Caving Blogs From OnlineCavers.com

New Zealand Caving

Don "Doc" Kellenbarger — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 09:21:21 -0800

All experienced cavers are invited to the 2010 New Zealand caving expedition to Mt Owen in the south Island of New Zealand. This is one of the most spectacular places and is world class caving. It will be held in early March of 2010. The two main caves are Bulmer and Bohemia, Bulmer being about 55 km in length. For more information please contact me at nvcaver99@yahoo.com

"Doc" Kellenbarger
Northern Nevada Grotto

New Zealand Caving

Don "Doc" Kellenbarger — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 09:21:21 -0800

Fellatio common among fruit bats, says research

Mark Rabin — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 07:19:15 -0800

I thought someone might enjoy this information- if your spouse does not work out.. there is always fruit bats ....
click here for article in new window
Please do not view me as perverse or inappropriate .. although possibly in bad-taste - I figured that someone would find this information useful.

NSS Convention 2007

Harry Marinakis — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 16:33:27 -0700

NSS CONVENTION 2007
Marengo, Indiana

INTRODUCTION

The National Speleological Society 2007 convention was held Marengo, Indiana, from July 23 to July 27.
The convention was interrupted by a micro burst that ripped through the campground on the evening of July 26th.
Fortunately most people were away from the campground at a multi-media presentation when the storm hit.
Flash floods struck the area, prompting relief efforts by the American Red Cross.

My camp at the convention

A trip to the local liquor store prompted an impromptu photo opportunity

There was much drinking

Yours truly

MAUCK'S CAVE

Mauck's Cave is small but highly decorated. A tight crawl through formations leads to the back of the cave.

LANGDON'S CAVE

Langdon's Cave is a muddy cave with a difficult nuisance drop over slick boulders. A hang line is nice to have just because the muck is so slippery.

BUDDAH'S CAVE

Buddha's Cave is a technical cave that requires some climbing and rope work. Just inside the entrance is a short but tricky and exposed climb. Once back in the cave, a short 40-foot rappel takes you down to the stream passage. You don't want to be in this cave in wet weather.

OLD TOWN SPRING CAVE

Old Town Spring Cave is a long, wet river cave. The water is FREEZING. We turned around after about 2,000 feet because it was just so damn cold. It took quite a few beers to warm me up afterwards!

Cave Rescue in Canada

Mark Rabin — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 09:08:41 -0700

read about it here
Boulder falls and causes serious injury to Canadian Caver

Great weekend of caving November 6-8, 2009 Corydon, IN

Susan Wilkinson — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 11:47:40 -0700

Great weekend of caving and fun November 6-8, 2009

Rand Heazlitt, South end of Corydon, IN, has graciously opened his property to us for the weekend. Primitive camping, kayaking, caving, and a bon fire. What more culd you ask for free? Saturday evening he will have a bon fire. Aside from the planned grotto trip to Devil’s Graveyard and pit several caves in the area will be open to us for the weekend. There’s nearby put in and take out points on the river, so bring your kayak.Bring your money and get a jump on your Christmas shopping as Rand will have plenty of his pottery and some special pieces available.

Anyone is welcome to join in on the fun, anytime Friday through Sunday. Rand has put a lot of effort into this weekend and it would be great to have a big turn out.

Please forward to any and every caver you know.

Feel free to contact Susan Wilkinson with any questions. hecticshoobie@yahoo.com or 317-910-8023

Thanks

Susan Wilkinson
You gotta stop and smell the mud.

Glory

Jason — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 08:10:14 -0700

Glory seems to be a good term to use today. I think it would be an interesting name for a wild cave....names of caves are wide ranging....
a name makes something memorable, famous or infamous.
Your thoughts?

Made Time!

Jason — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 07:40:52 -0700

Yesterday passed quickly, tomorrow is on the way here and today is fleeting by at an ever increasing rate. Plodding onward we travel through our lives on what seems to be a steadfast, stable path. Until disaster strikes us on our own turf. Then it operates as a "wakeup" call to reevaluate what activities in our lives take precedence. Readjust old behaviors to accept new ones all in the hopes of making our life matter more.

Why wait for a disaster?

Each day should be used for what it is, something precious that will not be here for very long. Clocks, watches,cellphones,computers.....all important items in our daily life. Easy to access and use with minimal effort. Bland and boring....

The world around us is begging to be explored, observed, experienced. Houses, cars, designer clothes all will fade to dust but memories, adventures, lives you touch will long out live us all.

I must remind myself that every chance, each opportnity to impact a life around me for good must be taken. Not do so is gross negligence of the blessing that has been given.

Grace and blessings to you and yours....cave more, live more, use & abuse less.

Jason-

NEW and IMPROVED????

Jason — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 07:34:18 -0700

I am always thrilled when someone says they are new and improved or that they bought something that is new and improved, yet for some reason this "adage" brought something to lite that I have been ignoring in the past.
We as a culture seem to be waiting with agnst for the next new fad, new trend, new hobby, new vehicle.....i realized...not me, give me old.
Archeology, antiqiues, adventure of wonder...perhaps this is why I enjoy the labor of caving wild caves, exploring things off the beaten path. I find no excitment in the new but rather the thrill of treading upon ground that long ago was impacted by someone long past. There is something special in that. Something unique.
New in this case does not mean that it is improved, only that it promises to be less interesting to me and mine.

Odd???? Perhaps....but I am a fan of history after all.

