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Caves.com Features Departments 4 Interview with Devin Kouts by Aaron Bird 18 Middle Earth Map and Photos 20 Digital Surveying by Mark Passerby 28 Millenium Camping 22 Searching for Maxwelton Sinks Cave 29 Rack Safety by Jeff Bray 30 Generator Pick..... Cave Digging’s Price by Carroll Bassett 25 31 DigCon Registration

Cover Photo: Helms Deep Area by Ed McCarthy Helms Deep area in Middle Earth(WV) by Ed McCarthy

Caves.com Interview with me how you got into surveying. cave maps in my text books and things like that. So when Miles said Devin Kouts Devin: That's sort of interesting. I I should survey these caves and January 24, 2003 caved basically from age 12 to 17 map them, it sparked a latent inter- with the PSC, and then at age 17, I est in me, in doing cave surveying Aaron: You cave mostly went off to college and the service, and cartography. So it was within with Potomac and you know, life, and getting a job weeks that he took me to Twisted Speleological Club (PSC). and everything. I was gone from Fissure Cave for my very first survey Yes? caving for ten years. I came back trip, and that's where I learned to into it at age 27. survey was in Twisted Fissure. I Devin: Mmm, hmm. guess I had a natural ability for sketch because I was sketching fair- Aaron: How did you get involved ly well by the end of the trip, and I with them? think it was just three months later that I basically took over the Twisted Devin: I got started with PSC when Fissure survey. Nobody else I was a boy, and my father was a seemed interested in exploring the caver and a member of the PSC. cave, so I stepped up to the plate He had gotten into it through a cou- and kind of led up the troops who ple of his friends and at about the were interested in spending time in age of 11, my dad started taking me there. to PSC meetings here in Arlington and we got into caving with that Aaron: And that's a Taylor Run proj- group of people and at the same ect? time we were also caving with a lot of D.C. Grotto people. There's a lot Devin: That is how the Taylor Run of cross fertilization between the two project got started. That was in clubs. So, that was back is the late October of '94. And it was a discov- seventies, say 1978. ery that Miles Drake and Doug Medville had made, that particular Aaron: Wow, you've been caving cave, but after just a couple of well over 20 years then, huh? months of surveying in there, they Well, I happened to be living in the were having difficulty continuing the Devin: Yeah, what's it, something vicinity of the PSC, where they have project, you know, getting back up like 25 years now? their meetings. So I went ahead and there. So, I was young and enthusi- got a hold of them, and started cav- astic and I decided I'll go up there Aaron: Wow, that's great. ing again. It was in the first couple of and keep surveying. I was able to months that I was hanging out with marshal enough interest amongst Devin: Yeah. my old buddy Miles Drake, who I other people to keep the survey had known as a kid and caved with going. So that was where I learned Aaron: Has most of that been in when I was a kid. to survey, and then it turned into a West Virginia and Virginia? very big survey project. We worked Miles and I had been looking around in Taylor Run for a period of seven Devin: Um, yeah, early on it was at some different new caves and years, and surveyed something just mostly in West Virginia and Virginia. doing a little ridge walking and stuff. over five miles of virgin passage I did a little stuff down in Chiapas a I had done some ridge walking on across probably a dozen different few years back. I went to Belize last my own and gone out and found a caves up there. year, and worked down there on cave that was relatively unknown to some very large cave systems that anybody, and it wasn't a large cave, Aaron: Yeah, that's a pretty amaz- are being surveyed. So, I've been maybe 150 ft, but it was unmapped. ing little pocket of caves. broadening my horizons a bit. I Miles said, "Well, you know, when haven't been able to get down to you find caves like that, you really Devin: Yeah, it's a great exposure TAG, though. I really want to do do need to survey them, and not just of limestone up there, above Gandy that. go play