Re: [Texascavers] Geoff Robertson lost in the El Abra

[Logan McNatt via Texascavers]

  
  
The Austin American-Statesman published a long article on Sat. Dec
6, 1980 titled "Spelunker's trip becomes jungle ordeal", based on a
telephone interview they  had with "Jeff".  I have an original
clipping of the article, but hopefully Bill Mixon or someone else
also has a copy they have time to scan.  I don't--helping Peter Keys
finish moving 50 miles to his country farm today. 

Logan McNatt
lmcn...@austin.rr.com
  

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Re: [Texascavers] Geoff Robertson lost in the El Abra

[PRESTON FORSYTHE via Texascavers]

Sad, interesting story on Geoff in the El Abra, Cuesta area, once very popular 
caving area in the mid 70's. Very easy to see how one could get lost, 
especially with the machete and compass interference. The Macaws, the shaft of 
sunlight down Cuesta, the thick jungle and the easy to find 100 m. deep virgin 
pits. Those were the days.
Preston Forsythe up in western KY  

On Saturday, November 5, 2016 9:38 PM, via Texascavers 
 wrote:
 

    
 The story of Geoff Robertson getting lost in the El Abra is an interesting 
lesson in how notto navigate in the wilderness. Over Thanksgiving 1980 I took a 
group of people to look for along-rumored black hole somewhere near Sótano de 
la Cuesta in the Sierra de El Abra of northern Mexico.Cuesta was a well-known 
and spectacular 170-meter drop. In those days the El Abra was a 
populardestination to look for pits, of which there were many, but with little 
ease of access. This was in thedays before GPS or even decent topographic maps. 
Cavers actually made their own maps based on flyingover the area, taking 
photos, and conducting ground reconnaissance.    On this particular 
trip we were camped out near Cuesta, several hours' hike from the Otates 
Mineroad. One evening Geoff decided to hike over to another pit (Sótano de la 
Estrella) to photograph macawsas they came in to roost. Everyone on the trip 
had a copy of the caver map of the area, and instructions thatif they got lost, 
they should hike north because the mine road ran completely across the mountain 
rangefrom west to east. Since we were south of the road, hiking north would 
eventually get you there.    As fate would have it, Geoff stayed 
out a bit too late and got disoriented trying to followthe trail from Estrella 
back to our camp in near darkness. These trails were made by cavers, and 
werenot particularly big or obvious. The thorn forest jungle there is 
incredibly thick and impenetrable,and the terrain has little relief and few 
landmarks visible from any distance. Nevertheless, locallythe ground can be 
very irregular, with lots of exposed karst. Ten feet off the trail, and you 
could betotally lost.    According to Geoff, once he realized he 
was lost and that it was getting dark, he made thedecision to bivouac in the 
karst by clearing out a spot between outcrops and covering himself withleaves. 
That was smart. What he did the next day was not.    When Geoff got 
up the next morning he headed north, as directed, but soon decided the goingwas 
too rough and decided to try a different direction for a while to see if it got 
easier. When thatdid not fare any better, he tried again to go north, but he 
was carrying his compass and his machetein the same hand. We later determined 
that a machete can deflect a compass by at least 90 degrees, sono telling what 
direction he was actually going. He was now totally lost far from where he had 
startedor wanted to be.    In the meantime, the rest of our group 
was beating the bushes looking for Geoff. Our worstfear was that he had gotten 
too close to one of the pits and fallen in. We looked all around the pitsand 
also rigged and dropped them. He was nowhere to be found. After a couple of 
days of fruitlesssearching, our supplies were depleted and people needed to get 
home for work and school. Our finalhope was that he had made his way back to 
the road and that we would either find him waiting at thevehicle or down by the 
highway. Neither turned out to be the case.    Back in Austin a 
major rescue was organized and a group of 16 cavers headed back down to lookfor 
Geoff. We started fanning out across the karst near Estrella looking behind 
every karst pinnaclein case he had broken a leg or fallen into a hole. Not long 
after we started searching, a runner fromthe Mexican Red Cross, which had been 
notified and was on the scene, came down the trail saying thatGeoff had 
self-rescued. He had stumbled out of the jungle at a small village 10 
kilometers to thesouth after hearing the sound of trucks on the highway in the 
distance. He had been lost for over fivedays, surviving on stump water and 
orchid bulbs.  Fortunately this affair ended on a good note. 
Geoff survived basically unharmed, and we founda nice pit while looking for him 
(Sótano de Alegría). Gill Ediger had a great idea for a tee shirt,but as far as 
I know it was never produced. He proposed a compass rose with every point 
marked asNorth, and a machete for the needle. There is a brief account of this 
episode in AMCS ActivitiesNewsletter No. 12, p. 8 (1982), available for free 
download at .  Mark 
mintonmmin...@caver.net  On Nov 3, 2016 David Locklear wrote:  
-I did go in a deep pit further north in Puebla 
once, near the coordinates below   18°38'08.8"N 97°14'43.2"W 

