The following is my trip report for the NSS Convention and TAG. Please feel free to repost or forward. It is quite long, but covers many caves and several days. I have many photos from the trip, but I have yet to edit them and make them small enough to send via email. The photos will also be available for newsletters.
Trip Report N.S.S. Convention & T.A.G. Caves Dennis & Sharon Welch, Maverick Grotto, Visit: Hooper�s Well, Limrock Blowing Sink, Shelta Cave, Sinking Cove Cave, Tumbling Rock Cave, Neversink & Valhalla July 2nd � 10th, 2005 By Dennis Welch The following is an account of the Welch�s first trip to a National Speleological Society Convention and first trip to cave in T.A.G. (Tennessee, Alabama & Georgia). The convention took place in Huntsville, AL from July 4th through July 8th and was hosted by the Huntsville Grotto (and maybe others, too). Most of the caving was accomplished east northeast of Huntsville in mostly Alabama and once in Tennessee. We would like to express a very special thanks to everyone involved in hosting the convention and coordinating the caving. They all did an outstanding job, leaving an everlasting delightful impression on us. This is how the story goes� We arrived at the Ditto Landing RV Campground, south of Huntsville, on Saturday afternoon and headed to registration that evening. We chose to stay in an RV Park because pets were not allowed on the convention campgrounds and we wanted to bring along our dog. Registration was a breeze, as everyone was courteous, friendly and organized. We received our guidebooks, programs, t-shirts, drink mugs, parking stickers, etc. and met lots of nice folk from HQ. After picking-up literature on what�s to do in Huntsville, we headed straight out to the Cave Trip Info Pavilion where we met Peter �Mudpuppy� Michaud, Maureen Handler, and Jim Wilbanks. As the story goes, Jim was the first to coin the acronym, T.A.G. (tag). Upon sharing with them that we were here to see what TAG caves were all about, we let them know we didn�t have much vertical experience. Mudpuppy and Maureen took us under their wings and steered us towards an easy pit for Sunday after church. Sunday afternoon, we solicited a couple of new friends, Dale Purchase, a cave diver from Michigan, now living in Florida and Texas� own Ernie Garza from the UT Grotto to join us. We all headed out to Hooper�s Well, a 90� drop, located near Monte Sano State Park east of downtown Huntsville. The rigging was straightforward, but the entrance was a bit restrictive with a pack on. Once on rope, it was a simple, straight drop to the floor. We used a fairly new rope and it was fast! All the way down, the walls were either beautifully scalloped or covered with flowstone. Perhaps 40� down, there was a huge stalactite about 25� long and quite amazing. Over a dozen salamanders were on the walls near the floor. Other than organic debris, it was great to see that there was no man-made trash in the cave. There was really nowhere else to go in the cave, so after Ernie took a few pictures (he was the only one who remembered to bring his camera down the drop), we each �frogged� up the rope. Back on the surface, there were three others waiting to bounce the pit and we met a half dozen more on their way while on our hike back to the cars. It was a great start to our week in TAG. Back at the convention campgrounds, we wanted to see what cave we should try next. The Cave Trip Info Pavilion was abuzz with activity. By the time we left for the evening, we were put in charge to lead a group to Limrock Blowing Sink cave on Monday morning and a trip to Neversink pit on Tuesday evening. The Southeastern Cave Conservancy, Inc (SCCi) owns both of these caves. Before the week was over, we had been to four SCCi caves, signed on as sustaining members and bought a piece of Neversink. Early Monday, we again headed for the caver�s campground. The other cavers joining us for Limrock were Don and Sid Formanek, Kelly Jessop (a cave diver on his first dry cave trip and a brother to Sid), Steve Johnson, and Bob Straub. Arriving at the cave entrance, we were impressed by the cool misty breeze blowing out. Bob led the way as we were off on another underworld adventure. We had snagged the map from the Convention Guidebook which helped us some, but we were often unsure of which way led to the driest route. This cave offers several opportunities to get wet. For part of the cave, a stream passage flows two to three feet deep, but we wanted to stay as dry as possible. Our route intersected the stream in