Begin forwarded message:
From: [email protected]
Date: March 2, 2009 11:33:10 AM CST
To: "txcaver" <[email protected]>
Cc: "Lyndon Tiu" <[email protected]>
Subject: [Texascavers] Surveying, Anyone?! - LCSP Needs You,
Saturday, March 7th.
Good morning, all!
If you’re looking for something to do this weekend and have
experience and a hankering for some surveying, the Longhorn Caverns
Project could use you!
Lyndon Tiu and Peter Sprouse are looking for a few additional
seasoned surveyors and sketchers to help out adding unmapped
passageway to the Longhorn Caverns map.
Unfortunately, I have a prior commitment with my daughter and will
be unable to attend.
If you would like to help out, please contact Lyndon.
As always, we will meet up at the LCSP Visitors Center at 9AM
Saturday and caravan over to the Crownover entrance.
Camping is available Friday and Saturday night in the picnic area,
near the observation tower.
Contact Lyndon for the combo.
One other note: LCSP Staff have asked us to please stay away from
the tourist entrance and the amphitheater behind the Visitors
Center, as there is a wedding going on this weekend.
Your help and consideration is appreciated!
Thanks!
Mark and Lyndon
From the latest issue of The TEXAS CAVER, written by Lyndon Tiu:
While the 1st and 2nd teams continued their work of widening the
primary passage. The 3rd team decided to stop digging and do some
exploration of the rest of the cave.
It is known from maps of Longhorn that the rear of the cavern was
not passable due to high water (see map, "Passage Blocked by High
Water"). Knowing that we are in the middle of a serious year long
drought, we thought perhaps water levels have dropped and the rear
would now be passable.
A few cavers went all the way to the back and saw an ear dip
passage. One of the cavers did not have proper water proof lights.
So the whole group turned around. It was lunch time anyways. So a
plan was hatched: We go back up the surface, eat, re-group, get the
right equipment together and go back in and push to the back of the
cave.
After lunch, the majority of the 24 cavers opted for the through
trip from the commercial entrance to the Crownover entrance A
smaller group of 7 cavers from ASS and GHG went for the rear of the
cave to see how far we can go "past the map".
We went through the ear dip passage with no incident. The
ear dip was about 10 feet in length, with air space narrowing down
to about 2 inches in parts. So narrow, a few of the cavers in the
group decided to remove their helmets just to get Through and still
stick their noses above the water to breath.
From the most recent maps, we knew that the surveyed cave
terminus extended not too far from the Crownover entrance (see map,
"Cave Extends Further"). After passing the ear dip and crawling for
a while, we were very certain that we were no longer "on the map".
We crawled and walked through mud and debris for about 45 minutes
after the ear dip when we reached what seems to be the end of our
journey to the rear. We were now at a sump surrounded by soft mud,
crawling full of crayfish.
The mud was so soft and deep we would sink to our ankles while
walking over it.
Along the way, we saw white spikey fungi growing on some
dirt on the cave floor. I noticed the "basement floor" of the cave
after the ear dip is smooth white dolomite covered in most places by
a thin layer of mud. We noticed cave crickets in a small segment of
the cave, indicating an entrance is nearby. We saw a few forks in
the cave. But since this is our first time in this cave passage, we
decided to stick to the main passageway and come back next time for
the side passages.
We are planning on going back next month to survey the cave
after the ear dip. We are also planning on exploring and surveying
the side passages we saw (but did not have time to explore) and see
if there are any leads to the surface. In the process, we wish to
officially extend Longhorn further on the map.
We had hoped we were in virgin cave passage, but some research burst
our bubble. According to an excerpt from the Caves of Burnet County
Publication, it says: "Members of the San Angelo College
Speleological Society and the ITSS explored the northernmost
portion of the cave beyond the Salamander Trail on 30-31 March 1962.
They found that the reported sump at the end of the cave was open
and were able to continue exploration for several thousand feet to
another sump. Unfortunately, no survey of the cave was made during
the trip."
Rain has been falling since. This may mean we can never go back and
survey as the ear dip passage may be fully underwater by the time we
get back next month.
CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE
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* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Diana R. Tomchick
Associate Professor
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Department of Biochemistry
5323 Harry Hines Blvd.
Rm. ND10.214B
Dallas, TX 75390-8816, U.S.A.
Email: [email protected]
214-645-6383 (phone)
214-645-6353 (fax)
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