around, but record what's Creek in Randolph County and it has there while you're at it." much more potential to it. It's a little Aaron: Yeah, that's a fun place to difficult to work on because you go caving. That's for sure. O.k. Well, as far back as when I first got have to basically camp out when you Well, I know you through surveying into caving, I'd always been very get up there. It's fairly remote. It's interested in cave maps, and I used in a big cave in German Valley. Tell Continued on Page 5 to doodle in high school drawing Caves.com Page 4 very cold in the winter time. You they're doing Breathing right now, and now I'm trying to return the favor can't work up there between and Cassel Cave at the same time. to all the people who supported me December and May and, so it's pret- on that. I want to survey for them on ty rustic. There's a lot more poten- Aaron: And in almost every case their projects. tial for a lot more cave up there. they've found quite a bit more pas- sage. Aaron: What are some significant Aaron: How is it that there's so recent developments in the Highland much cave so high up on the moun- Devin: Oh, yeah. Yeah, they're County cave survey? I know there's tain? notorious for that - they do a very been a lot of work over the past cou- methodical job and survey in great ple of years. Devin: Well, it just works out that detail, and there are some very that's where the limestone was. It's experienced people there, so they Devin: Well, the Highland County not down in the Valley. It's basically really know how to push a cave and survey has focused a lot on the on the flanks of Middle Mountain. they've always come up with new Bullpasture Mountain. If you look at There's a large exposure of passage. the way Bullpasture Mountain lays Greenbrier limestone that runs along out, it is in a very good position and the length of the mountain and if you Aaron: And so do you go on some it has some good limestone under it look at a topo map of the area you of the projects with them? such that it could offer up quite a big can actually see some very large system. There's a lot of water sinkholes and this is near the town Devin: Um I have been involved movement around there. There's of Witmer, WV, you'll see these sink- with them on just a couple of their some good air moving through some holes. And, so we sort of drew our most recent projects. For instance, of the caves, and there are a lot of interest to that area, and we were in Cassel, I've done quite a bit of holes. And right across the river actually introduced to the area by a survey in there. But they're so well from Bullpasture Mountain is the local caver from Whitmer who had manned, so well staffed that I figure, Chestnut Ridge Cave System and been ridge walking around there and you know, they've got it covered, so Butler and all that. had spotted a couple of holes. while they're doing their thing, I can be off doing other projects and keep- Aaron: Yeah, Chestnut Ridge is big. Aaron: So, did that somehow lead ing the ball rolling in other areas. So to Gangsta Mapper projects? Were they're not the main focus of my sur- Devin: Oh, yeah, it's huge: 22 they involved with this Taylor Run vey efforts. I would say since clos- miles. So, basically what Highland project? ing down the Taylor Run project in County survey is doing is focusing 2001, I've tried to loan myself out to on the limestone just to the north- Devin: No, actually, the Gangsta other survey projects that are ongo- east, along the strike, on the next Mappers comes in from a different ing, such as the Germany Valley mountain. And they have some pret- direction. I don't know their first Karst survey, and the Highland ty decent prospects and they're hold- cave survey, but what happened is County survey. It was great; I had a ing out hope that they'll bust into the Gangsta Mappers was a group lot of support on the Taylor Run proj- Continued on Page 6 of surveyors from a number of differ- ect, ent clubs around the Virginia Area Region(VAR), different grottos, who would get together and survey in large caves, and their modus operandi is to survey big caves, the kind that are large enough that small groups of surveyors would be over- whelmed, and focus on caves that have been mapped in the past, but have been mapped poorly.

