The DUG SCOOPS Archives - 1983

COMPILED FROM DUG SCOOPS VOLUME 1 & 2

DUG Scoops January 1983 V1 N3

A very successful New Year's weekend netted almost 3/4 of a mile of new survey for Fisher Ridge with perhaps an additional 2500 feet of unsurveyed passage noted. This brings the known system close to eighteen miles in total length. While it appears unlikely that 20 miles will be obtained by the second anniversary, it is almost certain that we will be close.

New Year's saw extensive work in the Mofo Tube discovered in December by Peter Quick in a well- traversed area near Raisin Dome. This discovery led to 2800 feet of survey with a substantial east trend. Significant footage was also obtained in the Stinky River, Pickle Passage area during December and New Year's. An interesting, but as yet unsurveyed baselevel river trunk was found off Pickle during New Year's. An estimated 2000 feet of this passage was traversed with no end in sight. Waist deep water was found in places.

The trip reports included with this issue detail work completed as of Dec. 13. Trip reports on the New Year's activity will be included with the February issue of the DUG SCOOPS.

(Editor's Note: This Thanksgiving trip included Joe Saunders and Dennis' son, Dennis.)

Arrived at Joe's late Wednesday evening. Our 8:00 start was later than we wanted to leave, but we arrived at the Field House just after 4:00 in the morning. It was a good quick trip.

After starting a roaring blaze in the sheet metal stove, we sacked out for about five hours.

THURSDAY: After a hearty breakfast at the Hart County Restaurant, we headed for the Fisher Farm. The ground was pretty frozen so we took off across the fields and got out on the ridge with only a ten minute walk to the splash entrance.

Our intent for the trip was to dig for a couple of hours in the by-pass and work on a drain for the bedrock pool. Then on into the Sabbath Passage in the Mulbrecht Connection area to double check some dubious leads which hadn't been adequately checked an our Feb. trip. Time flys when your having fun. Over four hours later we had created a new entrance at the gully by removing some of the debris pushed in by the bulldozer. We modified the floor in the entrance room in an attempt to allow a drain for the drips in the Bypass Room. We got a few more feet into the suspected by-pass with little positive encouragement.

On the inside, we achieved marginal success by draining the pool, but leaving a mire of goopy mud all the way to the drop. A little more work and a good gully washer may alleviate the situation.

Denny achieved the best success by digging 6 or 7 feet into the interior compartment of the bypass. Although he dug out a hands and knees crawl, there's still 40 feet to go. Digger recruits are welcome.

All that exercise negated a trip into the Sabbath area. We poked around some in the entrance area and found an eye level lead written off by Chip. This lead is just to the right of the Drop at the end of Splash. Denny climbed up, disappeared, and started yelling "It goes! It goes!". So Joe and I climbed into a tight dry tube filled with rats nest cedar chips, walnut shells and other rat debris. We were following in a rather heavy air flow and began to get excited. After about 200 feet of hands and knees crawl under an intermittent upper level tube, we entered a 15 x 3O room with floor drains. Denny crawled up some breakdown and started throwing rocks around, saying "It goes! It goes!". Joe followed up and checked the dig for air flow and wrote it off as not likely. The air flow was going down the floor drains. After moving many rocks with no success at enlargement we wrote it off. We dubbed it Denny's Dead End.

On the way out I talked Denny into checking the tight upper level tube. I rushed ahead in the lower crawlway to meet him at the other end. When I knelt up to see, I heard him cussing and grunting and carrying on. I got up to look down the tube and there I was starring eye to eye with a little grey and white rat that was trapped between us. I told Denny to stop moving and I dropped back down into the lower crawlway. The rat ran ahead of us.

FRIDAY: Friday morning I was up at 8:00 and while checking supplies and equipment discovered the beer inventory was running low. I talked Joe into a trip to Bowling Green to replenish. Then to the Midway for breakfast.

There was a light drizzle when we checked in at Harvey's. We decided to try the trip across the field and, once again, made it to the top of the ridge.

We finally lowered our bellys into the water and started the crawl through Splash at 3:00 PM.

Two hours later, after discovering that I remembered very little of the way in from the previous trip, we found ourselves at station 33 in the Sabbath Passage. Joe had explained numerous times times about where the Mulbrecht Connection came in. Only being there solved the riddle in my head.