Limestone on the Cahaba

Robert L. West — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 04:31:39 -0700

June 1, 2009, Jim, Bo, Jelene & I went to the Little Cahaba, at Bulldog Bend to float past some of the best lower Paleozoic limestone outcropings in Alabama. The water was lower than expected, and Jim & I, in my canoe, hung up farirly often. The Cambrian dolomites weather to particularly sharp edged ledges, and I showed poor judgement in wearing my ancient TEVAs. Result was a number of cuts on feet and legs.

The float on the Little Cahaba was great, but I was really wowed by last couple of miles along the Cahaba River proper. For almost a mile and a half we were treated to 30 to 40 foot cliffs of carbonates. While we spotted no caves along the river, it was spectatular. Reminds me of a miniature version of the limestone clffs of similar age along the New River between Walker Creek and Ripplemead, VA.

The day was topped off nicely when my ancient truck decided to spall off the fan belt tensioner. Fortunately, AAA was there in an hour or so, and we made it in about dark. My thanks to Bo, who gave me a ride to place where cell phones worked and generally stood by me in my hour of need.

HCRU

Robert L. West — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 16:57:39 -0700

July 11, 2009-Tom and I went to HCRU zip line across De Soto Falls. Tom rode the rope and I took pictures. Afterward went to visit with T. Whitehurst and enjoyed a short hike to thei
r dry waterfall.

Bats

Greg Passmore — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 10:13:53 -0700

Just back from 2 weeks filming bats at Frio and Bracken. Managed to capture some nice footage of hawks catching bats, the large swallow flight into Frio prior to the flight and some circle of life sort of stuff inside Frio.

More photos at my FLICKR pages...

Robert "Nuke" Thompson — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 20:50:44 -0700

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cavernuke/
and,
http://www.flickr.com/photos/42366571@N02/sets/

NSS Convention 2006

Harry Marinakis — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 09:04:57 -0700

Bellingham, Washington
August 7 to August 11,2006

INTRODUCTION

The National Speleological Society 2006 convention was held at Western Washington University, Bellingham, Washington, from August 7 to August 11. Over 750 people attended the convention. Monongahela Grotto received two honors: Doug McCarty is a new NSS Fellow and Brian Masney had a slide shown in the photo salon.

PRE-CONVENTION CAVING

I attended the pre-convention caving camp, located on the slopes of Mount Saint Helens. The volcano belched steam during the entire campout. We explored numerous lava tube caves in the area, including the “tourist” caves Ape Cave (over 4,000 feet long) and Lake Cave (over 6,000 feet long). We were fortunate to also explore the gated cave Pillars of Hercules that contains fantastic lava driblet formations.

Mount Saint Helens National Volcanic Monument.

Mount Saint Helens belching steam. Taken from the climber’s bivouac camping area on the south slope. The blast zone is on the opposite side of the mountain.

PILLARS OF HERCULES CAVE

Pillars of Hercules is a gated lava tube cave on the slopes of Mount Saint Helens. It contains fantastic lava driblet formations, including lavacicles and driblet stalagmites.

The lava beds are covered with luxurious carpets of moss and pine forests. Harry at the entrance to Pillars of Hercules Cave.

One of the pillars in the braided passageway that give this cave its name.

Lava driblet stalagmites. They are about eighteen inches high.

Lava driblet stalagmites, about two feet in height.

Detail on a lava driblet stalagmite.

A particularly impressive passageway, with lava helictites and driblet stalagmites.

Matt shows us some impressive lava roses and driblet stalagmites.

Lava helictites. They are about four inches long.

LAKE CAVE

Lake Cave is a 6,000-foot long lava tube cave on the slopes of Mount Saint Helens, downstream from Ape Cave. It is well-visited by tourists who find themselves descending a broken cable ladder just past the entrance. The cave terminates in a lake room where inflowing silt and sand filled the cave. The lake is dry in the summer.

The broken cable ladder in Lake Cave.

Phyllis in the lava tube passage in Lake Cave. Flash assistance by Matt.

APE CAVE

Ape Cave is another well-visited 5,000-foot long lava tube cave on the slopes of Mount Saint Helens. Even though this is considered a tourist cave it has impressive geologic features that it a worthwhile trip for the caver. The most famous formation is the “meatball,” an oblong boulder that was rafted in the lava flow and became wedged in the ceiling as the lava receded.

Classic lava tube passageway in Ape Cave.

Phyllis examines the meatball in Ape Cave.

THE CONVENTON

The 2006 NSS Convention was held on the beautiful campus of Western Washington University. During the convention I went caving only on one day. We explored the Big Four Ice Caves in the North Cascades, about two hours from the convention site.

Haskell Plaza, site of the nightly convention parties.

My buds from Sandia Grotto, New Mexico.

BIG FOUR ICE CAVES

The Big Four Ice Caves are located at the base of Big Four Mountain in the North Cascade of Washington. The ice caves are carved out of a permanent snowfield at the base of high cliffs by the action of waterfalls and streams. The glaciers high on Big Four Mountain avalanche during the winter. The avalanche debris piles high into permanent snowfields at the base of the avalanche gullies. Later in the spring, as snowmelt cascades down the cliffs, tunnels are melted into the snowfields. A tunnel forms at the back of the snowfields from the waterfalls. The streams run under the snowfields and melt braided tunnels that emerge from the downhill edge of the snowfields. These “ice caves” are extremely unstable. They are always in a state of collapse and remodeling.

The warning sign at Big FourMountain.

Another warning sign at Big Four Mountain.

Blake approaching the snowfield. Notice the people for scale near the cave entrance.

Blake at the entrance of the first ice caves.

Harry in the first ice cave.

Harry at the base of the waterfall in the first ice cave.

Harry in a large room in the first ice cave.

Blake entering the second ice cave.

