COPYRIGHT © 1997 Dallas/Fort Worth Grotto. Internal organizations of the National Speleological Society may reprint any item first appearing in The OZTOTL Caver as long as proper credit is given and a copy of the newsletter containing the reprinted material is mailed to the editor. Other organizations should contact the editor before reprinting The OZTOTL Caver material.
The opinions and methods expressed in this publication are solely those of the respective authors, and not of the Dallas/Fort Worth Grotto or the National Speleological Society. The Dallas/Fort Worth Grotto and the National Speleological Society do not endorse, guarantee, or otherwise certify any such opinions or methods in any application or usage.
SUBMISSIONS and DEADLINES: Articles, announcements, artwork, photos, and material for publication are welcomed. All submissions must be submitted to the editor by the 2nd Wednesday of the month of desired publication. The editor reserves the right to edit inappropriate material, errors in spelling, grammar, or punctuation, and to edit for clarity. In the event of significant changes the author(s) will be given an opportunity to review changes prior to publication.
EXCHANGES: The Dallas/Fort Worth Grotto will exchange newsletters with other grottos at the Grotto's discretion. Contact a D/FW Grotto editor for further information.
MAILING: The editor is not responsible for lost or mis-directed newsletters caused by failure to notify editor in writing of address changes by the 2nd Wednesday of the month after address change.
D/FW Grotto Officers
CHAIRMAN
Membership Policy
Membership in the DFW Grotto is achieved by going on three cave trips with grotto members, submitting an application for membership, being voted in by the members of the grotto, and paying the annual $10 a year dues. Contact a grotto officer for more information and an application.
Relevant Cave-oriented Information
Texas & Northern New Mexico CAVE RESCUE
Trip Policy
Reservations must be made with the trip leader by the weekend preceding scheduled departure. All trips require basic caving equipment unless vertical proficiency has been specified. Participants must make arrangements in advance to borrow equipment from someone or have their own equipment.
Basic caving equipment includes: boots with lug soles, helmet, three sources of light (with one source mounted on helmet preferred), gloves, pack, canteen or water bottle, and suitable rugged clothing. Trip leaders reserve the right to advise against participation in a given excursion if necessary.
For vertical trips, participants must demonstrate to the leader's satisfaction basic vertical proficiency.
Some mapping trips also require basic proficiency in surveying; some also include instruction for those wanting to learn.
If you do not see a trip listed, but wish to participate, call some of the previous trip leaders to find out if a last minute trip is in the making. Many participants call trip leaders about possible upcoming trips; it is rarer to see trip leaders phoning potential participants.
It is a truism in the Dallas/Ft. Worth grotto that many trips are planned at the social hour after the meetings. Count on spending the hours from 9:00 to 11:00 hearing about previous trips and planning new ones.
Meeting Location By OZTOTL Staff
A backpacking/climbing/caving store, Recreational Equipment Inc., is the meeting site for the Dallas-Fort Worth Grotto. The address is 4515 LBJ Freeway, Farmers Branch, Texas 75244. The phone number is (972) 490-5989. REI is located just west of the intersection of the Dallas North Tollway and the LBJ Freeway. To get there from Fort Worth and the mid-cities, take I-30, 183 or any east-west artery to Dallas and get on Stemmons Expressway (I-35), then follow it north and then turn east on 635 instead of continuing north toward Lewisville and Denton. Take the North Dallas Tollway-Dallas Parkway exit (the Galleria and its twin towers are visible on the left or north as you exit.) Make a left on the overhead ramps, cross over 635 and make a left (or U-turn) to go back on the I-635 West service road. Stay on the service road, go through the light at Welch Road and REI is on the immediate right. If you get to Midway Road, you've gone too far. From downtown Dallas, go north on the tollway, crossing over 635 and make the left to go west on LBJ. Then stay on the service road and watch for REI past Welch Road.
The REI store closes at 9 p.m. A climbing wall and shopping are available at the store before the meeting. If cavers want to get some climbing practice in, it's advisable to come around 5:30 p.m. The line forms quickly and early.