So, the Gangsta Mappers tend not to do virgin caves, you know, I mean, they'll do virgin if they happen to find it, but they focus on known caves, like I know they did New River Cave, they did Paxton's. Paxton's was one of their earliest. Then they went on and surveyed Bowden, and after Bowden, um, they started two caves at once. Basically, Caves.com Page 5 something similar to Chestnut Ridge, Devin: Germany Valley has been a we've gained access to easily 50% over there. They did come up with a really fun project. We got this start- of the limestone in Germany Valley very nice cave a couple of years ago ed in 1999 really, this most recent and we've walked it all. that I got to do a survey trip into series of exploration and survey called Five Springs. And that one that's going on there. It's a pretty Aaron: [chuckles] Wow. good story. Devin: Yeah, and we continue to re- First of all, Germany Valley is very walk it because there's a lot of land important to the NSS because it's out there. Well, you walk it once where the NSS got its start in cav- and you miss the hole. You walk it ing. It's not the very first caving that again and you find it. We've found a members of the nascent NSS start- lot of new caves. A lot of people ed, but the two grottos that started won't believe that because there are the NSS - the Washington D.C. so many known caves in Germany Grotto and the Pittsburgh Grotto - Valley [that] so many known caves would travel out from those two get rediscovered and renamed over cities and meet in Germany Valley time, but we've done so much walk- and explore caves like Schoolhouse ing around and research on what's and Hellhole and Lawrence Dome known about the Valley that we were Pit (also known as Fieldhouse) and able to document the contents of the some of the other caves in the Valley more accurately and that got Valley. And it was such a popular published in the Pendleton County place that in the early '60's, Bulletin, WVASS Bulletin #15, a cou- Pittsburgh Grotto opened up a field ple of years ago. house in Germany Valley. Outside of what was known we've The PSC took over that field house been able to come up with a number went over a mile within probably the from Pittsburgh Grotto shortly after it of unrecorded caves, not all of them first three or four survey trips. I don't was opened, and managed it from virgin, certainly some of them have know what the current length is, but I the early '60's up until the mid-'80's, been pushed. For instance one know it's probably - I'm certain it's when the field house was bought out cave, called Laeger cave, was found well over a mile and a half. And from under them by the local quarry, by Herb Laeger many years ago. then on top of that they did find and they were forced to leave the Herb's still around; I spoke to him numerous small caves that they've Valley, basically. They had nowhere recently. He was down caving in surveyed up on Bullpasture to stay. Mexico, and he was quite happy to Mountain. I think last year they set a learn that we had found the cave personal record for themselves when So, after the mid-'80's, exploration in that he had originally found and that they accomplished fifty new cave the Valley definitely slowed down, we'd actually named after him. But surveys in a twelve month period. but in the late-'90's, a group of us outside of those discoveries, we've worked with, um, actually two peo- found some new caves, and some of Aaron: Wow. That's quite a lot. ple: Gordon Brace and Rick those have actually turned into very Lambert; they got together and large caves with incredible potential Devin: Yeah, they're pretty hard spoke to a couple of local landown- to become extremely large. charges, and they get a lot of sup- ers there and got permission to do port down there. some ridge walking in the southern Now, one of the first large discover- end of the Valley. One of those ies we had was a cave called Con Aaron: Now, a lot of the people landowners was kind enough to Cave. That was discovered during doing that project are also working in allow us to use an old abandoned the NSS Convention in the year Germany Valley? Is that correct? farmhouse on his place as kind of a 2000 that was being held at the OTR field house to work out of, and we've campground over in Elkins. Some Devin: I wouldn't say a lot. I would been doing this on a monthly basis cavers, from I believe it was New say a number of... probably a half since 1999. Jersey, who were friends with some dozen of the people in Highland are of the Germany Valley Karst Survey also pretty heavily engaged in Well what this has allowed us to do people / cavers went over to Germany Valley. is over time get to know more of the Germany Valley with us during the local landowners, and make friends NSS Convention and they took a Aaron: Germany Valley has had there in the Valley and gain their walk up one of the well known some pretty interesting recent dis- trust, and then slowly spread out and ravines there in the Valley. coveries, too, I understand. cover more and more acreage. So, Continued on Page 7 since 1999, in the last four years Caves.com Page 6 that very first day they surveyed It was a hot summer day, and they We let the lead