several places and we eventual had no choice except to follow the water route. The cave did offer a bit of several types of horizontal caving. We got to stroll, stoop, duck-walk, hands-and-knees crawl, and belly crawl. There were up and down mud slopes and scrambles over and around breakdown. Surfaces included mud, gravel, rock and wall-to-wall rimstone. A long stretch was with raised mud banks delineating a small stream that had a base of flowstone. Very cool! Much of the passageway was 20 to 30 feet or more wide and seven or eight feet high. For whatever reason, there were very few places where water was seeping through the ceiling and therefore, almost no available water for speleothem development. We always paused at the waterfalls, one falling from a 70-foot dome. Throughout the entire cave, the walls and ceiling were very sculpted with nearly all the speleothems on the floor. We saw a few bats, cave crickets, and beetles, plus a big stream crawfish along the way. We had reached about the three-quarter point when we ran out of time and headed out. All of us had a good time exploring the cave. We got back to the convention before 1 P.M. because Sharon had the opportunity to take a sketching class from Pat Kambesis. After about two hours of intense classroom instruction, they all went into Shelta Cave under the N.S.S. headquarters and practiced their newly learned skills. It will be so nice to have a well-trained sketcher to go along with the survey gear she bought me for my recent birthday. Meanwhile, I went shopping at Inner Mountain Outfitters. Afterwards, I relocated the RV in a wind, hail and rain storm from Ditto Landing to the U.S. Space and Rocket Center Campground where they have full hook-ups and are closer to the convention. Returning to the caver�s campgrounds, we enjoyed a fine meal from Lawler�s BBQ as the start to the �Howdy Party�. The band soon had the crowd movin� and shakin� to their oldies sounds. We met lots of great people from all over the country and beyond. I hope some of them come to Texas so we can show them our caves. That would only be fitting for the numerous invitations we received to come and cave in their neck of the woods. Tuesday morning, we were honored by Mudpuppy with a �secret� trip to Sinking Cove Cave, just across the border into Franklin County, Tennessee, and another of the SCCi�s caves. We planned to do a �through trip�, so our arduous hike over the mountain to the cave was lengthy and just about did us in. Arriving at a beautiful sinkhole setting, complete with a pretty little waterfall and at least two entrances to the cave, Mudpuppy rigged a 20-foot hand line for us all to use on the steep muddy slope down into the sink where we shot several pictures. It was quite refreshing to reach the cool breeze coming out of the entrances. I think we were told there are about 12 entrances total, including a pull-down through trip. Joining us for the trip were Mike, Bill, Tony, Kyle, Allan, Brits, Cookie & Les, Luc, a Canadian, Mary, a.k.a. Thumper & Bob Straub. So, off we went into the dark vast unknown expanses of Sinking Cove and began wading a stream passage within sight of the entrance. Actually, Mudpuppy had been on more than 20 trips through this cave and knew the route well. He had prepared us for the through trip by telling us about the intermittent wading through up to thigh deep water on most of the journey and waist deep for the last couple hundred feet before our exit. This cave was a blast and oh so beautiful. We saw the most amazing colors and formations and plenty of them, often causing visual overload. It was such a treat to have experienced this wonder of nature. As long as we kept moving, the wading kept us cooled off without getting too cold. If we took a break for too long, some of us began to feel the results of soaked shoes and clothing. Polypropylene undergarments really made a big difference, yet our feet were completely numb by the time we exited. Upon nearing the exit, we had no choice but to wade through water up to the tops of our legs. Short little Sharon was in it up to her waist and it was really cold. There was lots of howling from many in the group. At one point, while trying to assist Sharon through a rock-strewn section of the stream, I tripped on a rock and fell almost completely in the water, nearly dragging her down with me. Everyone seemed to get a good chuckle out of me trying to drown my wife. Since we all were so wet already, a couple of the gang decided to continue in the stream to the exit through