The REI store is the company's second largest in the country. REI stands for Recreational Equipment Inc. The Seattle-based cooperative sells climbing (and caving) hardware, rope and yes ... even carbide lamps. The national retailer of outdoor gear and clothing for muscle-powered recreation employs several grotto members! A prepared statement from the company says REI has supported outdoor conservation efforts since 1976. The company's corporate contributions program is designed to assist in the protection of public lands, rivers and trails nationwide. And REI takes an active role in the communities it serves with service projects for outdoor recreational opportunities.
Next Meeting
The meeting time and date is 7 p.m., January 28th, 1998. This month's program is Part 2 of Jay Jorden's trip to the 12th International Congress of Speleology in Switzerland and his trip to the Ukraine.
If you need carbide, contact Dave "Cave'' McClung at (214) 594-1183 and place your order for delivery at the meeting.
Join us afterwards for the grotto social hour at Taco Cabana @ LBJ and Webbs Chapel.
Grotto Meeting Dates For 1998!
February 25th – 7 PM
March 25th – 7 PM
April 22nd – 7 PM
May 27th – 7 PM
June 24th – 7 PM
July 22nd – 7 PM
August 26th – 7 PM
September 23rd – 7 PM
October 28th – 7 PM
November 18th – 7 PM
December – Grotto Christmas Party Date TBA
Upcoming Events --
January 9-11 -- Colorado Bend State Park Project.
Vice Chairman (ditto!): Jerri Pearson
Secretary: Mike Pearson
Treasurer (also, once again!): Barbe Barker
Editor: Mark Alman
Quartermaster: See above
Librarian: Ditto!
Last Grotto Meeting Minutes
Dave McClung opened the meeting. The Nominees for Grotto officers for 1998 were announced and a vote was taken. Dave McClung, Jerri Pearson, and Barbe Barker retained their offices as Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, and Treasurer respectively. Mike Pearson was voted in as Secretary, and Mark Alman was voted in as Quartermaster and Librarian. Mark also assumed the very important position of Grotto newsletter editor.
Trip reports were given for Colorado Bend State Park and the Lake Amistad Project.
Dave McClung announced that a clean up on the section of highway that the grotto adopted would need to take place in January or February.
Mike Pearson brought up grotto web-site issues and expressed concerns and ideas for the direction the web-site should take.
Dave McClung made a proposal that the Grotto change its name. There was some discussion on the subject and was later tabled for further consideration.
The program was on Jay and Sheila's trip to the International Congress of Speleology in Switzerland.
The Grotto Christmas Party was held at the Metzner's house once again December 6. A great time was had by all and some truly memorable White Elephant gifts were handed out. Special thanks to Troy Shelton for the six pack of Tecate and, I guess, the not so fresh can, also. It made my first Grotto Xmas party very special!
Activities and Projects
Honey Creek-
Trip Reports!
Venture Campout: Cave the Wave April 5, 1997
Submitted By: James Wintle – Boy Scout Venture Crew Leader
The trip started off an hour late, which is, in Scout time, incredibly accurate. At first, the weather looked promising, but the sky was eventually covered with rain clouds fore-telling the inevitable arrival of a storm that would follow us for all nine hours of our trip on the road. Upon arriving, we set up camp in approximately thirty minutes, and promptly went to sleep (most of us at least!) in an effort to take the relentless rain, which was now reduced to only a slight drizzle, from our minds. The morning brought with it a breeze and the sunshine of a cheerful day. The clouds began to break apart and glimpses of the deep sapphire beyond lifted all of our spirits.
By the afternoon, there was not a cloud to be seen that could obstruct our common purpose, which was: To get to that cave!
We were forced to take an alternative route as a result of the water level of the Buffalo River, where we would have crossed with the vehicles. After traveling nearly forty miles out of our way, we finally reached the trail and began to unload the equipment. Soon, we started of down the 3.1 mile trail, which was nearly all mud and water draining from the last night's rain. Most of the crew, at first, was very concerned about keeping their foot-gear clean except the few who just trudged right through it all (their philosophy being: "They're gonna get muddy anyway!"). Finally, we reached the cave and ate lunch at its entrance. Then, leaving our packs a few feet within, flicked on our headlamps and proceeded on our hands and knees down the wet limestone corridor. It took us about three hours to explore the cave, sometimes leading us through crawls a little higher than a foot (yes, the adults made it too!). Slogging our way back in water-logged shoes, we reached the vehicles exhausted, and ready to eat.