sit for quite some 2100' of borehole. They pushed the happened to feel a little cold air as time because we knew we had ways cave to a depth of 355 feet below they were walking up the ravine. of getting the cave open but the the entrance where they hit what They got to poking around and found farmer had livestock nearby and looks like a sump. It's actually just a a narrow crack that was blowing air. things like that, and we really didn't big lake that's very deep and it goes Well, that sparked a lot of interest, want to upset his farming operation, wall to wall in the cave. And the and we had the assistance of our so we probably waited for about walls are, you know, 20 feet apart. new friend Tom Barton from up in eighteen months before we went And then in the upstream direction the Northeast, so over a series of back to the cave and actually did they surveyed probably 1500 of several weeks we started widening some more work on it. And with just those 2100 feet and that day they the crack with, you know, technology two more feet of digging we broke turned around in borehole 20' by 30' Tom taught to us, and we were able into big walking passage. So, in dimension and came back out. to follow this crack for probably 100 Memorial Day, after that break-in Borehole was still going. It was just feet into the limestone before we hit back in spring 2001, has grown to 4 in the morning and they needed to a pit. And from there on the cave just over a mile in length and the get out of the cave. just took off. We've surveyed about majority of that surveyed length has a half mile in Con Cave. It's a tight, come within the last two months. They went back last month and they tortuous cave but, it's very sporting continued their survey and they and a lot of fun. And we had high In December of 2002, a group suc- added I think, another 1700 or 1600 hopes that it would lead us into cessfully pushed to the top of a pit feet of survey to extend the cave to something incredibly big, but so far it that was at the very end of a very over a mile. It stands at 1.17 miles hasn't done that. incredibly tight crawlway. The crawl at this time. This cave is in the is so small that people larger than southern end of the Valley, and it is The other really great cave we have Miles Drake simply won't make it. going north. We still have a very in the Valley is something that we We only have four people in our long way to go until we get to the found Memorial Day, 2000. We had entire group that can fit, and Miles is area of Fieldhouse Cave, which is just been working in the Valley for a one of them. They got to the end of about the middle of the Valley. few months, when Gordon Brace this 90 foot crawlway that's just We're over a mile south of there. and I and a couple of other cavers, But it's borehole passage. It's fol- Lewis Carroll I believe was among lowing strike of the Valley. So every- us, decided to do a little ridge walk- thing looks very promising. We think ing in a ravine we actually hadn't we're going to see a lot bigger cave been up and down very thoroughly. out of Memorial Day. And as we were walking through the weeds, Gordon first noticed some Aaron: Wow. That's pretty impres- grass blowing in the breeze, just sive. So are more trips planned some moving grass, and he called back into the lower part of Memorial me over. We thought it might have Day Cave? been an animal, but when we got close it turned out to be a small Devin: First let me give you the crack, 8" by 2", that was just howling name of the project: we call our- air, and blowing around the brush selves the Germany Valley Karst nearby. Survey, and we're not a closed proj- ect. We're an open project. We So we took on that project, started invite cavers to come and work with digging there, and it turned out that us but there is a requirement: we we were in a very hard rock unit Entering the Puppetbuster don't want people to show up and known as the McGraw-McGlone. It expect to survey great booty from took us; you know we dug and dug howling air and were able to set the beginning. for months on that. Pete Penczer bolts at the top of this pit. Pete has written a wonderful article on the Penczer, Miles Drake, Ralph Hartley, Everybody who is a part of the proj- dig experience at Memorial Day, and and Rick Royer got to the bottom. ect has spent years exerting them- that article was in PSC Caver (Nov. - selves on project activities. You basi- Dec., 2002). But over a period of It's a 125 foot drop into borehole cally earn your right to survey the many months we worked at this hard passage. At the bottom of the rope, really good cave in the project. If rock dig without the technology that the passage is about 20 feet wide you show up month after month and Tom Barton was able to lend, and and probably 100 feet high. Now, really contribute, well then when the we only got about six feet of since then... of course they surveyed Continued on Page 8 progress in the hard rock. the day they dropped into it, and on Caves.com Page 7 good cave comes around, you're For the foreseeable future, we're stone. When you drop in the going to be first in line. We've had a going to be doing that in Memorial entrance, you're immediately in