Blake explores braided passageway in the second ice cave.

Blake nearing the exit of the second ice cave.

Harry drying out after the second ice cave.

POST-CONVENTION

Jackey and I visited Vancouver, British Columbia, for three days after the convention. We visited countless art galleries and museums. These include the Vancouver Art Gallery and the University of British Columbia Museum of Anthropology.

Vancouver Art Gallery.

The University of British Columbia Museum of Anthropology.

Another Bill Reid masterpiece.

Horseshoe Bay, West Vancouver

DSpeCS CONSERVE A CAVE PROJECT IN KAPALONG

EDNA — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 07:43:44 -0700

The Davao Speleological and Conservation Society (DSpeCS), Inc. recently launched a "Conserve a Cave" Project in partnership with the Municipal Government of Kapalong, Provincial Government of Davao del Norte, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Department of Tourism and Barangay Government of Suaon.

It is a community project to advocate and educate the locales the importance of cave to humans and wildlife. The project is located in Suaon nature's Park, Sambayon, Barangay Suaon, Kapalong, Davao del Norte, Philippines.

Sambayon Cave is one of the caves in Suaon Nature's Park that was once a source of water in the community before development comes. It provides sustaining supply to the locales even during the long dry season/draught. Sambayon Cave was named by DSpeCS after the exploration and referred to the name of the site.

DSpeCS had seen the current state of the cave being dumped by huge volume of soil, garbage and forest wastes. It is strategically located along the roadside which was left unattended by the people and not valued by its importance.

DSpeCS had come up with a partnership project with the government and stakeholders to campaign the restoration of the cave. Initial activities of DSpeCS was to conduct series of cave clean up which until now had still loads of garbage and the members continues to spend time in gathering debris in the spirit of volunterism.

Sambayon cave is just one of the eight (8) caves existing in the area that were explored by DSpeCS.

"Conserve a cave" Project is one of the major programs of DSpeCS acronymed C.A.V..E.R.N.S where C means conservation.

Sambayon Cave which is the focus for the "conserve a cave " project shall become the future show cave in Suaon Nature's Park for children. A protective fence and gate will be constructed for road safety and control waste disposal.

MSS Corn Feed

Robert "Nuke" Thompson — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 11:00:00 -0700

September 21 22 & 23 was the MSS Corn Feed. It was held at Forestville State Park in Minnesota, ostensibly in the "Driftless Area" (although the Nebraskan Ice Sheet did cover it about 2 million years ago). It was about a 6 hour trip for me from the Lake Michigan coastline to the edge of the Great Prairies, taking me through many different glaciated and non-glaciated landscapes. The best part of the trip was the Upper Mississippi Valley (not like down south - much more like the Tennessee Gorge in TAG) and winding 50 miles through the Root River Valley in Minnesota to the park.

I met up with the other WSS members and paid my MSS membership. The MSS Vertical Crew had set up a Vertical Funhouse in the picnic pavilion, so I geared up and got on rope. I made sure everything was good and sore so I would be at my best for Saturday's caving.

My Saturday trip was Holy Grail Cave, John Ackerman's new discovery. I was amazed at the size of the passages. Could these canyons have been dug by erosion from glacial meltwaters? The Ordovician dolomite here is much thicker than in Wisconsin, with much more vertical potential. For the most part, passages followed joint lines; the upper parts of many of them seemed to be phreatic in origin, followed by downcutting. The terminal moraine of the Wisconsin-age Des Moines lobe is only a dozen miles to the west; the valleys to the Mississippi are likely of pre-glacial origin but were probably deepened by meltwater outflow. There were not a lot of speleotherms, but much more than the barren caves of eastern Wisconsin. While Wisconsin caves seldom have more than one level, these appeared to have several below us. After about 6 hours in the cave, we headed back for the Cornfeed.

Sunday, we headed for the eastern part of Mystery Cave, touring the old tourist route. This was a low-impact trip, as we were all sore from the previous day. Many bits of electrical hardware and the occasional handrail remain. I'd like to get back some day for more exploration, but I had a 6 hour drive home ahead of me. I got on the road by noon.

What if American Cave Conservation Association earned a donation every time you searched the Internet?

Kim Gentry — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 17:00:00 -0700

What if American Cave Conservation Association earned a donation every time you searched the Internet? Or how about if a percentage of every purchase you made online went to support our cause? Well, now it can!
GoodSearch: http://www.goodsearch.com/?charityid=908162

hey new guy

john shehorn — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 06:59:29 -0700

hey we a group of 3 in paducah we would be willin to go to illinios caverns with u

NSS Convention 2005

Harry Marinakis — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 15:30:00 -0700

Huntsville, Alabama
July 4 to July 8, 2005

INTRODUCTION

The National Speleological Society 2005 convention was held Huntsville Alabama, from July 4 to July 8. I attended the pre-convention caving camp near Rock Island, Tennessee, June 30 to July 3. After the convention, I also attended the post-convention caving camp near Sewanee, Tennessee, July 9 through July 13.

PRE-CONVENTION CAVING CAMP
Rock Island, Tennessee

The pre-convention caving camp was hosted by Marion O. Smith near Rock Island, Tennessee. I visited two cave's, Rocky River Cave and the famous Camp's Gulf.

Rocky River Cave is a spectacular river cave with fun climbing, stunning waterfalls and serene pools. Camp's Gulf is know for its monster rooms.

Harry traversing a wide part of the ledge

The first major waterfall

The crayfish were huge! This one was about 9 inches long

What a great swim hole!