From there, the campout remained unmolested by any rain, to its conclusion.
In retrospect, there were a few things about this trip that could have gone better, but all-in-all it went fairly well.
Mike Pearson of the DFW Grotto accompanied the Troop on this trip.
Powell's Cave Survey Trip October 25-26, 1997
Submitted by: Tony Sultana – DFW Grotto
Group Participants: Marvin Miller, Sara Dierk, Tony Sultana, Richard Sultana and Mike Martino
Mike, Richard and myself arrived Friday night around 10:30pm and were introduced to Terry Holsinger and several other people from San Antonio and Austin.
With a nice cool evening we set up camp and joined the entrenched party at the group campfire. Talking briefly with the more experienced persons prepared us somewhat for the work and workout the following day.
We were perhaps a little too energetic when we told Terry we were ready for some serious caving. With this trip being my second (the first was River Styx) and a first for Richard and Mike, we were grouped with Marvin and Sara, who have been to this cave many times. Our objectives included surveying under the sinkhole to the south and digging out some possible areas for other passages.
Entering down a thirty foot ladder and immediately going into a low crawl surprised us in that the passage height never became much higher, and there were no distinctive rooms whatsoever. Most of our eight-hour trip was crawl. We made our way through the maze at the entrance within 45 minutes with only one mistaken passage.
Our first stop involved an investigation of a possible dig area to connect to an existing passage. The space was discovered to be solid rock with little dirt to clear which could enlarge the passage. Proving fruitless we then moved on to another possible dig site. The second site proved to be more of a challenge than we were expecting. A very tight squeeze to reach the next site stopped the party temporarily while Mike contorted his large frame through the crevice.
The site when reached showed evidences of a passage or room beyond the blocked crawl space. Richard being the most adventuresome and conveniently small crawled into the space and began working on digging the space larger. Working in a relay fashion he moved dirt and rocks behind him, which were then cleared out of the way by Marvin and myself. About an hour of digging yielded a space large enough to squeeze through for Richard. His investigation found a continuation of the passage we were in that double-backed upon itself and then dead-ended. The dead-end was forced by a sloping roof, which met the floor.
Noting a description of the new area on the survey, we then continued to the area we planned to survey. After a brief overview of the usage of the survey equipment, we commenced at extending the current survey into an area that was previously, but incorrectly, marked. The size of the group permitted us to cover a large area to survey, including the closure of two loops. Each person still found time however to take a nap while waiting for the other members to take a reading or locate a connecting passage.
After an eight-hour venture, our group of middleweights returned to the surface to find a large group refreshed and eating homemade chili.
Turning in early, Mike, Richard and I left the next morning after breakfast since the temperature dropped overnight with a freeze warning.
Richards thoughts after his first trip: On the drive home and in the days to come we talked about our adventure, its likes and dislikes. Would we do it again? The trip was much different than we had imagined, much harder. For such small caves it was a big adventure.
Mike's thoughts after his first trip: I had a good time despite the low ceilings. I did expect more formations and scenery. It did show me that I'm not as claustrophobic as I thought I was. Marvin and Sara were good guides, knowing the cave area as well as they did, and taught well the basics of surveying and cave safety.
I am looking forward to doing it again, although some walking passages would be nice.
Colorado Bend State Park Trip Report
November 8th, 1997 Submitted by: Terry Holsinger
Dale Barnard, Jim Kennedy, Melanie Alspaugh, James Overfelt, Chris Gilbert, Chris Murray, Terry Holsinger, Tim Stitch, Jennifer Lemak, Peggy Austin, Chris Sobin, Jennifer Sobin, Travis Kinchen, Chris Vreeland, Erin Vreeland, Chris Hall, Robert Albach, Ed Goff, Laura Goff, Rob Jackson, Bill Hoffman, Debbie Blackburn, Derek Nash, Mark Alman, Andrew Alman, Sean A Carroll, Sean A Carroll jr., Christie Rogers, Greg Purcell, Don Abercrombie Eric Abercrombie Nicholas Abercrombie Butch Fralia Benjamin Heuss Christopher Heuss Keith Heuss
Continuing up to the wrongly tagged SAB239 feature (this number belongs to Centennial Cave), they removed the tag and put the new SAB280 on it. Dale nearly fit in it, but we will wait until we can get more tools. Terry says this connects to Golden State Motor Oil Can Cave, but it is not indicated on the map.