the few people contact us after they've Day Cave and we're going to contin- big stuff. Hellhole is a pretty unique heard that we have a big new dis- ue surveying the borehole. situation. Such a shame the cave is covery, they want to go survey, and closed to cavers year round. it doesn't work like that. We're actually really excited about the potential in Germany Valley, Aaron: Do you think that this hard Typically we have anywhere from a because we have learned through layer of limestone acts like a "cap dozen to two dozen people show up our efforts over the last few years rock" and contributes to the cavern each month. With that much man- that there is big cave in Germany development in the lower limestone? power we have to spread it out and Valley. Everybody thought the only work on different things. Every year big cave was in Hellhole, and every- Devin: I don't know that it con- we get access to more and more thing else was pretty short. What tributes to it, so much. What facili- acreage and the acreage up there we're learning from the geology tates the large cave under that "cap comes in packages of 500+ acres at there is that there are short caves rock" is the solubility of that lime- a time per landowner. within 100' to 150' of the surface. stone underneath it. That's what the local geology sup- We recently got access to some- ports. Aaron: Oh, O.K. where in the neighborhood of 1200 acres between two landowners. So There's large cave - long pieces of Devin: Water can get through the we've been very busy walking and trunk passage, miles in length - if hard limestone and create cave digging on those landowners pieces you can get down to about 300' below it, but cavers often can't get of property and they're pleased to below the surface. The problem is through that "cap rock." have us. So that occupies some of that it's very difficult to do because the people in the Germany Valley of the geology. What typically hap- Aaron: [chuckling]… at least not Karst Survey. At the same time, pens is that you get down 100' or so, many, yet. So there are other caves others are still doing work in maybe 150', and you hit some very in the Valley in addition to Memorial Memorial Day; because of the very hard limestone with some very tight Day Cave that could take you guys tight passage leading to the big cracks and you have to make those through the hard limestone and into stuff… it constrains who can go in cracks bigger before you can get the softer stuff below. Ruddle is one there. It prevents probably 90 per- into any larger borehole passage. of those. Are there others? cent of our people from getting into We've started doing that more that part of the cave so there's just a recently and we're having some Devin: There are a couple of others small group of people who go back pretty good success. that we have that we're very interest- and survey every month. ed in that move some pretty good One cave we have a lot of excite- air. One we call Flad the Impaler Now what we're doing in Memorial ment about is a well-known historic which is a brutal cave 300' in length. Day is working to improve the quality cave a lot of people have been in, Its like a miniature Schoolhouse; it - the comfort...of that very tight pas- called Ruddle Cave. Everybody has has a lot of vertical up and down, but sage that leads to the top of the 125' known the amount of air flow at the it moves a lot… a respectable drop. It's going be a large project entrance of Ruddle for thirty or forty amount of air. So we're interested in because the crawl itself is pretty far years now. We have finally gone that. into the cave. It is at the bottom of a into Ruddle and followed the airflow 50' drop that you have to go down and everybody knows the crack the There's also one called Liquid before you even get to the crawlway, airflow goes into. We have started Groundhog, which is an 80' deep pit and we're going to need a lot of working at that crack and we're that has a breakdown pile in the bot- equipment to make that passage going to try to follow that and see if tom. There's good air moving in the more passable. So its going to take we can follow it similar to the way breakdown so we want to look at a few months of moving equipment we did in Memorial Day Cave. that. A cave I mentioned earlier, and bodies in there and doing work Laeger Cave, has some blowing before we'll have something normal- Aaron: Does Hellhole go through cracks at the bottom of it. So again sized cavers can get through. this hard layer of limestone as well? we would be back to widening cracks to get to more cave. At the same time, we're going to be Devin: Yeah, Hellhole does. These pushing some other leads that could harder layers of limestone were pen- Something else that we recently potentially be bypasses. We have a etrated pretty quickly in Hellhole, so came across is a well-known, but bolt climb at the top to a lead at the cavers don't even know when they obscure cave in Germany Valley that top of a dome pit and that could pass through it. The passage in doesn't get a lot of visitation called actually give us a bypass that could Hellhole is so big that you don't real- Continued on Page 9 take us beyond the small passage. ly