The serene rimstone dams

The big room in Camp's Gulf. Notice the caver at the top of the breakdown pile

NSS CONVENTION 2005

The 2005 convention was held in the heart of TAG country in downtown Huntsville, Alabama. The convention campground was an old airport. Nearby was the U.S. Space and Rocket Center. A hurricaine at the end of convention caused everyone to scurry home. During the convention itself we explored Neversink, Hooper's Well, Ledbetter Cave, War Eagle Cave, Tumbling Rock Cave and Limrock Blowing Cave

Kelly Hart and Phil Gowaty, and the Saturn V at the rocket center

Dropping into Neversink during the convention

That's me and another caver frogging out of the Neversink pit
Photo by Brian Masney with permission

Tall passageway in Ledbetter Cave

Phil Gowaty scrambling around the cave, looking for the "Super Formation"

Maybe the "Super Formation" is down here?

POST-CONVENTION CAVING CAMP

The post-convention caving camp was hosted by "Mud Puppy" held near Sewanee, Tennesse. There was a poor turnout because of the hurricaine that hit at the end of convention. After a day or two, Dave Milligan and I were the only two "foreigners" remaining at the post-convention camp.

Despite the deluge, we did drop into deep waterfall pits and crawl through small tunnels in the days after the hurricaine. First we hit "Hang 'Em High Cave," a wonderful technical cave that drops over 400 feet over a series of seven drops. Then we dropped into "Main Well," a nicely decorated cave with multiple waterfall pits. We also had the fortune of getting into "Cedar Ridge Crystal Cave."

If you recognize any of the un-named people below, please contact me!

The empty post-convention camp campground right before the hurricaine

Terror at camp during the "Night of the Hurricaine"

The fluted stream passage of Hang 'Em High

The second drop (36 feet) in Hang 'Em High

The fifth drop (25 feet) in Hang 'Em High

The sixth drop (60 feet) in Hang 'Em High

Our guide, Marion O. Smith

The entire gang at the bottom of Hang 'Em High, more than 400 feet deep. Our other guide, Mud Puppy, is lower right.

Dave Milligan ascending out of Hang 'Em High

"On Rope!" in Hang 'Em High

Dave Milligan in Hang 'Em High

Crawling through stream passage in Main Well

Rimstone formations on the floor of Main Well

Active formations in Main Well

Crawling past bacon in Main Well

Looking down the 60 foot well of the fourth drop of Main Well

Mud Puppy gears up to climb out of Main Well

Dave Milligan climbing out of the 60-foot waterfall dome in Main Well

Cedar Ridge Crystal Cave

10th International Symposium on Vulcanospeleology

Harry Marinakis — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 08:00:00 -0700

Reykjavík, Iceland
September 9 through 15, 2000

International Union of Speleology (UIS)

INTRODUCTION

(Please note: I will re-scan these images and publish better-quality photos in the future)

The Tenth International Symposium was held in Reykjavík, Iceland, from September 9 to 15, 2002. It was sponsored by the Icelandic Speleology Society. The symposium was attended by about 30 people from all over the world, including Japan, Australia, Portugal, Denmark, Saudia Arabia, the United States and other countries. There were field excursions all over Iceland. These trips including four-wheel drive crossings the central highlands of Iceland, soaks in hot springs, and hikes through active volcanic fields. Of course, there were also caving trips to the fantastic lava tubes all over the country.

A relief map of Iceland.

BEFORE THE SYMPOSIUM

During the winter before the symposium, I travelled to Reykjavík, Iceland, to assist with exploring lava tubes. I also did a little bit of winter climbing on Mount Esja.

The view from my hotel window of the capitol city of Reykavík, with Mount Esja in the distance.

Jakob hunkering down out of the wind below Mount Esja during a winter ascent. We climbed through the rock bands visible above Jakob.

Jakob climbing through the rock bands on the face of Mount Esja.

Harry walking across the summit plateau of Mount Esja during a winter ascent.

Alpenglow on the summit plateau of Mount Esja during a winter ascent.

TENTH INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON VULCANOSPELEOLOGY

The Tenth International Symposium on Vulcanospeleology was held in Reykjavík, Iceland, in September 2002. In addition to the symposium itself there were numerous days of overnight field trips around the country.

The symposium participants in Iceland

Cinder cones around Lake Myvatn.

Hot spring at Hveravellir

Above the entrance to Surtshellir

Surtshellir

The underground hot spring of Vogagja.

Lava fields around Lofthellir

David Wool-Cobbs in the lava fields around Lofthellir

Entrance to Lofthellir

Ice formations in Lofthellir

Lava driblet formations in Vidgelmir

Gypsum Karst Project (GypKaP)

Harry Marinakis — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 11:00:00 -0700

New Mexico, USA

INTRODUCTION

The Gypsum Karst Project is a 25-year project of the Southwestern Region of the NSS. The purpose of the Gypsum Karst Project is to explore and map the caves of the vast gypsum plains near Roswell, New Mexico. This is UFO country and a major ranchland. The GypKaP caves are known for long, tight crawls in stream passage and encounters with wildlife such as vultures, porcupines and rattlesnakes.

The gypsum plains of southeastern New Mexico.

Camping amongst the Choya cactus.

A rest stop near Roswell, New Mexico.

You don't want to be in a GypKap cave when there's a chance of rain. The desert southwest is known for its flash floods, and in GypKaP country all that water sumps the caves. Cavers here all start getting a little nervous after they've been underground for 6 to 8 hours. Everyone's mind is on the weather topside.

"GypKap" also means "Crawling"...

And crawling...

And more crawling...

And sometimes the water is really cold....

