwise silty and almost featureless sump. Grasping my fin I exited
and found Dave conducting a search in the basin while Bill Scheely acted as
a line belay on the shore. As I watched Dave�s light move back and forth I
could not resist the urge to wiggle the end of my newly recovered fin in
front of him. He went for the bait and we all got a good laugh.
Our objective for this trip had been to resurvey the original line placed
by Brown and Schwyen several years ago in the E2 and E3 sumps. This was the
final piece of the puzzle that Bob Zimmerman needed to begin drafting the
new map of the Cave. We got a fairly early start and our support team
efficiently moved our gear to the staging area located at the old boat dock,
Alexander�s had been a commercial cave in the late 20s. From this point
Dave and I donned our equipment and waded upstream to the first sump, E1.
After successfully diving this sump we made the slow and tedious slog up the
1000 feet of river passage on the other side. The low water levels insured
that this was even more of a challenge than usual. The river bed of this 20
by 20+ foot passage alternates between deep sucking mud and breakdown. The
beauty of the passage however more than makes up for the effort required for
its transit. At the end of this trunk passage past a short duck under lies
the land of the Straws. Once again its beauty took our breath away. After
gauking at the incredible collection of hundreds of one to two foot long
soda straws that make up this area we got back to business. With Dave
standing by as a support diver I entered the E2 sump and surveyed to the
small room that lies between E2 and E3. After a brief look around I
submerged again and continued with my underwater survey. Sump E3 is a
fairly snug and I had to cross the line twice, push it to the side of the
passage and squeeze through several very tight areas to pass through it.
Because the vis was up to 5 inches I was actually able to see this area for
the first time. After 120 feet I surfaced, took a final shot and returned
to join Dave. I rested briefly and reentered E2 to verify two shots.
Then it was time to head back to E1. We pumped up our dry suits and
allowed the current to push us along on our return to the first sump. This
is the only way to travel, it is like being a small raft. As you float
along you can leisurely observe the pure white flowstone formations that
cover the ceiling and walls. The low water forced us to crawl once or twice
but we made excellent progress despite these small inconveniences.
After reaching the sump we donned our fins and Dave exited first. When
the glow from his primary light disappeared I began my final preparations
and it must have been at this point that the sucking mud grabbed my fin
strap. Since we had been in 54 degree water for almost three hours I was
just cold enough not to realize what had happen until it was too late.
With the fin recovered we continued our float down the main river back to
the boat dock and the run from the J sump series. This series of three
sumps and connecting passage still has potential for more passage if we can
ever successfully dig through a restriction in J3. The fin recovery had
warmed us up and since we had plenty of gas left we did a brief Dive into
the J1 sump up to the first restriction and were treated to almost 80 feet
of vis due to the low flow conditions. Almost as good as being in Florida.
This was truly the way to end a great day. We had safely accomplished
all of our objectives with another 180 feet of underwater passage formally
added to the cave, which when combined to the additional survey that the dry
team had bagged made Alexander�s the third longest in the state at over
11000 feet.
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 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,
Gene Weisheit of East Coast Divers, Alex Sproul of Inner Mountain
Outfitters, Brad Bason, of Bason Rescue Equipment, Tim Walker, Hank and
Jane Anderson and the Mothes family without whose support none of our
efforts would have been possible.
Team Members Participating
Dave Nicholas, Diver Explorer
Bill Scheely, Support Team Leader
Dave Hollick, Pa Project Coordinator
Bob Zimmerman, Cartographer
Jack Rice, Support Team Member
Megan Linsay, Support Team Guest
Justin Hogg, Support Team Guest
..
JOSEPH
KAFFL
SUMPDIVER@MS*.CO*
NEST
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