I remember my first trip through the
infamous Russell's Crawl.� It was in
1971 or there about.� The sand
siphon is only 6 inches high and it descends at a 15% angle.� One has to dig the
sand out, push the sand behind you and literally bury yourself as you worm
your way in.� I was new to caving
and didn't like tight crawls.� By the time that I was through, I was in a
near panic.� I wanted out of there.� About 10
or 15 from the siphon, I tried to turn around.� Too tight.� When it opened up after another few feet, I
was like Curly of
the Three Stooges lying
on the floor and trying
to walk myself in a
circle.� "Whew,
whew, whew!"� I
could have gone another 10
feet, where the
passage opened
up, but noooooooo.� Fortunately, the sand siphon is much easier to
exit than enter.� I went there a couple of years later, but never
went much farther than the twin rooms.
Steve, you want to do Fool's Crawl?� I am sure that we can get some
poor fool to push a camera ahead of him or her and we can watch it
from the comfort of our respective living rooms.
Mike
On 3/11/2014 8:39 AM, Steve Peerman
wrote:
Mike,
An
interesting topic, and it brings back memories -- but not of
Fool's Crawl, because I wasn't on any of those trips. �I've
never been through Fool's Crawl -- it had to have been someone
else. �
One
interesting crawlway memory that I have involves Russell's
Crawl, not far from the entrance of Fort Stanton Cave. �
Russell's Crawl is not muddy like Fool's Crawl, but does have a
section where one has to "swim" through the sand that almost
fills the crawlway. � At any rate, I was in Russell's Crawl
during an SWR regional many years ago, when a desperate need to
visit the rest room hit me (take a dump; pinch a log; drop a
load; i.e., defecate). � I did not have a burrito bag with me. �
I
faced the choice of using my pack as a toilet or attempting to
make it to the surface to the one-holer that used to be just
downhill from the fence gate. �A number of issues were on my
mind. �#1 -- I had to swim through the sand crawl -- not an easy
task, even when you don't have something else "pressing". �#2,
there is a substantial amount of vertical relief between
Russell's Crawl and the surface. �Exercise generally acts as a
stimulant for a bowel movement. � #3 -- the main and fence gates
would likely be open, considering that this was a regional, but
perhaps not. �Any unnecessary delays could be messy. �#4 -- (my
worst fear) the toilet might be occupied. �
I
told my companions about my dilemma, and they did not see using
my pack as a toilet as a viable option in the small passage. �So
I began the journey to the surface. �You know how everything
seems to take longer when you are in a hurry? �The swim through
the sand crawl seemed to take forever. �Even though it was only
maybe 10 or 15 feet long, progress seemed to go by fractions of
an inch. �Once out of the crawlway, I was on a dead run for the
surface. �The main gate was fortunately open. � I recall passing
another group in the entrance sink. �I didn't pause for
conversation, but said, "you didn't lock the gate did you?" �
"Ah no, what's the hurry?" �Perhaps they saw the desperation in
my countenance. �I don't know, I didn't wait around to discuss
the matter. �I flew out the gate and headed down the hill,
yelling, "anyone in there?" as I approached. �The gods were
smiling. �It was unoccupied.
Relief.
�I made it. �
Moral
of the story -- always have a burrito bag. �Or better yet, visit
the bathroom before the caving trip.
On Mar 10, 2014, at 7:00 PM, Michael Lorimer wrote:
I would like open up a new discussion
thread.� We have all had many wonderful caving
experiences, some of them bordering on the fantastic.� I
would like to start the ball rolling with crawlways.�
How about writing something about your best or worst
crawlway experience?� The good, the bad, the muddiest,
the most horrible, the funniest.� You name it.
Fool�s
Crawl, Fort Stanton Cave, New Mexico
����������� I first �heard� of Fool�s Crawl when I saw
it in 1970 on the standard map that the BLM handed out
with its permits.� While I was interested, I was too
busy digging with Lee Skinner and �super digger� Dennis
Engle to check it out.� It was around the spring of 1974
that I made my first attempt to worm my way through what
was rumored to be a rather tight and nasty crawl.� Now
my memory isn�t good enough to recall those who
accompanied me on these trips, but I believe that Steve
Peerman was on every trip.� As we entered the Sewer
Pipe, almost immediately we encountered water.� At
first, it was only a little soupy mud.� Then it became
water-filled footprints.� As we traveled farther into
the Sewer Pipe, we sloshed through 3 inch deep water.�
The water became deeper as we progressed.� Soon we were
sliding over slick mounds of clay as the ceiling lowered
and the water deepened to a couple of feet.� Our little
adventure was halted when we came to where the cave
siphoned.� I crawled to where theceiling met that water
and looked to see if I could spot the infamous crawl.�
Nope.� From hindsight, I estimate that we were some ten
to twenty feet from the actual Fool�s Crawl.� As a side
note, there were many little irregular shaped rafts that
were some 3 or 4 inches in diameter and composed some sort of
calcareous material floating on the water near the
siphon.� It reminded me of the snowflakes in Snowflake
Passage.