I was feeling real lousy from a persistent cold and a little depressed for now we had to find something to survey. A crawl in the stream was not very appetizing. I sat and fiddled with my headlamp which had been operating poorly the entire trip. Joe and Denny started scouting leads.

Joe came back saying he got into an upper level just above the stream that looked like it would take us somewhere. Off we went on the survey.

We discovered that the level we were in was a middle level that stayed fairly consistent in size with numerous breakdown piles for climbing over and under. The lower level was viewed intermittently thru a floor slot that meandered back and forth in the passage and occasionally disappeared altogether.

Joe read compass, I took notes and Denny set stations at lead tape. After four or five stations, Joe decided he needed to set stations so we began taking backsights and decided to shoot foresights on the way back.

At station 30 and about 750', we accessed our light situation. With my Spanish carbide lamp using double the carbide, we were running dangerously low. Our goal of 40 stations was out of the question. We terminated the survey and scouted ahead.

In a short distance, all the levels came together and separated into two low hands and knees streambed crawls. Joe took the right lead and turned back after fifty feet or so. He reported it continued about 2x4. I took the left lead into a crawlway that was a tight squeeze between sharp edged decorations on the left wall and a banked gravel bed on the right. After about twenty feet a passage intersected on the right that quickly ended in a flowstone climb-up of about 6'. At the top of the climb, the ceiling went about 40' to the left to a crevice. I went about 100' before narrowing too-tight. I checked an upper level that continued past the lower level restriction. Before I could continue, my light went out. Denny came into the passage to light my way down.

To the right of the 6' climb, another climb in a crevice went up 15'. Joe gave up after a few minutes struggle. Denny and I went up. The passage went about 20' before reaching a T-intersection. This area in the cave is the most highly decorated that I have seen in the cave so far. Draperies 20' high down the walls and mounds of red-orange flowstone were found wall to wall in some of the passage. To the right a traversable pit about thirty feet deep stopped progress after about 100'. To the right a climbable 10' pit slowed orogress. Both had walking passage beyond.

We decided that, given our poor lighting situation, we should head for the entrance. We shot our foresights as we went to finish our survey.

On our way out we began to notice dripping water and puddles where we didn't see them before. Joe began telling horror stories of the March trip and 3 inches of air. By the time we got to Splash we were apprehensive and ready for the worst.

Denny and I waited while Joe went ahead to the waters edge. He yelled back: "The waters up to the bedrock. It's going to be close!" So we waited. "I'm out!" Joe yelled, "There's eight inches of air!" With a great sigh of relief, Denny went out first and then I followed. There was no way to keep anything dry on the way out. It was back to the ceiling, nose in the air and go for it! On the surface it was still raining. We were miserably wet as we headed for the car.

As we stopped off to change clothes, nearly naked felt warm and sitting dry in the car felt great. At the last gate the car hit bottom and would go no more. It was about 6:30 so we sat. Around eight Joe flagged down one of Harvey's hired hands. He pulled us out with the tractor. Breakfast at the Midway and back to the Field House for sleep by 10:00.

Kentucky to cave and not to snooze. Joe and I were up four hours later planning a trip to Pruitt's. Try as we might we could not get Denny, who was complaining of a swollen foot, to leave the sack. We left him at the field house to keep a fire going and headed once again for Bowling Green.

Joe had two goals in mind for the trip into Pruitt's. We discussed a possible dig and a clean up survey in a low stream crawl as we walked the quarter mile or so to the entrance. Joe took me on a short tourist trip in both directions in the Mammoth-like main trunk. Then into a low room to check the dig. Flat on my belly, helmet scraping the ceiling and gouging a path in the mud floor, I slowly made my way to the extreme rear of the chamber. I could then look down about 50' of an eight foot wide passage continuing at the same height with an occasional ceiling rise.

After about 10 minutes of scraping in the mud with my hammer, I was able to squeeze thru the 5' trench into the first ceiling rise. I was exhausted and drenched with sweat as I called it quits and headed out. Two more similiar digs should open into easier crawling and possible more passage.

