Even though it was not the most productive day for the cave project, it was still a fun one indeed, with time spent with great people.

Transcription

1 25 April 2015 Binkley Cave Trip Report Baelz Entrance by Claudia Davis & Dave Everton Davidson Cave by Kevin Romanak Reprint of Yahoo Group Post by Rand Heazlitt on other activities Claudia Davis Report Saturday morning, we traveled to the Baelz Entrance of the Binkley System with the objective of determining how the recent flooding rains may or may not have affected the entryway and cave passage. Another objective in going to Baelz was to start any preparatory work in making sure the entrance above ground and below would be able to be entered safely. Upon arrival, we found that the durable metal ladder that had started downwards at the vertical pipe had been forcefully shot out of, not only the vertical pipe, but also the main horizontal entry. Sticking partially out of the horizontal pipe, it had been bowed as it exited, attesting to the force of the flood waters. It was decided that the ladder was no longer viable for use. It was determined that now our objectives are to: 1) clean the debris from the main horizontal pipe; 2) find a new way to make the vertical pipe useable; and 3) shore up whatever we could using the bigger breakdown rocks surrounding the area. Working in the Revelation Road side passage would now be a later objective. Everton Report Following is the format set up by Laura Demarest and put on the website by Aaron Valandra. It does not have to be standard! I have just been trying to use it to determine whether I wish to continue to use it or not, and to evaluate how it may be considered for use by others. Trip Description: Assess Baelz entrance and prepare for May 9 workday Participants: Laura Young, Claudia Davis, & Dave Everton Time Entering Cave: 12:00 pm Time Exiting Cave: 12:00 pm Notes on Weather/Cave Conditions: Forecast was for rain possible all day, possibly heavy at times. Temps were probably around 60. Description of Objective(s): I wanted to anchor the ladder at the bottom of the entrance by drilling a couple of holes for the ladder to set down into. I also wanted to find out how many sleds were at the bottom of the entrance area, and enter Revelation Road to dig out the rope to determine what would be needed. I also wanted to remove the SpeleoTymes inflatable raft, which is likely pushed into the RR side passage. We were also going to try and do some sketcher training for Laura in a wet side passage upstream in the Virgin River. However, we were not to accomplish any of our objectives on this day. The area had gotten seven inches of rain in one day a few weeks earlier, and the force of flooding had pushed the steel ladder out of the culverts, which is an amazing feat. The angle it had to come out caused the entire ladder to bend in a curve, and I can't imagine the force it took to do that. I did remove the rungs which had been added which I could get to, and placed them on a ledge. Considerations for Return Trip: We have what I believe will be a unique opportunity to replace the ladder with reasonable ease. However, rather than detail here what I believe are some ideas, I'll post them to the Yahoo group for those doing the work to decide.

2 Additional Comments: The last thing I ever expected would be that the ladder got ejected from the culvert. I still can t wrap my mind around the force it must have taken for this to happen! I tried bending the ladder myself and although it appears rusty, it is still extremely sturdy! Nonetheless, it happened. There really wasn t much the three of us could do with the ladder on this day. I removed the intermediate rungs that I could easily reach. We thought about removing the sediment which was on top of the horizontal pipe, most of which was deposited when the huge tree slid down the bluff, but I decided it wasn t wise to do it at this time, exposing the pipe to more possible damage. It can be easily accomplished in minutes on the work day. After hanging out for a while, we decided to go visit Squire Boone Caverns, a place Claudia loves, and which I d not been to since I dropped my vehicle off at Indiana Caverns to ride with Laura, but as soon as I got in her vehicle, I realized I d locked my keys in my car. That was a FIRST that I could remember, and I felt extremely stupid. Arriving around 3:30 or so, we signed up and asked the girl if they were offering any discounts. She had no idea what the NSS membership was, and after I picked up an Indiana Caverns coupon near the register and told her we were part of the group who found that part of the cave, she was going to let us in for free. However, I refused, saying we weren t looking for that kind of handout, but wanted to support their operation. I believe she ultimately gave us some sort of discount. Claudia insisted on paying my way, bless her heart. I enjoyed the cave tour, with the exception of the whole bit about Squire Boone s bones and the casket. I never really bought into the idea of that, even if I thought it was his bones, but caver Kevin Peters did an amazing amount of research several years ago and presented it to the owners at the time, who as I understand it, refused to acknowledge it or change their story. Whatever. For those curious readers, it was published in the CIG Newsletter Volume 44#12 December Claudia went home to KY after the tour, and we returned to my vehicle. Laura Roberson found a coat hanger and with help from Laura s wonder bar, I was able to get back in without breaking anything. We were surprised to hear the Davidson crew was already at Beef O Brady s, and learned they d been stopped by rearrangement of cave passage and sediment. I had really wanted to go see Strings of Indiana Creek at the Leavenworth exit off I 65, but we were done so early, it would be a long night for me. I decided to head home instead. Even though it was not the most productive day for the cave project, it was still a fun one indeed, with time spent with great people. Davidson Cave by Kevin Romanak (used ISS web form) Participants: Rand Heazlitt Greg McNamara Tony Akers Marion Akers Kelly McNamara Kevin Romanak Time Entering Cave: 12:00 pm Time Exiting Cave: 3:00 pm Notes on Weather/Cave Conditions: A few tight spaces and wet. Description of Objective(s): To connect Davidson Entrance to Geedings Dome via a dig. Smoke and sound would be used to minimize the dig distance.