[Texascavers] Geoff Robertson lost in the El Abra

[via Texascavers]

The story of Geoff Robertson getting lost in the El Abra is
an interesting lesson in how not

to navigate in the wilderness. Over Thanksgiving 1980 I took a group of
people to look for a

long-rumored black hole somewhere near Sótano de la Cuesta in the Sierra de
El Abra of northern Mexico.

Cuesta was a well-known and spectacular 170-meter drop. In those days the El
Abra was a popular

destination to look for pits, of which there were many, but with little ease
of access. This was in the

days before GPS or even decent topographic maps. Cavers actually made their
own maps based on flying

over the area, taking photos, and conducting ground reconnaissance.

On this particular trip we were camped out near Cuesta,
several hours' hike from the Otates Mine

road. One evening Geoff decided to hike over to another pit (Sótano de la
Estrella) to photograph macaws

as they came in to roost. Everyone on the trip had a copy of the caver map
of the area, and instructions that

if they got lost, they should hike north because the mine road ran
completely across the mountain range

from west to east. Since we were south of the road, hiking north would
eventually get you there.

As fate would have it, Geoff stayed out a bit too late and
got disoriented trying to follow

the trail from Estrella back to our camp in near darkness. These trails were
made by cavers, and were

not particularly big or obvious. The thorn forest jungle there is incredibly
thick and impenetrable,

and the terrain has little relief and few landmarks visible from any
distance. Nevertheless, locally

the ground can be very irregular, with lots of exposed karst. Ten feet off
the trail, and you could be

totally lost.

According to Geoff, once he realized he was lost and that it
was getting dark, he made the

decision to bivouac in the karst by clearing out a spot between outcrops and
covering himself with

leaves. That was smart. What he did the next day was not.

When Geoff got up the next morning he headed north, as
directed, but soon decided the going

was too rough and decided to try a different direction for a while to see if
it got easier. When that

did not fare any better, he tried again to go north, but he was carrying his
compass and his machete

in the same hand. We later determined that a machete can deflect a compass
by at least 90 degrees, so

no telling what direction he was actually going. He was now totally lost far
from where he had started

or wanted to be.

In the meantime, the rest of our group was beating the
bushes looking for Geoff. Our worst

fear was that he had gotten too close to one of the pits and fallen in. We
looked all around the pits

and also rigged and dropped them. He was nowhere to be found. After a couple
of days of fruitless

searching, our supplies were depleted and people needed to get home for work
and school. Our final

hope was that he had made his way back to the road and that we would either
find him waiting at the

vehicle or down by the highway. Neither turned out to be the case.

Back in Austin a major rescue was organized and a group of
16 cavers headed back down to look

for Geoff. We started fanning out across the karst near Estrella looking
behind every karst pinnacle

in case he had broken a leg or fallen into a hole. Not long after we started
searching, a runner from

the Mexican Red Cross, which had been notified and was on the scene, came
down the trail saying that

Geoff had self-rescued. He had stumbled out of the jungle at a small village
10 kilometers to the

south after hearing the sound of trucks on the highway in the distance. He
had been lost for over five

days, surviving on stump water and orchid bulbs.

 

Fortunately this affair ended on a good note. Geoff survived
basically unharmed, and we found

a nice pit while looking for him (Sótano de Alegría). Gill Ediger had a
great idea for a tee shirt,

but as far as I know it was never produced. He proposed a compass rose with
every point marked as

North, and a machete for the needle. There is a brief account of this
episode in AMCS Activities

Newsletter No. 12, p. 8 (1982), available for free download at
.

 

Mark Minton

mmin...@caver.net

 

On Nov 3, 2016 David Locklear wrote:

 

-

I did go in a deep pit further north in Puebla once, near the coordinates
below

 

 18°38'08.8"N 97°14'43.2"W

 18.635783,-97.245332

 

with 2 Australian cavers, Rolf Adams and his girlfriend Dr. Anne Gray in
December of

1989, and I did poke around in some caves near Zongolica, Veracruz in
December of 1985,

with a guy named Steve Robertson and his wife Lori Robertson, and 2 Mexico
city

cavers, Jose Luis Soberanes and Jorge Ramirez. And there is a road-trip
report about

that in a 1986 Texas Caver. [ Sidenote: I do not know if any of you