even deeper water. However, most of us crawled up and out a closer dryer tight little hole along the way. We all laughed and cut-up about the experience, took more pictures and made the short hike to our vehicles. What a cave trip! We won�t soon forget this one. Then it was back to meet-up with the other couples joining us for some vertical. Due to our nearly late arrival back at the convention campgrounds and my poor communication of specifics, we missed meeting the others that were to join us for Neversink. Therefore, we visited with new and old friends and watched the auction. We were astounded by the prices some things sold for. Recommendation: bring way more caving clothes than you think you will need. Due to overcast skies and afternoon and evening rain Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, our dirty, wet caving clothes and gear were not drying out to re-wear. We had even tried tying our boots to the front of the Jeep on the way back from each trip to get them to dry out. The rain in route only got them wetter. On the drive to the next cave, we resorted to using the defroster to dry our soaked gloves and pads from Sinking Cove with the air conditioner running full blast to compensate for the heat. On Wednesday, we joined up with Mudpuppy, Hazard (another local guide), Phil Davis, Bob & Mary Anne Robins, Kevin Branscum & Genevieve Mattar, Bob �Nuke� Thompson, David Lilly, Daniel Veelik & Beatriz Farfan, Todd Armstrong, Nina Pietroiusti, Sid Formanek, and Ray Kutnar to do Tumbling Rock Cave northwest of Scottsboro. This cave was drier than Sinking Cove, with a smaller stream and more passageways above, clear of the water. We saw a wide variety of colors and formations, had great time and especially enjoyed the beautiful King�s Shower & Topless Dome. Please see the 2005 N.S.S. Convention Guidebook for an extensive write-up on this cave. Mid-afternoon, several of us left Tumbling Rock and drove to nearby Neversink Pit. Daniel Veelik & Beatriz (Betty) Farfan, a married couple from the Southern California Grotto, joined us for the drop. Bob & Mary Anne Robins, Sid Formanek, Todd Armstrong and David Lilly came along to assist and to see this picturesque pit. Thanks go to young, strong Todd Armstrong from Ontario, Canada for carrying the rope up to the entrance. We all were awed by the size of the opening and the beautiful ferns and other vegetation on each shelf as the pit descended out of site. Without being quite exposed, it was impossible to see the floor from above. It was a long way down. I rigged a rope at the obvious rig point and off I went 162 feet to the floor. Wow, what a view! There was a lot of rope on the floor so the rope I thought was 200 feet was obviously longer. Just how long was it? Once I was down, I pulled out my camera and began exploring, shooting photos of the others rappelling, the beautiful waterfalls and a salamander. There was no additional passageway to explore, just a muddy debris covered floor. After additional photos of the pit-boppers, Sharon started �rope walking� out of the pit. We both recently purchased these climbing systems and had yet to use them in a free climb. We found that they still needed some fine-tuning, but we made it out of the pit with only minor challenges at the lip. Neversink is famous for its astounding beauty. It did not disappoint! The Convention had arranged a free tour of the Space and Rocket Center in the early evening, but the four of us missed it because of the late hour of our return to Huntsville. Additionally, there was a free beer party afterwards at the campground. Sharon and I skipped it and headed back to the RV to get cleaned up and relax. All this caving was starting to take its toll on our ancient bodies. Thursday dawned to beautiful sunny skies. Our agenda for the day did not begin until an 11:00 A.M. Vertical Section Workshop. It was a welcome morning off to start the day more relaxed, not scrambling to get to the campgrounds in time to join a cave trip. This gave us a chance to dry and sort some of our gear. Now, about that long rope, we took the opportunity to measure and mark it. Turns out it was about 295 feet. Wow, what a treat. Now we can go do Valhalla with one rope. The Vertical Workshop was a basic practical familiarization course on some of the equipment and systems that are popular in various parts of the country. It was not intended to be a vertical skills training class. However, safety was emphasized and we picked up several useful tips. The workstations included basic