The DUG SCOOPS Archives - 1986

COMPILED FROM DUG SCOOPS VOLUME 4 & 5

Fisher Ridge Summary January 1986 V4 N3 By Dan Crowl

Only a single team ventured into Fisher Ridge during the last reporting period. The event occurred on the weekend of December 21. This crew, comprised of Peter Quick, Tammie Heazlit, Larry Bean, and myself, resumed mopup work in the South Fisher Avenue Extension area. First, the long overdue survey of the Giant Canyon was completed. This netted about 20 stations and several hundred feet of survey. Some time was expended near the canyon climbup to work on a small dig. This dig moves a small amount of air, enticing the crew onward. Unfortunately, a much larger digging effort was found further on down the small crawlway passage.

The crew then moved to the Boob Tube passage. The original survey of the passage was done by myself, Peter Quick and Joe Saunders quite some time ago. The original survey was halted at a dig. The latest effort managed to push through the dig to find a complex of domes several hundred feet farther on. These domes were dubbed the Ho - Ho Domes after the season of the year. An additional 20+ stations were placed here, albeit with considerable effort due to the small size and nasty nature of the connecting passage.

The Mercator coordinates of the Historic Entrance have now been determined using the surface survey data and a specialized digitizer routine. This means that section maps should be forthcoming soon. I estimate that some 50+ section maps will be required to cover the entire cave system (each section represents a 500m x 250m area at a scale of 1/500). Arrangements will be made for reproduction and sale of these maps. We should also consider efforts towards final map preparation.

Fisher Ridge Summary February 1986 V4 N4 By Dan Crowl

During the month of January, Keith Ortiz and Chip Hopper ventured into Fisher Ridge with the goal of continuing survey in Midway Canyon under Ice Cave Ridge. After setting the usual 40+ stations in this very complicated area, they exited the cave via the Reminaton Sink entrance. They barely escaped a dangerous incident at Remington.

While preparing their rigging at the bottom of the Remington Room, they were alarmed by a rather large rockfall from the other side of room. Keith hurried up the rope, completing his climb. However, as Chip was beginning his ascent, an additional, and substantially larger rockfall occured from the same spot. Fortunately, neither caver was hurt in the incident, but both we're apparently shaken considerably. Particularly since the rockfall was in an area that they had travelled through mere minutes before.

At present, the damage in the Remington Sink room has not been assessed. Keith believes that the passage into FRCS is probably still open. The question has arisen again about the apparent safety of the Remington Entrance. I have already lost track of the number of "near misses" experienced in this area. I would recommend that cavers try to avoid usage of this entrance untill after the freeze-thaw season and the damage can be surveyed.

Fisher Ridge Summary March 1986 V4 N5 By Dan Crowl

Missing this one, soon to come...

Fisher Ridge Summary April 1986 V4 N6 By Dan Crowl

Fisher Ridge Cave System now stands at 38.06 total survey length with just over 200,000 feet. The progress from 37 to 38 miles has been very slow, with the last 1/2 mile taking practically 6 months to complete.

Two teams ventured into FRCS on separate weekends during the last reporting period. The first team, composed of Keith Ortiz, Chip Hopper and Bob Anderson originally started out for another Midway Dome visit, but instead ended up at the end of Helegmite. They managed to progress beyond the spot that had stopped Peter Quick and Dan Crowl years before, but were not able to find the hypothesized connection to MoFo Domes area. However, they did find continuing passage that terminated in the bottom of a large dome with an apparently very high ceiling. Leads were observed in higher, unreachable levels in the dome. Their prognosis is poor for any furtiter passage here. On the weekend of March 15, Peter Quick, Tammie Heazlit, Larry Bean and a newcomer Jon Hanson travelled to the end of Almost Heaven in an attempt to push the water crawl leads reported here by Ortiz, et al. The left hand lead ended in a complete sump after a short distance. The right hand lead terminated shortly as a near sump. Fortunately, on their return to Fisher Avenue, they examined a side lead off of the connector between Nick - 0 - Time and April Fool's and found this side lead to continue. They surveyed over a thousand feet of passage here in almost 60 stations. This passage trends north to northeast and downcuts considerably. Their survey terminated in a small room where the water drains down a crack. Diggable, but very muddy leads were observed off of this room. These leads might have been the original drainage but have since backfilled with mud. A couple small, but pushable side leads were observed off of the main survey passage.

Fisher Ridge Summary May 1986 V4 N7 By Dan Crowl

Visits were made to Fisher Ridge Cave System on three separate weekends during the last reporting period.