They then went up about 30 meters to Many Names Cave, which is correctly tagged as SAB227. This tag was to be the system base station, but Jim's old clinometer was sticking, so they canceled the overland survey for the day. Instead, they walked up the hill from Many Names where Chris and Chris had found a new cave.
Melanie and Dale did a quick survey from the new tag SAB281, but Dale could not squeeze into the drop. It was named Chris Squared Cave. It had an old flashlight in it, which was accidentally kicked down the hole. Meanwhile, Jim Kennedy dug open Little Red Cave, now tagged as SAB282 on the hackberry tree next to it. It goes down about 20' and over 15' and currently ends in a dirt dig. It needs to be surveyed. It is only about 10' from SAB281. Jim used his "Little Red" 8# sledgehammer to open it up and then opened up another cave just up the hill. What a day!
After exiting Chris-squared, Dale went to Jim's new find and squeezed into it. It was a typical narrow crevice that seemed to have no floor until Dale descended about 70 or 80'. Fantastic! Dale invited someone to follow and Melanie came in. Reaching the bottom, Dale continued horizontally, ascending a bit and crawling at floor level until he rounded the last passable bend. There was the flashlight that had accidentally been kicked into the pit in Chris-squared. What a surprise! Now we know that they connect, although a survey connection would be impossible without breaking rock. Dale proposed the name Floorless Crevice, Jim proposed the name BAC (Big Ass Cave) since he found it. It should get a new number since there is no passable connection to Chris Squared. Terry joined us at 3:00 after solving his vehicle problems.
After sketching the surface features around the entrance, they made a sketch map of the cave, witch is a 25~ foot "drop", which ends in dirt fill. A return trip to make a couple of survey shots should finish the map. The cave description should be updated/done at this time.
This was Erin Vreeland first in cave rappel and climb out.
Summary: A good learning experience for all involved on a small typical Colorado Bend fissure cave. The description was of a tight cave needing vertical equipment and 30-50 feet or rope. Detailed instructions given regarding cave's location relative to trail and surrounding geologic features.
We were to map the cave. Incorrect details about trailhead were received. One "lap" toward river and back finally selecting parking lot on east side of road south of TSS camp. Ed and his wife started down trail while Robert and Chris went back to get forgotten pencils. At camp received new instructions as to trailhead parking. Got to correct trailhead @ 12:45pm. Took jeep track opposite parking lot. Realized heading wrong direction and bushwhacked north briefly until found Gorman Cave trail. Cave easily found once on trail. Cave is located @ 10-12 feet to south of eastbound trail @ 50 feet from lip of 10-foot creek drop off. Entrance hidden by two 2-foot high boulders between trail and canyon walls.
We rigged a tensionless knot around a large boulder above the entrance on canyon wall slope. Entrance is very constricted with one of the hiding boulders overhanging the entry. Rope bag and rope was dropped on to a visible ledge directly below entrance. We all rigged up with vertical gear. Ended up having to remove much in order to enter the entrance.
Ed Goff was the first person in and confirmed that rope and gear were not necessary. Second person in Chris Hall dismissed need for any vertical gear at all. Robert Albach did the drawings and recordings, his first time at that end of the pencil. Chris Hall read the instruments which was his first time. Ed Goff selected stations and held the "dumb" end of tape. Ten stations in total were needed to describe cave. Several stations were "re-shot" by Ed Goff to gain some experience with the instruments. Stations 9 and 10 posted by Albach due to positioning and some bad air. A lower crawl to the bottom of pit not fully mapped to close loop with upper passage to bottom of pit due to bad air.