knot-tying, rappelling on a rack, rappelling on a Petzl Stop, climbing and descending a cable ladder, climbing and down-climbing with three prusiks, climbing and down-climbing with a frogger, climbing and down-climbing with a Mitchell and climbing with a rope-walker. In addition, they made us one-year members of the N.S.S. Vertical Section and gave us a 12-page handout on knots, equipment and their recommended uses. Our favorite was the Mitchell due to its versatility. It would be great for down-climbing into Texas� numerous bad-air pits, ready to ascend instantly. It was only the cost of the system that discouraged me from buying one. The class was quite rushed, yet we are convinced they achieved their objective of exposing us to the various equipment choices. Even though the class was fun, I am not sure we will do it again. The class inspired Sharon to stop by I.M.O. afterwards for a length of rope to practice knot tying. Also, we stopped by the SCCi�s room, becoming members as mentioned above and to attempt to get a permit to Valhalla for Saturday. The evening activities were for us all to go the Von Braun Center�s Concert Hall for a photo salon. We were disappointed to miss this opportunity to view some of the world�s best caving photographs, videos and multimedia presentations. Instead, we had a nice sit-down supper, went back to the campground to visit and burn some pictures to a cd for some friends and then back to the RV Park to call it a night. Friday, we spent the day taking a class called �Speleology for Cavers�, presented by Steve Stokowski (SS), Larry Spangler (LS), Fred Grady (FG) and Bill Elliot (BE). They covered mostly rudimentary, but some detailed specific information on Basic Geology, SS; Karst Geomorphology, LS; Cave Paleontology, FG; Cave Morphology, SS; Karst Hydrology & Groundwater Chemistry, LS; Cave Formations & Minerals, SS; Cave Biology, BE; Cave Sediments, SS; and Cave Meteorology, SS. This was a lot of �ologies� to cover in seven hours and each of the speakers was rushed to get through their topics. We did become familiar with a ton of information we had not yet been exposed to. The class drug on at times, however, most of the topics were interesting and educational. It was well worth the time and expense for the presentations and materials we received. Sharon�s favorite was the information on cave critters, while I enjoyed the geology/chemistry/geomorphology the most. We look forward to studying the handouts in more detail. After the class, we headed back to the caver�s campground to visit and finalize plans for Saturday�s cave trip. We made one last stop by the Texas area of the campground to hangout with the Texas cavers. We only knew a few of the ones that were present, yet had a great time listening, talking and laughing. Next, we went to the Von Braun Center for the Convention Banquet and Awards Presentations. We bumped into some new friends from the Central Indiana Grotto, Bill & Nancy Greenwald, and sat at their table. The food was good and plentiful, with many choices. We really enjoyed the awards portion of the event. The best part of all was getting to know our new friends and hear more about Midwest caving. We look forward to caving in Hoosierland with Bill, Nancy and other C.I.G. members. When the program was over, we drove back to the RV Park to get a good night�s sleep. On Saturday morning, we met Daniel Veelik, Betty Farfan, Scott and Jenny at the convention campgrounds to caravan out to Valhalla, our final SCCi cave for the week. Will Heltsley, Rich, Lindsey and Frank were already there when we got to the gate for the two mile four-wheel drive road to the cave preserve parking area. They had two-wheel drive suv�s, but made it just fine because it wasn�t that muddy. The cave is only about a 200-foot hike from there. When I got to the top of the pit, Will was already busy rigging the drop with my rope. You see, as it turns out, Will had previously locked-up the permit for Saturday morning, but I had the rope long enough to make the drop. Therefore, we all joined up to do the cave together. Ten cavers is a rather large number for one rope and a deep pit. While the last of us rappelled down into the pit, the first few had already begun exploring the nearly one mile of cave passage below. When all were down, most of us joined together to try to find a specific room shown on the map. Even though we had this map of the cave, it wasn�t very detailed, with leads heading off at several places that were not depicted on the map. Jenny and Will did a masterful