Much of the caving in GypKaP involves crawling through stream tunnels. Some of the tunnels are dry, some of the tunnels are quite wet. The water can be extremely nasty ("sewer water") since all of the ranchland's cow manure washes into the cave systems. You haven't truly "lived" until you've dug through a cow-pie choke, or climbed over a bloated animal carcass.

Andrew Christiansen in Crowbar Cave

Alexandra Clarfield in Washington Ranch Cave

Alexandra Clarfield in Gyp Cave

Some of the passages in GypKaP are beautifully sculpted tunnels. The variety of metamorphic gypsum is apparent. My favorites are the "chicken wire" gypsum found in Crowbar Cave and the white gypsum in Washington Ranch Cave.

Carl Pagano, Linda Starr and "chickenwire" gypsum

Alexandra Clarfield in Washington Ranch Cave

Blake Jordan

Some of my favorite passages are the sinuous stream canyons. They are slot canyons, underground. Some of the best are in Carcass Cave and Crowbar Cave.

The late Brian Galbraith in Carcass Cave

Crowbar Cave, showing the "chickenwire" gypsum

The late Brian Galbraith (below) and Blake Jordan (above).

Of course, GypKaP is always good for getting really muddy......

A favorite pasttime at GypKaP is to sit up at night with a beer and watch the night sky for UFOs. Without the lights of towns and cities, the Milky Way is spectacular. Satellites can easily be seen tracking across the sky. If you're lucky, you may even see some strange lights or spacecraft streaking over the camp.

A rare photo of a "Moonbow," a rainbow created by lightning flashes during a thunderstorm at night

COMVAL CAVE INSPECTION AND RAPID ASESSMENT

RODERICK — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 19:05:00 -0700

COMVAL caves inspection and rapid assessment project for the Municipality of Monkayo, Municipality of Nabunturan, Municipality of Mawab, and Municipality of Laak all in the Province of Compostela Valley is a partnership project of the Provincial Government of Compostela Valley and the Davao Speleological and Conservation Society (DSpeCS). The 8-day project is an exploration and rapid assessment of eight (8) identified caves in COMVAL Province.

The project aims to conduct initial cave exploration to inspect, document and make initial assessment; classify and submit recommendations to the Provincial Government of Compostela Valley.

The project owner, Provincial Government of Compostela Valley through the Provincial Tourism Office as the cooperating office is tasked to handle the project implementation.

The project partner, Davao Speleological and Conservation Society Inc. (DSpeCS) is a non-government organization with technical expertise on cave conservation and management, an organization registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission and Philippine Speleological Society, Inc. (PSS) is tasked to provide technical assistance to the project owner.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) as the lead agency on Cave Management shall be one of the recipient of this report to conduct cave assessment documentation and validation.

Cave inspection and rapid assessment Project Team were able to explore the following sites:
1) Municipality of Monkayo
1. unknown Cave in Barangay Awao
2. Kumbilan Cave in Barangay Casoon
3. Magdagandang Cave in Barangay Pasian
2) Municipalaity of Nabunturan
1. WEP Cave in Barangay Mainit
2. San Vicente Cave in Barangay San Vicente
3. Rabuza Caves (3) in Poblacion, Barangay Center of Nabunturan
3) Municipality of Mawab
1. Mahayahay Cave in Barangay Tuburan
2. unknown Cave in Barangay Salvacion
4) Municipality of Laak
1. Taglimatok Beto Cave in Barangay Andap
2. Bongloy Cave in Barangay Sisimon
3. Anislag Cave 1 in Barangay Sisimon
4. Anislag Cave 2 in Barangay Sisimon

The projected 8-day cave exploration resulted to 11 days actual caving activity; and from the targeted eight (8) cave sites to explore, the actual operation resulted to 15 caves explored and initially assessed.

Through the Local Tourism Officers with the strong support and cooperation of the Barangay Officials led by the Barangay Captains the exploration was successful and easy access to the site because of the warm reception of the community.

In rapid cave assessment, the exploration team had found out that there are cave systems in the Municipality of Laak., there are potential sites for tourist entry, there are for technical caves with guided tour, there are caves recommended for closure and/or rehabilitation, and other caves are long enough that cannot be explored and assessed on limited time.

With the 11 days cave exploration, there were other sites included during the actual exploration that were not included in the original scheduled itinerary, however, the 15 caves were explored with the joint efforts of the team.

Saturday, August 15 2009 - Horseshoe Bay Cave - Big Room trip.

Robert "Nuke" Thompson — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 11:30:00 -0700

The August WSS meeting was held in Door County WI, the little sliver of Niagara Dolomite that sticks into Lake Michigan's side. We had several trips for "civilians" where they wouldn't get dirty and we wouldn't have to rescue them. "Larry the Mole" and Kevin Judy made a trip to Brussels Hill Pit and Crevice Pit. They had shovels and other tools, and I expect they will get Brussels Hill Pit reopened at last. I led the "gonzo" trip into the Big Room with a total of four people, assisted by WSS Vertical member/skydiver/scuba diver Rob Jerome. We limit this trip to those with caving experience and proper equipment. Officially, that includes a wetsuit for the 45 degree water, but I allowed one guy along without one - a judgment call. We took our time, and three of the crew took the slimy Mud Tube to the Crevice room while I took the Crevice itself. As usual, I had to exhale most of my lung capacity to begin the 20 foot slide down to the Big Room Water Crawl Tunnel.