run into this hard layer of lime- Caves.com Page 8 Coon Cave. A group went in there get into another dome or lead or the bottom of Memorial Day. Is that a including Kevin Flanagan from up in something. Mike took a little time to water table lake or stream? the Northeast and Mike Frisina poke around more thoroughly and about six weeks ago, and they were went into a lead that had been Devin: That's a water-table bopping the pits in Coon Cave. checked before, but not well enough, impoundment, but it's so deep and There are a lot of pits in the cave and found a crevice blowing air in only one survey team has ever been and they got to the bottom of one of his face at a rate of about 20 miles to look at it and they couldn't detect the pits, and they found a message per hour, which was his estimate. any water flow or any underwater in a metal tube from somebody in passage going out from it. They're the Pittsburgh Grotto, who had just They diverted their attention to that going to take a closer look at it. The left his initials. The date on the note and worked for probably six or eight passage that the lake occupies con- was I believe, from 1959. hours that day pulling big rocks out tinues out of sight around the corner of that tight lead and they're now and they couldn't get around the cor- Aaron: Oh my god!! That's amaz- looking down a crevice about 15 or ner because they would have had to ing! 20 feet. They'll have to widen the swim, so they really don't know how crevice, but they have a huge gale large that little lake is. Devin: Yeah! So it had been in the of air blowing out of it. So it looks cave for 40 years. They have a pho- like Coon Cave has the potential to Now Coon itself is up against the tograph of it and I hope to have a do something similar to what flanks of North Fork Mountain, so its photo of it pretty soon. So it was one Memorial has done. more on the eastern side of the of those old Pittsburgh Grotto Valley, so it probably doesn't have a cavers. Aaron: Is it possible they're all shar- lot to do with Memorial Day, but you ing the stream? Or are these going never know because Memorial Day So, on that particular trip they were to be different flows at a water table? is heading east in a big way. That's in there to work on a dig, and try to I believe you mentioned the lake in kind of strange because most caves

Caves.com Page 9 in West Virginia, especially in that nology available to help run the proj- area of Pendleton County, are strike Aaron: Wow. Those caves in that ect and to organize the data and to oriented and run northeast and Valley are just amazing. crank the working maps out fairly southwest. quickly. So I was more than happy Devin: They are. to do it. It actually taught me a lot Memorial Day, until the last few hun- about how to run a large survey proj- dred feet of survey, has not been Aaron: Yeah. Speaking of which, ect like that from a cartography and strike controlled at all; it's gone all we haven't spent any time talking survey control perspective. over the place. It has gone straight about the survey of summer 2002. north, straight south. It has looped You were heavily involved in that, I Aaron: So what are some of the around in curly Q's, and up and over believe. tools that you use? itself at least two different times, and zigzagged back and forth to the Devin: In 2002, the Germany Valley Devin: Well, one of the most impor- east. Only the last few hundred feet Karst Survey got an opportunity to tant things was the ability to commu- of the last survey trip in there did survey in a wide number of caves nicate information to the surveyors, they actually turn northeast along across the Valley, and it was known because in the first few weeks of the the strike. That's kind of taking it that there were some good leads out survey, activities were really ineffi- towards Coon. there. Throughout the summer, a cient because the surveyors didn't number of people, yourself included, know where the leads were. They Aaron: O.k., and that's with no dis- got into the Valley and were able to didn't have reasonable working cernible water flow direction? survey some of these leads. Did maps to work with in the caves. All you really ever get into any of the they had was verbal directions from Devin: No. If you head towards the good stuff, Aaron? somebody who wasn't going to go northeast, you're actually climbing in with them, and most of these survey- elevation. You appear to be going Aaron: Yes, quite a bit of it… prob- ors had never been to those particu- upstream. So we're getting closer to ably one of my personal best sum- lar caves. So, what I focused on surface level, which is not what we'd mers for virgin cave ever. first was getting some means of expect at all. We thought we would sharing all this information. It was a have been going deeper as we went Devin: Throughout the course of lot of information and it was chang- to the northeast, but we seem to be the summer, the survey crews were ing on a weekly basis. So what I did heading upstream in the cave, and doing pretty good work, and then at was I talked to a guy in our club and that's pretty strange. We're still try- the end of the summer a break- he runs an ISP, and I got some