3 Trip Description: Davidson entrance. 30 feet into the cave, a large rock impeded our path. Rand began hammering away. I squeezed behind the rock to assist from the other direction. About minutes into the trip, we had the rock out of the way and team members moving. We proceeded another feet, at one time through a small crawlway, pushing drills, digging and vertical equipment, and enough food, water, and gear to be ready for a 12 hour trip. I followed Rand to a short climbdown where he gave us the news about the clog in the passage. Rand hammered away to enlarge the ceiling for about minutes. He was completely wet, and we didn't plan to be in water for extended periods. I relieved Rand, and took to hammering away and digging sediment, while Rand gathered the sediment and rock that I pushed behind me. Soon I was on my side, completely wet as well. I maybe worked for 30 minutes to make it about 6 feet into the passage before I could see that there was a lot more digging ahead. We would need to come back in proper clothing and bring a bucket. I checked out the other direction of the passage as well. I made it about 8 feet into the passage before peaking around a corner to see it was silted as well. We were somewhat unsure which direction to dig, and I pulled out and started up the climb. Before reaching the top, Rand had started to hand me all of the large rocks we had hit off the ceiling. There were maybe 40 rocks between 1 and 5 pounds each. Greg helped take the rocks from my pile above the climb. Rand and I exited the area, and Greg and Tony wanted some closure, so they took a stab at it for about minutes, at most. Rand and I put on our dry shirt, and were readily treated with chocolate from Greg and treats from the others. Thankfully Marion and Kelly had an extra jacket, which helped us warm up even more. Marion made some tea, which was ready when Tony returned, but Greg was still down there. Once Greg returned, we finished our pow wow, and exited the cave. Rand was able to take the group on a special trip through Indiana Caverns. After we left, Rand left a note on the others' car, and the group met at Beef O'Brady's. Soon afterward, the other group joined. Finally Dave Everton and Laura Demarest joined after their trip yielded some unexpected blocks. Everyone was now out of the cave. Considerations for Return Trip: Wear wetsuits and bring a dry warm top for after the dig. A minimum of 4 people rotating to haul silt and rock. Bring a bucket with several holes drilled into it to allow water runoff. Consider the map so we know which direction to dig. Rand Heazlitt post to ISS Yahoo Group From: indiana speleo survey@yahoogroups.com [mailto:indiana speleo survey@yahoogroups.com] Sent: Wednesday, April 29, :27 PM To: indiana speleo survey@yahoogroups.com; marion@carlotagardens.com Subject: [indiana speleo survey] April 25th trips and TimFest [1 Attachment] Hello Cavers, Last Saturday 3 groups of cavers visited Binkley's and it became very apparent that the 7.5" of rain we received in early April had a significant impact on the cave and it's entrances. This rainfall event is the largest to hit the area since the 1997 flood which flooded to extreme levels. This event also caused