When we had all regrouped, we went down the tunnel to the Big Room. For a Wisconsin cave, the Big Room is quite big - about 60 feet diameter and 50 feet high (20 up and 30 down). I got the camera out of the Bomb Box, but it wasn't functioning. The air remained relatively fog-free while we were down there, and so far my back was still functional. The tunnels in this cave are just a couple of inches too low, and I can't quite do a normal crawl in them. The strain makes my back go out, which makes for a fun 20 foot climb up the crevice and 900 feet of sliding through the mud on my back in pain to get out. You know what they say - "caving is just like fun - only different!" This time, I avoided crawling and just slid my way through the tunnels; it seems to have worked! I let the guys explore the room, including the abandoned dig way up high, after warning them about how difficult a rescue would be down here. This was a good group, unlike the last trip with two panicking claustophobes I had to shepherd out... with a blown back.

We headed back, with Rob climbing out by way of the Crevice. One of the other guys tried to follow, but was too "thick". So three of us left by way of the Mud Tube (my first exit that way; except for the mud, it is a lot easier than the Crevice). Rob led the way (I was blind because of fog and mud on my glasses). Approaching the Duck-under, we discovered a "civilian" group that headed past the Waterfall into the "restricted area" we just left. Since I would probably be a part of the rescue team if something went wrong, I had them turn around. We left the cave about 2 hours after we entered; as per tradition I marched down to the dock in the County Park and walked off the end of it, leaving a huge slick of cave mud in the water.

The "civilians" went home, and the remaining WSS members went off to Sturgeon Bay and the Dorchester Nursing Home, site of the world's only wild cave accessed by elevator. While we did not get into the cave (the storerooms with the doors to the two entrances happened to be locked) we saw the display of newspaper and magazine clippings over the years describing the cave. Done with that, we adjourned for pizza.

" KAPALONG TREASURED JEWEL "

RODERICK — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 03:32:35 -0700

We are living in a fast-paced society. We are working eight hours a day, five days a week or even beyond it, aren’t we? Don’t you think we deserve to have a break? We need time to relax. Time to free our minds from thinking of all the burdens at home and in our respective works….Let’s take a break from our busy life in the highly technological influenced world……….We need to sit back and relax, enjoy life, and see the beauty of God’s creations.

This is what the eye-appealing Sua-on Nature’s Park offered not only to the people who love to explore nature’s beauty.

Sua-on Nature’s Park is situated at Sambayon, Sua-on, Kapalong, Davao del Norte. Kapalong is now the Caving Capital of Mindanao. Infact, in the year 2003, the 3rd National Caving Congress (NCC) was held in Sua-on Nature’s Park. It is the first time that the NCC was conducted in Mindanao.

The magnificent beauty of Kapalong caves keep the local and foreign tourists coming back.

OKBOT CAVE. The cave was named after a native medicine man named Okbot who uses the cave as his ritual site and the shelter of his family during calamity. It was named after him to honor his kind deeds to the people of the immediate community. The existence of wondrous stalactites, Stalagmites, columns, crystals, cave corals and other cave formations will make your fingers keep clicking your cameras. You just can’t resist your desire capturing them. You can see the glow worm that glows when hit by your light brought. Isn’t it fascinating to see creatures glowing around you?

` OTSO CAVE. This is situated in Purok 8 of Sua-on. No wonder that the people named it as Otso Cave. Have you heard the famous dance song “Otso-otso”? If yes, you will really love to get inside this cave because according to the cavers you can perform the “Otso-otso” dance steps inside while caving. Otso Cave has also the features of the Okbot Cave. But there is one cave life in this cave that is very rare in the later. It is the King Cobra locally known as “banakon.” This cave serves as their home. It’s scary thing to hear but there’s nothing to worry about because King cobra inside the cave is harmless. It is not even a threat to the tourists, unless you will hurt them intentionally. Its presence makes the tourists feel the wonders of the wildlife inside.

ALENA CAVE. This is situated in the farm owned by the two families which is the Alimasac family and Nacario family. So, it was named after the combination of their family name. Inside the Alena cave we could see a very cold stream. It feels like a block of ice was put in that running water. It cools down your body from toes to head. Isn’t it relaxing?

SUA-ON UNDERGROUND RIVER. The Sua-on River passes through the Sua-on Underground River, the name of the cave. It was initially evaluated as a cave-in cavern caused by deforestation/ logging. Surely, you will be enticed to swim in the underground river, aren’t you?
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The Okbot, Otso and Alena Caves are classified as class two (2) while the Sua-on Underground River belongs to class one (1). These caves have international features which make it stand among the rest of the Caves found in Mindanao.

Other four caves found in Kapalong are Kapunit (Bat) Cave, Sayawan Cave, Kambal Cave and Gitgitan Cave. These caves are being conserved by Davao Speleological and Conservation Society (DSpeCS) with the strong coordination of the Local Government of Kapalong headed by the Local Chief Executive, Hon. Edgardo L. Timbol, through the Municipal Tourism Office. These caves are declared as a non-tourist entry. The Kapunit is conserved for technical or scientific research, and bats protection and conservation. Sayawan Cave is also non-tourist entry to conserve and protect the swift found inside. The Kambal Cave is initially closed for rehabilitation of forest cover and stream clean-up. The farmer put a protective gate at the entrance of Gitgitan Cave to protect also the swift from swift nest collectors.

The tour route is two to three kilometers from the immediate community which is the Sua-on proper and takes about 15 to 30 minutes to reach the opening of every cave. Aside from the unique features inside the cave, you will be able to see also the scenic view of the place along your way to Sua-on. It is only 29 kilometers from Kapalong Municipal Hall, which is located in Maniki, Kapalong, Davao del Norte. The green mountain sides and the fresh air because of the big trees in the forest will entertain you as you travel going to the Caving Site.