The cave is a typical tight fissure cave common to the area. Sharply scalloped sides with occasional chert. Cave is "inactive" as no living speleotherms noted. Mostly chimney and crawling with three levels. Levels separated by combinations of solid and loose rock. Multiple plant roots in cave some finger thick and others hairlike. Entrance area had snails (unidentified), daddy long legs, and cave crickets. Cave crickets common throughout cave. The dirt around station 4 was teeming with small white aphid like creatures. A small (half inch) millipede was found here also. No sign of bat habitation. Nothing else of note.
Special: Bad air was found @3:30pm 4 feet above station 10 which was the bottom of the cave. The cave bottom was loose damp dirt. Given the proximity of the cave to the Gorman Cave trail this may be a cave that the public may use. The formations are not active and there was very little wildlife to hurt. Drawbacks to this idea are: top level rock would have to be moved to ease entry (a good come along should do it easily), and probably not comfortable to have more than 5 people in at a time.
We believe that the PG in PG Pit should stand for "Pretty Gimpy" given the gap between original description and reality.
After finishing the survey, they explored the dry creek (NoN(Me creek) looking for more features. But did not find any. Hiked back to truck by moonlight
Rob is doing a botany project dealing with how trees get and use water. Water samples will also help with Christie Rogers work in the spring area (we hope).
There was not any noticeable bad air, however after about 20 minutes at the bottom they all had headaches. Leaving a couple of unsurveyed leads they headed out where Mark needed some assistance to exit the entrance because he "had no leverage".
They then headed over to IceBox to check out the air quality for Andrews's cleanup project. The air was better then it had been and about 5 lb. of small trash was removed. A date for the cleanup may be set sometime after the first of the year
This trip was supposed to be the trial by fire of Butch's new DGPS system. Arriving with the usual collection of GPS receivers, was a shiny new DCI-3000 DGPS system with 10 meter service. The DCI-3000 receiver receives differential correction information to correct for the induced error of selective availability of the GPS satellites. The information is transmitted via the pager frequencies of FM broadcast stations. The nearest providing FM station for DCI is located in Waco. The DCI system was selected because it has the lowest cost of any currently available commercial DGPS provider and thusly the lowest risk. The cost of the receiver is $350.00 and ten-meter service is $75.00 annually.
In June of 1997, Butch and Keith experimented with an AccqPoint one-meter service using a DGPS receiver rented for the weekend from Miller Blue Print in Austin. The unit, when it would lock on to a service provider's signal was very accurate. Measurements could be repeated within two meters. It could not however be made to work at all locations on the park. The cost of the Accqpoint receiver is $475.00 and the service is $900.00 annually. With the demonstrated lack of reliability, it was deemed to high a risk for a poor volunteer's pocketbook.
The effort started on Saturday morning when Butch fired up the receiver to see if it would lock onto the service provider. At the campsite, it was somewhat flaky but did achieve a lock. Keith used his digital voltmeter to check the batteries and found they were on the margin of putting out enough voltage to keep the receiver operational. Butch and Keith went into the Bend Store and bought three new batteries. That provided enough voltage but the receiver wouldn't lock any more reliably. This was not starting out to be a good DGPS day!
Butch, Ben, Chris, Don, Eric and Nicholas, started out at 10:00 am headed for the Gorman Fissure System to try the system out and hopefully get more accurate UTM coordinates for the caves and Karst features there. On the way they stopped by the elevation benchmark and found they could get a sufficient lock for a location measurement. The measurement compared within two meters of the measurements taken with the AccqPoint unit in June.
At the Fissure System, they could not get the DGPS system to lock at all. While there, Don, Erick and Nicholas entered several of the fissures to verify the description or obtain one as well as to determine if there was any associated passage. They visited SAB134, SAB275, SAB277 and SAB279. This data will be presented below.
During the time that Don, Erick and Nicholas were in the Cave, Butch took a 30 minute averaged GPS reading.
After Gorman Fissure, the group returned to camp for a short break then went back out. They returned to the BenchMark and again got a DGPS lock and comparable readings to the readings earlier in the day. They proceeded into Lively Pasture since it's at one of the higher elevations in the park and tried the DGPS at Space Heater Cave. It also chose not to work there.