In early April, Keith Ortiz and Bob Anderson entered FRCS with another Midway Canyon trip in mind. They became sidetracked at the Tall Wall Room just inside Ice Cave Ridge and were able to find a reasonable climb to a high upper level here. They surveyed just over 1000 feet in a complicated dome-type area. I am unsure at this writing of lead possibilities, but I do not remember a strong indication when I talked to Keith.

On the weekend of April 12, Peter Quick led Dan Crowl, Ed Trevino, Gail Jones and Will and Holly Something - or - other (?) on a trip of minimum endeavor. The original objective was the Stoogeway in Ice Cave Ridge. The motivation was to check the mud-plugged passage at this location. The thought was that it might possibly be washed out after the 1984 flood. That was the plan.

The reality of the situation was that several of the participants balked at the Banana Squeeze and / or the crawlways thereafter. We split up at this point, with Pete leading two others onward and I escorting two individuals to the Splash Exit.

Pete did progress to the mud plug in the Stoogeway. He found it still plugged and the connecting crawlway covered with goopy mud. He reported a bad case of "Big - Bird knees." After this initial disappointment, he attempted to travel to Hunkey Dorey but became discouraged when a similiar goopy mud situation arose in the long crawlway. Rout time.

On the weekend of April 19th, Peter Quick, Reid Beauchamp, Tammie Hoazlit and either Steve Miller or Larry Bean ( ? ) ventured back to the Detroit River to check leads. Their objective was to survey the lead reported by Keith Ortiz and Bob Anderson some time ago. (It was the lead that Bob built a rock pyramid to climb up into a waterfall.) Discovering what they thought to be a separate lead, they began survey in reasonably nice walking passage. After a respectable distance, the passage lost height and eventually became a water crawl. After several hundred feet of survey in difficult conditions, they reached the rock pyramid constructed by Anderson and realized that this was their original objective. (Anyone for Bob's Pyramid Lead???) Their completed survey was over 1000 feet, placing this months survey total to well over 2000 feet.

On a personal note, I thought that over the years I had experience every possible discomfort known to cavers. Not so! On my April 12th trip, I was apparently bitten by a poisonous spider sometime during the weekend. I'm not sure if it occurred while sleeping in the Fieldhouse, Pete's van, or during ridgewalking. All I know is that during the drive back on Sunday, I experience a growing discomfort on the left side of my face. By Monday, I had considerable swelling, fever and chills, diarrhea and upset stomach. By Tuesday I had a noticeable welt the size of a quarter about one inch away from my mouth. That's apparently where the bugger nailed me! I also experienced considerable swelling of my lymph glands under my chin and in my neck. What a bummer! My doctor said "That sure looks like a nasty spider bite. Nothing I can do but charge you $25!"

I have had lots of people provide free information concerning the source of the sore on my face. It ranged from a Brown Recluse to Black Widow spiders all the way to herpes! So much for free information.

As of this writing more than two weeks later, most of the symptoms have gone. I am still blessed with a miserable looking scab near my mouth that most certainly portends a scar. My doctor remarked when I visited him on another matter that it appeared that "substantial tissue destruction" had occurred.

I, for one, have now learned to give those damn spiders the leeway they need to go about their daily chores. I suggest that you do the same.

Fisher Ridge Summary June 1986 V4 N8 By Dan Crowl

Only one trip ventured into Fisher Ridge during this reporting period. On the weekend of May 3rd, Keith Ortiz and Chip Hopper spent 32 hours exploring leads in the eastern sections of the cave system. They report much effort but little, if any, progress towards the east and Crump's Spring Cave. See the trip report elsewhere in this newsletter.

Speaking of Crumps, Peter Quick has suddenly become intrigued with Crumps after looking down from the entrance loft during my last trip in April. He has asked me to lead a photo trip into Crumps in the near future. The idea is intriguing to me as well. My plans are as follows: enter Via A-trail to Peppermint to Long Crawl on to Five Domes. Stop briefly to explore the Other Side Trunk. On the return, detour to Sex Alley with a possible side trip to check out the Whimper Route for water. Travel north through Sex Alley, through Thin Man's Misery and down C-Trail. A side trip to the Leg Room is possible. Connect via C-trail to the Toll ladder drop and onward to the Dust Bin. Return to the Keyhole Canyon and out. This would be a nice (but reasonably long) introductory trip for those who have never partaken of Crumps. Only the strong of heart need apply! Bring good kneepads.