15. Ellisons: Secret Portals

Jon Mnich — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 22:47:08 -0700

AKA: Jon's weirdest trip report yet!
There it was: The greatest secret in Ellisons. So mysterious I had felt it calling me for a long time.

Through the portal she called, inviting me into her watchtower. A mist deep as fog, and looking for a rock I found a pretty one, and put it on her finger. She whistled. Being as deep as she is, I figured it meant something pretty important.

"I hate this ---- cave!" said caver Bob, "it's so --------- dirty as----- gettin my ropes lookin ARRRRRR!!!! But we's here to capture some hundred foota's me boy!" "I like the 109, but I ain't blind buddy, I's gots us a horra crawl fer lata!" I say. Little diggin here, and little blastin there. So yar wantin to bloody chimney this thing with no protection, eh? "Ain't no thang, jus do it like dis brotha..." It's like dancin with a female, you gotta be smoooooothhh.. 253ft. of dropin down a hole, and now we's got to go up a shinin staircase? I be goin through this cute lil portal over yonder! We's gots a 36ft. rope to coil round this here rock. An here's where the lil -------- took all me's bolts and hangers out..... but I persist-can one rock save the day? oh yes, my portal!!! Tie me in, and let's get Spirrolled. Oh baby I'm droppin this 117ft. nice pit right here and now!

No guarantees

Jason — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 08:05:24 -0700

We are not promised tomorrow folks...most of us know this but I often wonder if we live it. Our lives, my life should reflect that I am aware that I may not be round tomorrow to see the sun rise and to make amends and to build freindships. So why do we procrastinate? Why hesitate?
There is no manual, no dummies guide to living life. We each must make decisions based on what we believe to be right and take advantage of opportunities to explore the world around us.
Does it sound like Im lectureing?
Perhaps I am....yall can decide.
I just know that personally speaking...i have been given my life back not once....but four times now and I am determined to make the most of it.
So with that said:
What will you do that you have been avoiding? Is it a cave your afraid of? A family member you just really dont want to make amends with?
Whatever it is....fix it, forgive it, leave it behind,

A grisly aftermath of nature's wrath

joel quinanahan — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 01:47:08 -0700

Just a week after I wrote my latest blog about some dreadful conditions of the Panas environment that we witness during our 2-day caving exploration, I gasp as I bear witness to a frightening consequence of Mother Nature’s fury.

A flashflood of great magnitude struck Panas creek leaving a horrible aftermath at Panas Inland Resort as well as damage on crops and properties in the lowlands of barangay Carcor.

As soon as the report reached me early this morning I rushed to the site to personally confirm what I’ve heard. And lo! I can’t believe what I saw because it never happened this vast at Panas.

Residents say that last night a sudden surge of floodwater rushed through the place while rain poured heavily. However this magnitude of flashflood has not happened in Panas before. They were surprised when rising water came in the hut at knee deep, and what they saw outside shocked them -- floodwater engulfed the resort pools and cottages!

The flashflood was so enormous that two swimming pools were filled up by sand and mud. Carried along the strong current were heavy logs, gigantic rocks, uprooted trees and other materials. Among the destroyed facilities are displaced pipes, footbridges, fences, ornamentals and the landscape. Some rubber benches and cottages were also gone.

We’ve learned during inspection that floodwater reached almost six feet at some point in dry land. The figure was evident on marks on the trunk of trees where driftwoods were bumped into.

Everyone I talked to can’t hide the fear as we imagine how raging it was or how furious nature can be. It does make me to ponder as I relate this occurrence to my previous blog. Was it again pure coincidence or a wrath sent upon us for not paying attention to the grief of Mother Nature. Or have we enraged her? At least this guilt feeling was evident in most people I talked to at barangay Carcor . Though it caused me a sigh having seen damages to government property but it causing a stir and discernment to many people has brought me some relief.

Certainly this is a wake up call for everyone to start doing something. We’ve been taking so much from nature and yet we forgot to give something back. We need to respect and be responsible for the environment.

As for me, even before the incident, I have convinced the Mayor to direct all officials, employees and request private institutions to conduct monthly tree-parenting at Panas watershed starting next week. We have also been finalizing plans to do regular outdoor activities in Panas like river trekking, mountain hiking, caving/spelunking, mountain biking of which tree-growing will be compulsory to individual participant. Also recently we got a support fund from the provincial government to undertake full cave exploration at Panas and simultaneously conduct a tree-growing activity among selected caves.

Mother Theresa once said: “We, ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop.”

Please don’t ever miss a drop, contribute something…

WSS revisits Brussels Hill Pit Cave

Robert "Nuke" Thompson — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 14:30:00 -0700

After 20 years of interference from UWGB and certain other parties who shall not be named, the WSS (in the form of Nuke and "Larry the Mole") re-entered Brussels Hill Pit Cave.

The door was locked, and we didn't have a key, so we didn't get very far. On the bright side, the door hasn't been breached. With a 90 foot pit on the other side, the fact we've kept the "spee-lunkers" out is not a bad thing.

We will return with suitable tools later to remove the lock. We'll replace it with a new one of stainless steel, packed with grease. The existing one is a lump of rust.

Nuke

Edit one week later - Gary Soule (who knows all secrets of Wisconsin caves) has given me more information. We may be able to get in without implements of destruction. Will keep you posted. Is there any way to include pictures in these blog postings?