Moving on to Gorman Creek Crevice, the DGPS didn't work but Butch took a 30 minute averaged GPS reading.
They moved on to Horseshoe C and took another 30 minute averaged GPS reading. That ended the workday and they returned to camp about 6:30 p.m.
The day represented 56 hours of volunteer work for the park.
The plans for the DGPS are to return in December with an improved battery system and hopefully better antenna system. If possible to locate suitable candidates, several antennas may be tried along with an antenna preamplifier.
On the way home, closer to Waco, the DGPS receiver locked on to the provider signal without a glitch. The station can be picked up on a truck radio with a good stereo lock (one of the pre-requisites). The possibilities are there, it's just putting the combinations together.
If DGPS can be made to work at CBSP, the plan is to get new location data on every cave, and Karst feature on the park. Most work at CBSP is referenced to USGS topographic maps. USGS rates these maps to a twenty-meter accuracy.
The cave entrance is an elongated fissure approximately 30' long trending 220 degrees. There is about 35' of horizontal passage at the bottom. There are chimney passages going up that Erick was able to climb up but couldn't fit into the horizontal passage at the top. The map in the Caves of San Saba County adequately represents the cave. The entrance is climbable but a safety belay should be used as it can get sporting in a couple of places, especially for short-legged people.
SAB275 Angel Fissure This fissure barely qualifies as a cave using the present criteria of 15 meters. The entrance is a fissure trending at 220 degrees with two intersecting fissures branching off at 180 degrees and 130 degrees. The main fissure is 100' long while the 180-degree fissure is 20' and the 130-degree fissure is 40'. The depth from surface to the floor is 24' (measured) and covered passage is 18' north to south and 8' east to west.
SAB277 Three Entrance Fissure Three Entrance Fissure trends at 140 degrees into the side of a slight rise. Falling rocks have formed a talus roof over several parts of the fissure leaving three entrances. The depth of the fissure begins about 6' from the surface and slopes slightly downward into the side of the hill. The length is 40' ending in a low passage less than 6".
SAB279 Angel Fissure. Angel Fissure is a 20' long fissure trending at 220 degrees. There is a 15' intersecting fissure branching off at 125 degrees. At the floor, the fissure is about 20' long, widening at the north end.
First they went to the two karst features right along the old road to Gorman Spring. A quick bit of hammer work opened up the 8" hole to the first feature, which went into a small fissure with no continuation. Not a legal cave.
The other feature was checked out, with no continuation, but maybe long enough to warrant a name.
Then they went over to Vreeland's dig across the road from Sweet Cave. The rattlesnake was still there, so little new digging was accomplished. Jim showed Christie the Sweet/Sour/Bitter System so she could get an appreciation for fissure karst and take some joint measurements.
Finally the group headed over to the Lost Petzl System for some real fissure karst. Jim and Chris Vreeland dug into yet another cave near Little Red, that looks like it drops about 60-70 feet and needs vertical gear. It is so far unnamed and will be mapped in December.
This area will see a lot of effort over the next few trips as there are a lot of caves in a small area and they all have good air, and many should connect to each other. It would be a good recreational caving area for a permit style access system.
Total hours for the weekend = 252.0
Caving news from around the country
By Paul Steward-Your cave news reporter via Cavers Digest
Good-bye claustrophobia - Associated Press Los Alamos, Ca.-
A small boy was recently found after being lost for over a week in a large cave, surviving only on water and eating mud. Doctors say the youth is in good health and appears to have put on weight.
Lost And Found - Associated Press Toren, Al.-
Scientists working on tectonic plate research has discovered that the gravitational pull of the full moon causes the width and diameter of cave passages to enlarge during this phase. "This would be a great time to try those tight passages," spoke one scientist. Seismographic activity also increases during this time, leading scientists to believe the "big one" will happen during a full moon.
Grotto Meeting Dates For 1998!
February 25th – 7 PM
March 25th – 7 PM
April 22nd – 7 PM
May 27th – 7 PM
June 24th – 7 PM
July 22nd – 7 PM
August 26th – 7 PM
September 23rd – 7 PM
October 28th – 7 PM
November 18th – 7 PM
December – Grotto Christmas Party Date TBA