����������� Later that year or the next year, we tried
it again.� I must confess that I hate tight crawlways as
I am a bit claustrophobic.� With that in mind, I
�researched� the crawl by talking to veteran cavers.�
What I heard was basically, �It is tight, but it opens
up rather quickly.�� Because of my fear of tight spaces,
I led.� If I can keep moving, if only inch by painful
inch then my mind isn�t occupied by thoughts of where I
am, which is entombed by millions of tons of unescapable
rock.� I hate moving forward and seeing a pair of boots
blocking my way and having to wait for someone or many
someones to slither their
way through a tight spot.� When I came to the
crawlway, the water level was down and only a puddle
remained at the tightest and lowest spot of the crawl.�
The crawlway is roughly 15 inches wide and perhaps a
foot tall.� I tried to go through with my belly down and
my shoulders parallel, but my shoulders were too wide.�
I wiggled in on my back with my right arm extended over
my head, pushing my pack and my carbide light-equipped
helmet ahead of me.� My left arm hung uselessly down at
my side.� At the tightest spot, I discovered that the
puddle was some 6 inches deep and, with my body
displacing most of the water, the level rose.� Now I was
in a passage with water filling it to about 2 or 3
inches from the ceiling.� I remember the water lapping
at my face.� It was very slippery and I wiggled like an
eel to squeeze my body through that tight, water-soaked
mud hole.� Relief flooded through me when I finally
exited from the fool�s part of the crawl.� Now the
passage had risen to a whole 14 or 15 inches and was
about 3 feet wide.� The ceiling, walls and floor were
coated with wet slippery mud and so was I.� It might as
well have had ice for all the progress I was making, but
make progress I made, a half inch at a time.� After
about 2 or 3 body lengths of slowly working my way
forward, I was able to crawl on hands and knees into
Snowflake Passage.� I knew that I could and would take
the easy exit via the Skyscraper Domes.� One of the
advantages of being first is that you can listen to the
complaints and swearing coming from deep within the
passage that you just vacated and greet
your muddy friends as they exit.
����������� A year later, I tried the crawl again.� I
had a fresh crop of novice cavers who were willing to
try something challenging.� This time Fool�s Crawl was
dry.� Fort Stanton Cave never quite dries out though.�
Now, instead of being super slippery, the walls, floor,
ceiling and I were coated with sticky mud.� It was like
I was wearing a Velcro suit and the cave was wearing the
hooks.� As before, I went first as I pushed my pack and
helmet ahead of me.� I couldn't
drag myself forward as the floor acted like glue.� I had to
lift my body up a half inch, push forward and come
down.� Repeat. Repeat.� I can�t remember how many times
I did that simple action.� Once I was past the tight
spot, I discovered that if I lifted myself a little too
high, I stuck to the ceiling.� I was also sticking to the floor.� Lift, move forward a 1/2 inch.� Down.� And repeat.�
Progress was made a slow half inch at a time.� By
comparison, being a wet muddy fish in that wet muddy
crawl was easier (but not by much), than being a caving
"tar baby" in a tight passage coated with the sticky equivalent of caver
tar.� That was the last time I went through Fool�s
Crawl.� I imagine that the crawl hasn�t changed since
Steve and I crawled through it some 30 years ago.� If
you are inclined to brave the tight stuff and would like
to sample a bit of claustrophobia, you might give Fool�s
Crawl a try.� I am too old and too fat to do it again.�
Thank goodness.
--
Michael D. Lorimer
1826 Mount Joy Dr.
San Antonio, TX 78232
575 644-1763
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Steve
Peerman
"Twenty years from now you will be more
disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the
ones you did. So throw off the bowlines, Sail away
from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your
sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."
��
�attributed to Mark Twain, but no record exists of
his having written this.
--
Michael D. Lorimer
1826 Mount Joy Dr.
San Antonio, TX 78232
575 644-1763
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