If anyone has any pix from this trip, please send them my way for possible inclusion in the next TEXAS CAVER.
Thanks in advance! Mark Alman Editor - The TC -----Original Message----- From: Jim Kennedy [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Tuesday, April 01, 2008 10:07 AM To: [email protected] Cc: Butch Fralia; Jerry Atkinson Subject: [Texascavers] Punkin Cave survey trip results This past weekend saw another very successful survey trip to TCMA's Punkin Cave, in Edwards County, Texas. 17 people participated out of the 18 who signed up, We had 4 teams in the cave. Wes Schumacher led Team Superstition back to the Superstition Maze, a complex area with house-sized breakdown where he has already put in 3 other surveys. Joining him were Sandi Calhoun, Matt Zappitello, and Saj Pierson, all Punkin (and Superstition) survey veterans. Their team surveyed 53.64 meters of passage in 16 shots, an average of 3.35m/shot. They also succeeded in connecting to the nearby Davy Jones Locker section twice (see below). Lee Jay Graves, another Punkin survey veteran, stepped up to the task of sketching on this trip, leading a team back to Davy Jones Locker, another complex area roughly paralleling Superstition Maze. The first survey trip there was during the November survey trip. This time he was ably assisted by Don Arburn and Devra Heyer (veterans) and new Punkinhead Arron Wertheim, who did just great. Team DJL put in 13 shots for 48.92 meters in this confusing section (3.76m/shot), tying in to Superstition Maze twice. Geary Schindel, TCMA Carta Valley Property Manager, finally managed to get on one of our survey trips to Punkin Cave. A seasoned sketcher, he led Calvin Alexander, Jacqui Thomas, Grace Borengasser, and Joe Datri (all on their first survey trip to Punkin) to a new northwestern maze first explored by Mike Sisson and Stephen Bryant during the November survey trip. This large, extensive maze is now named Medusa. Team Medusa I surveyed 77.43 meters in 15 shots. That is an average of 5.16m/shot, an indication of the large passage sizes in which they surveyed. Joe and Grace also filmed some of the survey and pre-and post-trip activities. They are working on a caver documentary, but this is also the first video footage of the cave itself, and we are greatly appreciative of Joe dragging the big camera bag around with him. Jim Kennedy, Punkin Cave Survey Coordinator, also led a tem to Medusa. Consisting of veteran Gary Franklin and assisted by new Punkinheads Liza Colucci and Corrine Wong, Team Medusa II surveyed an incredible 27 shots for a total of 86.31 meters. Theirs was the smallest average distance per shot, only 3.20m. A large loop was closed, and, of course, many, many leads remain for future trips. The total survey for the weekend was 266.3 meters (erroneously reported earlier as 299.5 meters). This gives Punkin Cave a total of 2194 meters of passage, moving up to the #20 spot on the Texas Long Cave List! This is in 481 shots, an average of 4.56m per shot. Heck, in another 355 meters we will be longer than Deep Cave! [Disclaimer: neither cave is any where close to being finished.] No change was made in the cave's depth, which remains at 63.3m (#28 on the Texas Deep Cave List). Much work was also done on the property, with the expanded cabin parking area being cleared and leveled, much bulldozed brush from the wildfire being cleared and burned, and a large percentage of the remaining lumber cleaned of nails and stacked for the cabin extension. Good food was enjoyed by everyone, and Saturday night Margaritas and Movies were once again a big hit. The next trip will be in late May or early June, and any available slots will be once again announced on CaveTex. -- Crash --------------------------------------------------------------------- Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: [email protected] For additional commands, e-mail: [email protected]