After all that overheating a stream crawl sounded great so we headed for the other target of our trip. A preliminary look-over told us we would net 60-100' and maybe another 15' shot down a narrow drain at the end. We surveyed the stream crawl. Joe was about to estimate the length of the drain when I said I'd carry the tape in if he would pull me back out by my feet. I got back in as far as possible and discovered the left bank was gone. I looked up and found a dome ceiling twenty feet above me. In with one light, no pack, and little chance of Joe coming in easily. I made a cautious survey of my find. After a stoop under, the ceiling went up into another dome. Another tight drain went out of this dome and, after an S-squeeze, it opened into a triple dome complex. A very low crawl (10") was noticed where the stream leaves. The floors of the domes sounded hollow and I could hear water dripping below me. I went back to where Joe was. After a total of four hours in the cave, we exited into a dark drizzle.

DEC. 11: This weekend saw six cavers from Detroit, Dan Crowl, Steve Miller, Reid Beauchamp, Dave LeClerc, John Wudarcki, and myself, head down to Kentucky in Steve's van. When we got there, we met Keith Ortiz and Chip Hopper who drove in from Virginia. On Saturday morning the entire crew walked over to the dig in the sinkhole near the Remington Room to spectate a large blast engineered by Steve Miller. The blast was hopefully going to remove a large amount of dirt from the blowing lead that Steve had uncovered a few trips previously. Fifty pounds of ammonium nitrate, a couple quarts of fuel oil and three sticks of dynamite made up the charge. The whole mess was mixed up in a large bucket and was placed in the rear of the six foot long cavelet that Steve had dug. The fuse was lit and we headed for the hills. After an appropriate amount of time a large roar went off reverberating down the valley. We ran back to see the destruction but found little change in the cavelet. The blast had been absorbed by the fractured nature of the rock in the cave and had also blown out the entrance of the cavelat like a cannon. Oh well! Digging commenced in a few different spots of the sink hole including the blowing lead. Soon it was getting dark outside so we decided to head back to the cave and get some surveying done.

Three groups were formed consisting of Chip and myself, Keith, John and Reid, and Dan, Steve, and Dave. Keith's group headed toward the Rio Bueno in the Ice Cave Ridge while Dan's group headed towards Double Easy off of South Fisher Ave. Chip and I hauled in wetsuits to the Grand Junction for a trip up Stinky River. The smell of Stinky River is noxious, raw sewage stench! Chip found that if we kept to the right we could stay mostly out of the water. The river starts of as a low elbows and knees crawl on a chert floor covered with a slimy growth. After a few hundred feet the stream could be exited into an overlying passage. The overlying passage ultimately hooked back up with the Stinky River and assumed nice river trunk dimensions, 25 feet wide by 7 feet high with shallow, fast moving, wall-to-wall water. A large upstream sump was ultimately encountered where the Stinky River emerged from. In this area the ceilings were covered with a green growth and numerous cave insects were observed: pure white millipedes and strange looking white spiders. Chip and I found an overflow route bypassing the sump and continued surveying. After 31 stations were placed on the SY survey and about 1500 feet were mapped, I got itchy legs from my wetsuit and the tainted water of Stinky River and voted to leave so that I could remove my wetsuit. First we ran ahead and found Keith's footprints from his exploration in the Pickle Passage. So a loop had been made and a way was found that bypassed the truely grim Grim Route. According to Keith only a few hundred feet needs to be mapped to connect the surveys.

Chip and I then headed out but took a rest at the D21 climbup from Fisher River to the Raisin Route. While Chip was passing out, I decided that we should map a 200 foot loop from D21 to RD1 in the Raisin Dome. After a little convincing, Chip agreed to map the loop and surveying started off on the RDM survey. After 9 stations Chip disappeared down the passage for a 70 foot shot and it occurred to me that this was in no way the loop passage that I had previously explored to the Raisin Dome. We postponed surveying to have a look ahead. After a bit of crawling we encountered a 30 foot wide by 4 foot high bedrock tube moving air to the east. We explored another 500 to 600 feet before heading out. This find truely excited us as we speculated that it might be a way into the wide part of Fisher Ridge to the east. Total footage on this trip was about 1700 feet. (The new find was later named the Mofo Tube -- Ed.)