job of keeping us on the correct route. Our journey took us along some very cool, yet challenging passageways. We had to make three up or down climbs of 15 to 17 feet, assisted by handlines already in place. Other times we had to crawl. Sometimes we had to straddle a deep fissure through winding passageway. This was turning out to be so diverse and an awesome experience. The trip was rewarded with finding Rain Drop Falls and the 200-foot Mega Dome at the end of the route. It was so high, our best lights could barely reach the top. The mud-covered floor was decorated with formations of mud from the dripping splattering water. Very unique! Although I don�t remember the portions of the cave we explored having a lot of speleothems, the journey through it was the real treat. There was lots more cave to see and explore, but that will have to wait for our next trip. And we will be back! We spent three to four hours exploring the passages and then decided it was time to start the slow process of getting everyone out. I took about 20-30 minutes per person to get on rope, make the climb, negotiate the lip and slope beyond and get off rope. All the while, the cavers at the top were steaming in the hot late afternoon/early evening sun, while those waiting at the bottom were donning polypro and plastic bags in an effort to stay warm. No one had any significant challenges using their climbing systems for the trip up the rope. My ropewalker worked much better than I did, but I made it in the second fastest time, although there was no world records set with this bunch. I really, really like my ropewalker system and am very glad I got it. Becky Jones at Gonzo Guano Gear, Llano, Texas, where I bought most all of our gear, did an excellent job of helping Sharon and I get just what we needed. The tune-up I did before the vertical workshop made all the difference. A special thanks to Maureen Handler for helping Sharon adjust her system the initial time she put it on and to Becky for further tweaking it at the workshop. We all had a great time at Valhalla and were so glad we saved this cool pit/cave for last. Prior to heading back to Texas, we spent one more night at the Space Center campgrounds. Sunday morning, we attended church and then went to dinner with some old Texas non-caving friends who live in Huntsville. We learned that Hurricane Dennis was bearing down on Alabama, so we hurried our departure west and only got a few sprinkles. Our hearts poor out to all those who attended the post-convention cave camp at Maureen�s and to all the victims of damage from the storm. I hope all the cavers escape unscathed. Before closing out this report, I must thank every one of you who helped us have a wonderful time at our first convention and our first trip into TAG. We had a great time thanks to the dedicated servant spirit of the members of the Huntsville Grotto and the many volunteers who put on the convention and coordinated/led the caving trips. You all pulled this off with the look as if you had been doing this forever. Everyone was so friendly and well organized. We met so many delightful cavers and staff. The memories and relationships gained will be a lasting tribute to your selfless dedication to caving and cavers nationwide. I would like to specifically thank Peter �Mudpuppy� Michaud, first, for his friendship, second, for his concern for us having a safe and enjoyable experience in his back yard, and third, for the professional way in which he led our caving trips with enthusiasm and compassion. Maureen Handler also deserves special thanks for her friendship and selfless service at the cave info pavilion and her pragmatic approach to seeing we all found just the right cave and trip for our skill and desires. Thanks also to Bill Steele for his plan of attack on which caves to see and do in TAG and in which order based on our limited experience. I also wish to thank the Southeastern Cave Conservancy for their tireless efforts in protecting caves throughout the southeast. It is with great admiration I applaud your dedication. All of you�THANKS! Please keep up the good work! We are really looking forward to next year�s convention in Bellingham. We hope to see each of you there again! Dennis K. Welch, The caving Christian NSS, NSS-CDS, CRF, ACCA, SCCi, TSA, TCMA, MGT, CGT NSS # 53060 [email protected] http://www.maverickgrotto.org/ http://www.tcmacaves.org/ http://www.cavetexas.org/ http://www.scci.org/ http://www.cavern.org/ http://www.cave-research.org/ http://www.nsscds.org/ http://www.caves.org/