Is Mother Nature calling for help?

joel quinanahan — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 19:51:33 -0700

Our discovery of the Tinago’ng Busay cave at Upper Carcor last July 11 caused me more discernment than ecstasy. It brought me flashback of prior events why we decided to forego cave exploration in the more or less 2,000 hectares Panas watershed basin.
Let me start from the moment it occurred to me proposing a religious shrine at the Upper Carcor hills. Yes, of course, the justifications are obvious like – nothing like it within the region; as alternative for the spill-over of tourists during holy week; a worthy project to help enhance the religiosity of New Corellans, are only some. But a more profound reason might have been lurking behind why the proposed site has been pulling and enticing us to look deeper than the superficial.
During the holy week in April 2009, we partnered with the Barangay Captain of Patrocenio and the Holy Infant Community (HIC) searching the ideal site for the Balaang Bukid shrine. The community really did petition prayers for days asking divine intercession in pinpointing and naming the site.So upon reaching the hill’s peak, it was fitting that a name would be derived from that long-time desire of HIC to establish such a sacred landmark has been considered.
But a few months back, I recall doing site hunting with a friend (Edroy) during a hot sunny noon. We traversed a few hills just near Panas Inland Resort to look for a spacious high ground ideal for a shrine. So upon spotting a good site we thought it’s done, and there and then something very weird happened. The sunny sky began to appear gloomy. Rain and strong wind blew like typhoon. I mean so strong that raindrops and even some trees went almost horizontal!
We got lucky to have refuge in a farmhouse of which turned out to be our laundry helper’s house. It goes for almost an hour while we sat outside the house because rain break through inside the amakan hut. The family nearly got angry at us and wondered what curse we are bringing for it never happened before. Unbelievable yet true, that afternoon the hasty wind leaves a path of destruction in barangay Carcor uprooting many trees, damaging few houses and crops. Was it pure coincidence or was it a curse laid upon us for acting like-God in deciding something sacred.
Next to do right after finding the Balaang Bukid site was to negotiate the landowner to discuss the project proposal. Unfortunately my task was delayed for weeks due to too many other concerns. Until one day while I was walking on my way to the municipal hall, I was staring, as usual, at the visible Balaan Bukid site when an old woman approach me and asked why I haven’t visited them. It was then I met the spouse of the landowner and they were waiting for a talk with me about the plan.
It clearly shows on her facial expression and gesture her willingness of the project and expressed that they would cooperate with the plan. She even imparted to me that in front of their farmhouse there was originally a cave opening intentionally covered during the road construction. Then it was my first time to know from her that there exist a cave behind the Balaang Bukid hill with water inside.
At first I doubt about the information because it’s too good to be true knowing the many cave explorations/exploitations done in New Corella before, and with the nearness of the site it could easily fall prey to unscrupulous intruders. That same week while establishing a nature trek activity for the Araw celebration, I have known from a Mangguwangan guide that there exist caves in the Panas area and so we did ocular visit to the four (4) caves. But there was no mention of a cave near Balaang Bukid site.
Nevertheless though hearsays, we still carry on with the plan to do cave exploration by tapping our partner adventure group – the Speleo Davao team. Even in the absence of a budget from the LGU for the activity we did a two (2) – day spelunking using personal contributions and sheer volunteerism.
After five hours of rigorous hiking and rappelling works in visiting the four sites, the team of 17 cavers went almost exhausted. Actually, it is not the physical exertion that made us weak – but it’s the emotional effect upon seeing our caves drying and dying out… We saw the receding vegetation to the point of balding the top soil above the cave systems causing the cave walls to crack and cave in.
Trees are life support of caves because it holds water on its massive roots constantly intertwining with other substance and mystifying chemical reactions and drifts to form into stalactites, stalagmites and columns. Their existence also provides ecology of a perfect habitat for other life-forms like bats, el nido birds, insects, etc… Without trees and vegetations the cave system will thirst for water and gasps for air until it crumbles into dust. It is a depressing fate that transforms its grandeur into a vacant, haunted tomb.
A week before the exploration, somebody came to me and raised complaints having seen illegal loggers who were cutting trees on a classified forest reserve area near the Panas creek. I urgently coordinated with proper authorities and on the next day a team of law enforcers was assembled – 2 DENR officers, 3 PNP Officers, 2 PENRO personnel and the Barangay Captain.
We proceeded to the site and found some 30 to 40 pieces (mostly 2x8x10 size) freshly cut flitches of lawaan and miscellaneous trees. But the men found on the site denied any knowledge of the contrabands. The DENR interrogated them but nothing else happened than obscure jokes. There was no inventory nor recommendations and the DENR men went home leaving us wondering to whom will we turn to.
This scenario is just one of the bitter realities steadily destroying Mother Nature. Yet we believed the spirits work in mysterious ways. During the hike, we’ve been guided to wrong locations trying to make us abandon our search and elude us from the target cave. There had been scary stories told about the cave such as huge pythons, evil spirits, among others but we didn’t lose faith.
After lunch the group decided to try the one last cave told by the old woman. But some of our companions were low on spirit and opted to stay. And while we march toward the site, the destruction of environment is very evident as slash and burn farming practices were on-going.
And alas! The fifth cave we found was a rare discovery during our exploration. It is a cave that still breaths and kind of giving us hope and strength to keep on with our noble cause. I do hope leaders and people who now know of the hidden waterfalls beneath that mountain would consider it an invaluable treasure and make ways to improve its deteriorating condition.
In my heart, Mother Nature is reaching, communicating to us – her sons and daughters to prolong and sustain her precious state, for she knows that her death would also be our end…

ICS review

el_espeleo_gringo — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 22:49:32 -0700

Did anybody go to Kerrville ? Was it fun? Was it an interesting place ? Were there any cavers there ?
Did anyone go in a cave ? Do they really have caves in Texas ?? Was it hot ? Was the swimming
good ?
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Any other comments ??