DEC. 11: Did you ever have one of those cave trips where nothing seems to go right? Well, bum knees, uncooperative stomachs, unfound ladders, unclimbable climbs and too-tight crawls were some of the obstacles that contributed to a trip that netted no survey footage. The trip began innocently late Saturday afternoon after an extended dig in the Remington Sink. Steve Miller, Dave LeClerc and myself entered Fisher Ridge thru Historic Entrance with the Double Hard Passage as our objective. We wanted to push the tight Double Hard crawlway at the end of Double Easy Passage. A short trip to look at Remington Room was also projected. Our plans also included a possible back-up trip to drop the pit at the end of Joe's Lost Lead using Joe's ladder ostensibly left somewhere in Fisher Ave. One can't be too careful and must always make these alternative plans in the event of difficulties.

Our trip to the Remington Room was uneventful with the exception of some diff iculty finding our way up thru the breakdown. Ice cold air was found pouring down from the top of the Remington Room. This certainly must mean an entrance! Our hopes soared as we managed to climb up into a tight canyon which appeared to be the source of the air. After squeezing a short distance, a high, apparently unclimbable wall to the top of the Room was encountered. So much for the unclimbable climb.

We proceed next down Double Easy to Double Hard. The crawl started out as expected as a wide but low crawl. Fifty feet down the passage Dave LeClerc began complaining of severe stomach difficulties. Since he was last in line, it was easy for him to retreat lest he become quite ill. So much for the uncooperative stomach.

Steve and I continued ahead with me in the lead. Previous exploration by novice members of Joe Saunder's crew (Joe couldn't squeeze down the passage) had reported the passage height as one foot. They reported "several hundred feet of low crawlway beyond the last survey station with forward passage looking higher." I continued past the last survey station and noticed that the passage height was lowering. Fifty feet later I could progress no further. The passage was too low even though I have been known to squeeze thru coat hangers! So much for the too-low crawlway.

We returned to Fisher Ave. and discussed proceeding to our backup option of dropping the pit in Joe's Lost Lead. But where was the ladder supposedly left in Fisher Ave? It had not been observed during our trip down Fisher Ave. So much for the missing ladder.

Anyway, Steve Miller was now complaining about his knee. He had had orthoscopic surgery two weeks before and was now suffering the consequences. His knee was now quite inflammed and looking more and more like a hardhat. So much for the bum knee.

We decided to route. There was nothing left to do. All of our well intended plans were destroyed. We left the cave with nothing more than dirty cave clothes, full dump bags and empty tins of food. I repeatedly muttered something about Murphy on the trip out.

Dec. 11, 1982. Reid Beauchamp, Keith Ortiz and first time caver John Wudarcki went into the Historic entrance late due to the Remington Sink dig. The sun had already set and a stiff breeze was blowing. It sure felt qood to qet into the warmth of the entrance. The late start and having a newcomer along indicated that it would be a short trip. Originally they had planned to carry in wet suits for a dual attack on Rio Bueno and New Year's. The wet suits were left at the entrance; they would be lucky to meet the Rio Bueno objective.

Progress to Ice Cave Ridge was slow. Two cable ladders and a 75 foot length of rope had to be carried to the Rio Bueno lead. John was stuck carrying the bulkiest of the cable ladders with the promise that he wouldn't have to carry it back out. Lower Crowl snagged the ladder and pulled it out of the pack various times requiring a rest stop to repack. John suffered the setbacks experienced by most newcomers: ill-fitting helmet, sputtering lamp, lousy kneepads and uncomfortable packs. They were minor inconveniences but contributed to the slow trip to Toothless.

The first drop to Rio Bueno was rigged and descended without incident. Keith and John were first to scout out the second drop reported by Peter Quick. The second drop was there, but also there was a drain taking water from the first drop. Maybe it would bypass the second drop? An easy crawl was followed downstream for 75-100 ft to a point where it got too low. Airflow was negligible so they were obliged to return and rig the second drop.

The second drop would not be easy to rig. The only rigging point was 35 feet back from the drop on a breakdown block that probably weighed all of 100 pounds. With John sitting on the block, Reid, the lightest of the crew, descended the second drop. His report from below was not encouraging, but since the block didn't move it was decided to survey the area to save having to come back and mop up at a latter date. Keith and John descended and the survey continued.

Reid had dug through a sand fill and a low damp sand crawl was surveyed to a junction. To the right a narrow canyon continued upstream. To the left was a 6'H x 15'W passage which continued with four feet deep, ponded water. A thunderous waterfall could be heard through the two feet of airspace. It was probably the main flow of Rio Bueno which had disappeared down a crack before the first ladder climb. However, the waist-deep water and negligible airflow were not enough to encourage further exploration.