web ing to figure out the development of through came that gave up some- space on one of his servers. He Memorial Day Cave. thing like 3 miles of virgin passage donated it to the project. over the next four weeks of survey. Aaron: And it's climbing up the anti- Prior to that, two and a half months I have some experience building cline or going down the anticline? worth of work had only given up a websites. So I put together a simple mile and a half of passage. Things website to organize the different Devin: It's actually heading mostly definitely opened up there in the last types of information that I knew the straight east, across the anticline. four weeks. So, throughout the surveyors would need in order to be summer we managed to survey four a little more efficient week after Aaron: So, perpendicular to the and a half miles of new cave in the week. Some of the things that we anticline. Valley. started putting up there were, natu- rally, the schedules, who was going Devin: Yes, very much perpendicu- Aaron: Now, you were involved in to be in which cave on a given lar to it. that because you're involved in weekend, and as we learned a little Germany Valley Karst Survey, of bit more about the survey and where Aaron: Wow. O.k. Could it be fault course, but also because of your we needed to focus, a plan of activi- controlled? experience in surveying. ties and actions of what people needed to be doing. Devin: We thought about that. I Devin: I can thank Miles for it, but don't know that its fault controlled. now I'm just a huge survey fan. But I was able to review the data after We're looking for a fault in there I also enjoy cartography too. This each survey trip and start building a because the geology is doing some- particular survey project needed lead list. That helped people a lot, thing strange. We can tell that, and somebody to cart up all of the new to know where the leads were, and we think there may be a fault passage that was being turned up, how they could get to them and sur- involved. The way the passage is and so I decided, you know, absent vey them more efficiently. And so formed, it doesn't look like its fault anybody else stepping up to the after about two weeks of having the controlled at all. It's just doing plate, I would go ahead and do it. I something very unique on its own. happened to have some good tech- Continued on Page 11 Caves.com Page 10 survey server up, things got a lot I or Gordon Brace or Lewis Carroll notes - not just their notes but other more efficient. People were regular- would be there to meet and greet notes - and looking at the survey ly checking the survey website, and I them and demand the survey notes data, and the actual line plots that was keeping it updated. Usually by from them. So, we made it an we build week after week. It's very Thursday evening, people could get imperative. Survey notes always good for the project that you actually out there on the server and have a had to go home with Gordon, Lewis, have these other pairs of eyes look at the updated lead list. They or me. By Sunday evening, the examining your data because they could see the survey notes from the notes would always wind up in my turn up errors. It's a form of quality previous week. If possible, I was hands. control when your peers review what trying to keep the working maps you're doing. One of the guys to updated too, so people could have a Now, it was kind of convenient that I whom I'd like to extend a personal look at the working maps and see was both cartographer and the web- thank you is Rick Royer. He's very where things were going. It turned site developer. I could take those good with the survey tool that we're out to be a huge boon. survey notes and scan them in with- using; Rick would go in there reli- in just a couple of hours and I could giously week after week and exam- Some of the things we added to get them published on the website ine the data for errors. When he enhance the site over time is that within a day or so. At the same time would find them, which he invariably people were carrying a lot of digital I could work on morphing them up found errors, he would send the cor- cameras in the caves this year, and into a working map. And I do that rections to me. That improved the there were some great photos com- using Ralph Hartley's software appli- quality of the survey quite a bit. ing back from the caves and from cation called Carto. Once people the surveys. I was able to put some realized that they couldn't take the Aaron: Oh yes, absolutely. After really nice photos on the website. survey notes home with them your experiences so far with manag- That actually helped motivate people [chuckle from Aaron], and that they ing a large cave survey project, is to get in there and really contribute had to leave them with the project there anything that you would add or and work harder on the surveys, control, they agreed with the change? when they were seeing the kinds of process. things that were coming back from Devin: Recommendations for sur- surveys that other people were Aaron: I was one of those, at least vey projects in general? doing. on the first time Aaron: Yeah, what would you do I actually host a few