Hill Country Caving Trip – Part I
Submitted by: Mark Alman – DFW Grotto and TSA
May 15th to 17th
Participants: Mark and Andrew Alman (DFW Grotto and Troop 138), Dennis and Kyle Tramel (Troop 138), Matt Sanders, and Robert Swanner
Caves Visited: Goat, Whirlpool, West, Inner Space, and Hamilton Pool
This trip initially started out with quite a large contingent of Scouts that were supposed to participate. But, because of school, other Scout activities, and Acts of Cave Gods, our number dwindled and the Entities of the Netherworlds almost won out. But as it turned out, our small group had one of the most enjoyable Scout and cave trips I have ever had the chance to attend.
It all started back in early March when a gentleman from a Troop over in Arlington picked up my name from the Troop and Grotto WebPages I maintain. They had approximately 25 boys that were interested in going on a caving trip and also learning about cave safety, conservation, etiquette, and the like. After checking their calendar and mine, we finally agreed on this weekend in May which both of us managed to have free. I scheduled a talk with their Troop the Monday before to discuss the above.
I then went to work hunting down a Boy Scout camp for us to camp at (read "Free of Charge") and found a great one just south of Dripping Springs. This was perfect as all of the caving we would be doing that weekend were located on the SW side of Austin.
I contacted Mark Sanders of Austin Parks and Recreation (the Caving
Preserve Manager) to discuss with him what we wanted to do and which caves
we wanted to visit. He told me that Maple Run Cave was closed for restoration
work to repair vandalism done to the cave a couple of years ago, but we
were given access to Goat Cave and District Cave. The former is a small,
fun vertical cave with quite a bit of wildlife for cavers to view. The
latter is a very pretty cave with a lot of formations, but is preceded
by a fairly long (for Boy Scouts) and narrow squeeze before one reaches
the gate.
The Salamanders that inhabit Goat Cave in Austin.
Photo by Andrew Alman
Kyle Tramel of Troop 138 on rope (and ladder!) at Goat
Cave.
Photo by Andrew.
A call to Nico Hauwert of the TSA was made in order to get the combination
to Whirlpool Cave. This is probably one of my favorite caves in the state.
It is not pretty, as far as formations go, but it has some squeezes, some
walking areas, crawling, and as the NSS’s "Caves of Texas" describes it,
it is a "caver’s cave". It also is nice in that it is shaped like a Y and
is impossible to get lost in! My sons and I have been to this cave several
times and still have not explored it all.
All loose ends were taken care of, or so I thought. I put the announcement
out at our Troop that we would be having a caving trip the weekend of the
16th of May, along with this other Troop. This would work out
especially well because our original Scout Campout to Schlitterbahn in
New Braunfels was to be that weekend, but had to be cancelled due to another
Scout activity elsewhere. Approx. 15 Scouts indicated that they would like
to attend. This put our total number of Scouts up to about 30. This number
of cavers at one time was starting to get very tricky and cumbersome!
As fate would have it, the other Troop from Arlington backed out, saying that the boys had concerns about finals, etc. since it was almost the end of the school year. Scouts from our Troop also started being affected by the same malady and graduations, so our number dwindled all the way down to four, plus
We departed Mesquite for Austin at about 7 PM (it’s amazing how much quicker a Scout group moves when there are fewer of them!) and reached Dripping Springs at about 10:30. The directions I was given for the Boy Scout Horse Ranch (the camp was nicer than it sounds) sounded easy enough, but after driving up and down the road a couple of times, we were still unable to locate it. Kind of like caving sometimes, huh!?
Andrew Alman exiting from Goat Cave in Austin. Photo
by Mark Alman.
It was about 11 at this time and I was getting frustrated and sleepy. We inquired at two different stores in the bustling town of Dripping Springs, but neither could help us. It was about this time that I mentioned to my son, Andrew, that "I sure wish a town cop would show up and tell us how to get there." We exited the store and lo and behold, Dennis Tramel was talking to the Hunt County Sheriff’s Deputy on duty that night. This guy was about 9 feet tall and built like a tree. I kid you not! We called him, "Sir", and he gave us an escort to the camp. What a great and nice guy, but not one you would want to be on the wrong side of!
There were several other Cub Scouts camping there that night, so we
chose an out of the way place near the horse barn and set up camp and called
it a
night. But, not before using the showers! Yes, hot showers and flushing
toilets! Man, we were living high on the hog this weekend!
After breakfast Saturday morning, we headed out for the caves. Prior to arriving at the caves, we had to make a stop to purchase "portable bad air detectors", a.k.a., Bic lighters! We got to the Austin Cave Preserve and loaded up our ropes, water, and other climbing paraphernalia and hoofed back to Goat. Sure enough, the combos worked and we had attracted a small crowd of neighbor kids who wanted to watch. The preserve butts up against a housing area and is a natural magnet for the kids.
Kyle & Dennis Tramel spending some quality time in
Whirlpool.
Photo by Mark.
Robert Swanner rigged up first and I belayed him in while he used the
ladder. The rest of the guys quickly followed suit and made their way down
into the cave. They noticed several salamanders (see photo) and some trash,
which we packed out. After the guys checked out a lead that extended north
from the main room that we had not noticed before, we belayed everyone
out. We then walked over to Maple Run, loaded up our gear, and headed over
to Whirlpool, which is very close by.
Robert Swanner and Matt Sanders resting down in Whirlpool.
Photo by Mark.
We parked under the nearby viaduct and grabbed some lunch before heading in. Robert was feeling a little under the weather, due mainly, I think, to not enough water. He rested, ate, and drank quite a bit of fluids and was fine.
Andrew was the first one in and guided our merry band through the myriad squeezes and twists and turns that constitute Whirlpool. Andrew has been here numerous times, so Dennis and I let the Scouts lead. We hung back, not because we were slow, but because we wanted to admire what formations there were and to make sure no one got lost (SURE!!).
Several things surprised us this time. We were surprised to find more salamanders here, which we had never observed before, as well as several scorpions. Yikes! Two were right at the entrance and another was surprisingly 250 feet inside the cave in a very narrow passageway. Andrew brushed him aside with a stick we found and covered him with some rocks.
Some pretty flowstone and other formations at Goat Cave.
Photo by Andrew.
During our journey back to the Travis Room (the intersection of this Y-shaped cave), Andrew and the boys took the shortcut while Dennis and I, being the "real men" that we are, took the watery and tight route. The amount of water in this particular area was another thing that we were surprised by.
After finally reaching the boys and the Travis Room, we all had a good, long drink of water and admired the large formation of calcite and played "Stupid Flashlight Tricks" on the rock. We debated about continuing to the South or East Passages while we rested and finally decided that West Cave and a dip in Hamilton Pool sounded much better!
We all departed for the exit via the shortcut and exited a short time later. Dennis and I discovered that gravity greatly eased our entry into the cave, but the exertion and old age limited our speed and ease of exiting on the way out!
After washing up and getting a drink and a snack, it was on to West Cave and Hamilton Pool!
Part II of our Hill Country trip will be continued in the July issue!