Survey continued up the right lead which quickly reach a "T" intersection. To the left came out under a ledge in the drain that Keith and John had previously explored. The second ladder climb had been bypassed. The "T" to the right came out at the bottom of the second ladder climb. This lead bypassed the sand dig that Reid had made. Two loops were closed.

They left the first drop rigged for a return trip to the ponded passage and returned to Toothless. The next trip to Rio Bueno would not need any vertical gear (except maybe a belay line!). Back in Toothless, John seemed invigorated by the discovery of virgin passage and was ready for some more surveying. Looking for something quick and easy, they checked out the floor canyon in Toothless between New Year's and Laughing Water. An easy loop was found next to the PIG loop and the HOG survey was started. After a few stations an easy walking canyon took off away from Toothless and the loop.

A 20 foot diameter room was found with numerous side leads. Reid followed a crawl lead and returned to report he found five other crawl leads. John raced ahead and reported a nice walking passage which turned into easy hands and knees. Keith had his hands full trying to sketch all of it.

They continued down John's lead to a point where the survey dropped down a hole to a nice walking canyon. One of Reid's leads came in at this point. John was getting cave fever at this point and kept disappearing into the distance and returning of stories of more rooms and more leads. They decided to survey to the next room and then mop up the loop presented by Reid's lead. They had no idea what time it was but assumed it was getting late.

Once in the breakout room, Keith spent some time closing out the sketch and John explored ahead into one of the more promising side leads. He returned with promises of 100 foot shots and another room with numerous leads. This was too much to pass up so a trade was made sacrificing Reid's loop. Survey would continue to the next room and Reid's loop would remain unmapped. Eight stations were feverously finished to a waterfall dome with two good leads. This passage was named Straight Shot (SS Survey) and it later plotted out as a lower level paralleling Pedigo Avenue to the north of the Toothless junction.

With Reid threatening to doze off at any opportuity, a quick trip out of the cave was in order. It was decided to give John the grand tour by exiting from Splash (despite the freezing temps on the surface).

Reid explained that going out Splash was a real treat for John allowing him to see all of Fisher Avenue. They held a breakneck pace down the trunk and reached Splash in record time. John had a tough time with the flowstone climbup ("Damn those packs!"), and was sweating profusely. He claimed that getting wet would siut him just fine but Keith and Reid informed him it wasn't the water rather the cold that was the real misery. Deciding it would be better to be overheated before hitting the icy enterance waters, they continued the breakneck pace through the crawls of Splash.

Joe's handywork at the bedrock pool was a welcome relief; you could stay fairly dry with a minimum of effort. It was all for naught. The normally muddy stretches beyond the bedrock pool were now ponded with one foot of water with a quarter inch of ice. Keith took the lead, John followed and Reid brought up the rear. As Keith bashed out the icicles at the entrance he could hear Reid yelling to John "don't stop now!" and John cussing about his packs. Everyone made it out soaked but safe.

John mentioned that it must be late due to the position of the sun. Reid hopefully mentioned that perhaps the sun was just rising only to have his hopes dashed by Keith who knew that the sun was in the west and not in the east.

A veneer of ice formed over their coveralls and packs on the long hike back to the parking spot making for a cold change of clothes. Zombie Ortiz wasn't able to explain to the other survey groups what they had surveyed but the final tally showed 1126 feet with 59 stations in 20 hours; quite a first cave trip for John! They had exited the cave at 3:00 pm on Sunday.

Fisher Ridge Summary February 1989 V1 N4 By Dan Crowl

Fisher Ridge Summary March 1989 V1 N5 By Dan Crowl

Fisher Ridge Summary April 1989 V1 N6 By Dan Crowl

Fisher Ridge Summary May 1989 V1 N7 By Dan Crowl

Fisher Ridge Summary June 1989 V1 N By Dan Crowl

Fisher Ridge Summary July 1989 V1 N By Dan Crowl

Fisher Ridge Summary August 1989 V1 N By Dan Crowl

Fisher Ridge Summary September 1989 V1 N By Dan Crowl

Fisher Ridge Summary October 1989 V1 N By Dan Crowl

Fisher Ridge Summary November 1989 V2 N1 By Dan Crowl

Fisher Ridge Summary December 1989 V2 N1 By Dan Crowl