A large contingent of DUG cavers spent Memorial Day weekend in Kentucky. But nobody ventured into Fisher Ridge! Peter Quick led a canoe trip down the Green River. This 27-mile trip started in late morning and finished shortly before midnight. Pete claims that his plans were somewhat over ambitious, with additional complications provided by the very slow moving waters. A number of resurgences and small caves were explored along the river banks.

Reid Beauchamp ran into the owner of the Fieldhouse property during a trip into Mammoth. It turns out that the fellow is a cave guide at Mammoth Cave. Anyway, it now seems certain that we will be losing the Fieldhouse. Doc Fisher has been alerted and he is checking out possible replacements. We will probably need to devote a weekend to moving equipment and re-establishing the Fieldhouse once a replacement is found.

Fisher Ridge Summary July 1986 V4 N9 By Dan Crowl

Where'd this one get to? Coming soon....

Fisher Ridge Summary August 1986 V4 N10 By Dan Crowl

On the weekend of July 12th, Peter Quick, Steve Miller, Tammie Heazlit and Larry Bean ventured to Kentucky cave country (see the trip report by Peter in this issue). Pete had managed to obtain some new, more powerful explosive charges and was itching to try it out on some particularly difficult constrictions. These new explosive charges sport a considerably higher detonation velocity, enabling solid rock to be shattered by simply laying it on the rock surface.

Their first experiment was in Ice Cave. As you might remember, Keith had set off a number of sticks there a few years back, with little improvement in the passageway. This time, however, the explosion apparently removed considerable rock. Unfortunately, not quite enough was removed to obtain access to the observed continuation, but hope remains.

The second experimant was at the drop off of the Boob Tube. In June, Peter, Joe and myself had set off a four sticker there, only to remove a small ledge. The small connecting canyon was still too small to allow access to the dome droq below. This time the explosion (two primer charges) widened the canyon to almost 14 inches, providing Pete with enough access to rappel into the room below. He found a nice sized canyon continuing in both directions. Future explorations and survey will unravel the truth behind this new find. This could potentially be the find of the year since the canyon is at the level of the April Fool's trunk.

Joe Saunders and a few enlistees apparently visited central Kentucky on the weekend of July 26th. I do not presently have a report on their activities.

Fisher Ridge Summary September 1986 V4 N11 By Dan Crowl

Since the last newsletter was produced a few days-earlier than normal, I did not have an opportunity to report on the trip that I had to cancel out on due to a death in the family. Anyway, Peter Quick and Larry Bean dropped the recently opened pit in the Boob Tube and surveyed 2848.4 feet in 92 stations. They reported a nice walking canyon heading southwest to an apparently complicated dome / room area. After some tricky climbing they were able to continue beyond the dome area in an upper, dry passage of good size. Remaining for exploration were a few crawlway leads (one blowing good air), the continuation of the main canyon beyond a very tricky traverse across a 50 foot pit, and the bottom of the unchecked pit. In the Larry Bean tradition, the team decided on the name "Pete's Canyon," but suspect that the project will permute this into some uncomplimentary form (anyone know anything that rhymes with Pete?)

On the weekend of August 17th, a large contingent of cavers from Michigan ventured into Fisher Ridge Cave System. They broke into two groups. The first group consisted of Larry Bean, Dave LeClerc and Rick Comsky. They entered Historic and collected rock samples as they moved towards the Grand Junction area. The objective was to complete Larry's stratigrahic analysis of FRCS. They collected well over a hundred samples in a 16 hour trip.

The second group consisted of Peter Quick, Tammie Heazlit, Steve Miller and myself. We had several objectives in mind. First, we shot another sequence of videos using Steve's portable video system. This time three (count them) Coleman lanterns were used to provide more light.

The second objective was to disarm the minefield at the Ex-Plug. This was accomplished by setting ten sticks of chemical magic, this time all with detonators. The charge was set from the Splash Side of the Ex-Plug. Since the wind was blowing out of the Ex-Plug, we all ran towards the Ex-Plug immediately after the blast to short circuit the smoke. It certainly must have appeared like a Chinese fire drill! The minefield now has been declared dead by Steve Miller. A huge trench is now found instead of the crawlway. We did find a few remains of unexploded sticks that we removed and buried. Beware of additional sticks that might be uncovered.