4 extreme flooding inside and outside the cave. Shane Myles reported flood waters had deposited silt on the walls to within 4' of the ceiling at the base of the historic entrance and that the suck mud was again deep until the concrete spill in the main stream passage. The Davidson's entrance appears to have also been impacted although all the blockages encountered by the team are likely not a result of that event. The Davidson team had hoped to make contact with the Geedings Dome Team lead by Shane Myles and Pat Burns and after establishing voice contact dig and connect the two caves. The Davidson Team encountered a rockfall 50' into the cave which may have been due to instability from the dig and would occur regardless of any rain event. In another 20' silt had been washed into the cave which had to be dug out for the team to continue. The team was able to then continue on into the main entrance room from which the climb down used to access the lower canyon crawl is accessed. At the bottom of the 9' climb down the team encountered about 12" of water and a gravel bar which was about 6 8" deeper than it had been on previous trips. This made the airspace too low to continue. While there has always been a little standing water there it was obvious that a large rain event, likely the one earlier this month, had washed sediment from the dig and other gravel into this passage. After attempts to dig out and enlarge the passage it became apparent that buckets and wetsuits would be required to reopen this entrance. The team had to abandon the objective until the groundwater drops. I still think it will be necessary to re open this entrance once more if we ever hope to connect it to Geedings Dome area. The reopening will be a project in and of itself. Another group went to ready the Baelz entrance for the Revelation Road dig scheduled for TimFest, This team also found that this entrance had been dramatically altered by the recent rain event. This entrance will again require significant work to stabilize and reinstall a ladder which has been mostly extruded from the entrance culvert. Given the dynamic nature of the Baelz entrance and the fact we stand to lose this entrance if another large rain event or landslide were to occur, it has been determined to make maintenance of this entrance the group project for TimFest. I think it is a perfect group project for the event and a necessary one. In addition, I will come prepared with the drill and straws for a small team to work the creek hole which is right next to the Baelz entrance. This lead has been smoke connected to Revelation Road and may prove to be another route in. Priority though will be given to re working the Baelz entrance. So bring your shovels, pry bars, rakes, strong backs, weak minds and adult beverages to reopen the Baelz entrance once more Saturday May 9th, TimFest. I anticipate work to begin around 11am to give ample time for breakfast and travel. Looking forward to having everyone at the event. Rand **Check out the FB event page Laura has set up for more info. I will be sending out additional notices as time draws near... From: Everton, David W Sent: Thursday, April 30, :31 AM To: 'indiana speleo survey@yahoogroups.com' Subject: RE: [indiana speleo survey] April 25th trips and TimFest [1 Attachment]

5 Rand, thanks so much for your report!!! Something has come up which will prevent me from participating in TimFest: my help is desperately needed to move some friends of mine from Bloomington to east of Knoxville, TN. Just a couple of things to clarify on the Baelz entrance. The pipe is wide open and nothing will need to be dug on. In order to install another ladder, the dirt will need to be removed from off the top of the horizontal pipe, but that should be an easy task. I believe it might be wise to cut off a short section of the VERTICAL pipe and reconfigure the area before attaching the horizontal section again. In other words, perhaps lower it a bit. Future flooding will more than likely relocate more rock from the area, including undermining the rock under the horizontal section. However, it will be up to some of those present to decide what to do and how to do it. One of the things I was going to do last Saturday inside the cave was pull out my old plastic inflatable raft (named SpeleoTymes) which is likely in the Revelation Road side passage. I was also going to find out how many sleds were in the cave; I believe there may be two, located at the base of the breakdown at the bottom of the pipe? Maybe they are trashed by now? There is some rope buried in the floor of the RR crawlway, but it is probably a mess. My earlier thought for this workday was to have crews inside the crawl move the sleds in stages instead of having a super long rope and pulling each sled from the start of the crawl. However, that will be up to those present to decide how they wish to do it. I am sorry I couldn t make it in there to prepare, and also sorry I won t be there. I do wish the best of success to everyone!! Have much fun, and may many wonderful memories of Tim be recounted! He left many of us with wonderful memories of him. Dave