The third objective was to return to the "Pete's Canyon" area to continue exploration and survey. However, upon arriving at the survey area, Steve realized that his wrist, injured several weeks earlier in one of his strange motor vehicles, was incapable of continuing. I volunteered to accompany him out (as usual). Pete and Tammie continued onward, but were severely hampered by this sudden change in plans. Pete did yo-yo the pit, but found nothing of any value at the bottom. I must admit that the prusik up the Drippy Dome was a thrill. For once my usual vertigo was replaced by a desire to stay as dry as possible in the constant spray of water. I shouldn't have worried since by the time I was at the top, I was soaked! The thrashing on the rope at the top in order to fit into the small crack was also a thrill. In the middle of the major event, my pack sprung open and my rappelling gear plummeted to the bottom. Fortunately, Pete (as usual) retrieved it on his way out later. My "break" bars were undamaged. Pete says (sic) that I will have first dibs on buying them back!

Fisher Ridge Summary October 1986 V4 N12 By Dan Crowl

Arrangements have been made with Frank Reid to perform the radiolocations in Fisher Ridge on October 25th. We are to meet Frank in Dot's Diner at 10:30 EST on Saturday. Frank presently has only one transmitter. As a result, only one underground crew will be supported. We will need a minimum of two cavers to place the transmitter in the cave. A third person can assist with the surface work. Of course, more volunteers will make the work much easier.

Fisher Ridge Cave System now stands at 39.64 miles total survey. A mere 190O foot separates us from the 40 mile mark.

Two crews ventured into FRCS during the past month. The first crew, composed of Keith Ortiz, Joe Saunders and Dennis Kendrick, placed about 40 stations for 400+ feet in the Pickle Passage area. A sand bank had apparently been moved or washed, enabling then to obtain the footage. They, report their survey heading towards the Chert Block Room. Thirty stations of miserable survey remains for the more ambitious.

Peter Quick, Larry Bean, Bob Anderson and Chip Hopper returned to continue work in the new area found off of the Boob Tube. They surveyed an additional 2200 feet in 91 stations. This included substantial footage across the hairy traverse. They also noticed that the Ex-Plug was full of water, making a gross situation after the previous months dynamite ditching episode.

I recently noticed a typo in the data base. Instead of entering the correct name of "Pete's Canyon", I entered "Pee Quick Canyon. I will try to correct this problem in the future.

The Fieldhouse has gone from bad to worse. A recent windstorm ripped off part of the roof, allowing copious amounts of rain to enter. The roof has been repaired somewhat, but substantial water damage was done to the right hand bedroom. We should start a pool for guessing the date of final collapse. Any takers?

Fisher Ridge Summary November 1986 V5 N1 By Dan Crowl

No survey footage was obtained in Fisher Ridge during this reporting period. However, some significant events did occur.

First, a weekend was spent performing radio - locations. Three locations were completed. Frank Reid, assisted by Dwight Hazen, are to be thanked for contributing their equipment and expertise to this effort, particularly since the weather was rainy and miserable.

The results found the passages deeper below the surface than indicated by the survey. The results are:

Location	Station	E/W	N/S	Depth (ft)
Sabath	DA62	-1089	-1095	70.3
Ex-Plug	DA104	697	-3289	52.0
North Fisher	J20	-2436	1735	63.0

This compares with survey estimated depths of 39.8, 50.0 and 27.1 feet, respectively. Vertical control is very sensitive to accumulated survey errors since the magnitude of the absolute depth is small.

The radio - locations were improved somewhat by the addition of a voice connection between the surface and the cavers below. This shortened the time for each location since the cavers below could be informed that the location was complete and that they should move on to the next site.

The second significant event involved the Fieldhouse. The owners have informed us that we must vacate by Dec. 1. They wish to press the Fieldhouse into alternate service. Discussions have ranged from locating a new Fieldhouse to constructing a new shack on Fisher's property. The immediate problem is removing and / or trashing our present furnishings in the Fieldhouse. We can temporarily store things in the quonset hut on Fisher's property. The weekend of Nov. 21 is anticipated for working on this problem.

Fisher Ridge Summary December 1986 V5 N2 By Dan Crowl

The Fisher Ridge Cave System was left abandoned and lonely during the past month. I searched wide and far but could not find a single caver who had ventured into FRCS!

We are still faced with a Fieldhouse problem. We have been given a few week extension for removing our materials. No progress has been made towards finding a replacement fieldhouse.

The Fisher Ridge database will be brought up to date prior to my sabbatical departure. I will also produce a new output listing. It will be possible, although inconvienient, for me to update the database remotely if major new discoveries are forthcoming.