different project Devin: Yeah, well it's kind of a differently or what would you like to websites out there. One of them is novel approach. Everybody's used say about it? the Germany Valley Karst Survey. to keeping their notes. And then the other is Shaver's Devin: Well, I don't know that I Mountain; there's a small project Aaron: But, I agree with you com- would do things too much differently going there. And the Taylor Run, of pletely. I'm glad that I was, uh, re- because I, and the guys that I sur- course. Gangsta Mappers is hosted educated. vey with, have been doing it well in the same domain. together for so many years. We've Devin: This actually is the new way gotten the bugs pretty well worked Aaron: So the surveyors would of doing business. But you see the out. The thing that I would recom- bring data, and then what happens results. All of the paper is archived mend that all survey projects do, to that data? and will go into the PSC library so it whether they're large or small, is will always be accessible. There are always work in pairs, no matter what Devin: That was a very important always digital copies of the notes part of the survey process you're process that we had to work out available from the web server, so working on. Naturally, when you're early on, and it was a little tough to that people will be able to go out out there collecting, you want a sur- get everybody to do it correctly in there and get to them anytime they vey team of three to four people. the beginning. Once they saw the want. So, it's not just their notes, That way you have more people col- results of doing it correctly, every- but everything everybody else has lecting data and it's a little more body really made an effort. At the who mapped also. So really, it accurate. What follows, which is end of the survey weekend, basically worked out very nicely. By the end very important too, is the processing the survey trips into the caves were of the year it was a pretty well-oiled of the data: you don't want just one twenty-four hours in duration, or machine. We had schedules up and guy entering the data and develop- pretty damn close, people would we had working maps going all the ing the line plot. You want two peo- come out and before they were time and we had survey notes that ple there at the keyboard entering allowed to leave on Sunday - they people could analyze. the data, one keying the stuff in would come out of the cave on while the other's reading it. After it's Sunday morning and come back to A lot of the guys who survey were Continued on Page 12 the field house and crash - normally very interested in reviewing the Caves.com Page 11 keyed in, they go back over it and time. Devin: I agree, and Bob is a great reread it to double check everything. one to learn from. He's very meticu- So, you know, do these things twice We've learned a lot about doing lous. The rules that we're applying - you'll catch a lot of errors. Then these kinds of surveys and the now, Bob has actually applied for after it's entered, give it to somebody biggest thing is to work as a team, decades. We can go back to his else, a third person who's willing to do everything together, put multiple records. He is so methodical with look at the data and test it and see if eyeballs on every aspect of the sur- his data collection, he can go back they find any errors. That could hap- vey, and you'll come up with a much into his records from the late-'60s pen too. better product. when he got into cave survey, and pull out working maps and survey The same thing with survey notes: Aaron: Sounds like some pretty notes and share these things with don't trust them solely to one per- good rules to follow as far as man- you. And all his stuff is nice and reli- son. Always take your survey notes, aging large-scale cave projects. able, and it's legible and you can make copies of them. Your originals, continue to use it. Unfortunately, I or what you call your master copies, Devin: There's one other thing that can't say that for all the other caves those need to be archived and pro- I would add too. I can't ever empha- that surveys extend that far back in. tected. You don't want to work with size this enough. A lot of us take Quite often the notes are totally lost. them. You don't want to take them this for granted. But everybody For instance, you'd be hard-pressed back in the cave. You take them should do this. Always, always, to come up with a lot of the early home, photocopy them or scan them always shoot both forward and back survey notes from Simmons-Mingo. on your scanner, put them in your sights on every shot. You should People just wander away from cav- computer, and then the paper never have a single-sighted shot. It ing and they take the notes with copies, the originals, get archived is incredible the number of errors them, and eventually they wind up in away, somewhere safe, so that they that you can accumulate if you're a dumpster somewhere...the notes, won't be lost or destroyed. Make only doing foresighted surveys. To not the people. sure you give a copy of all your sur- us, the foresight only survey is basi- vey notes to a second person. So, cally worthless. Aaron: The internet played a pretty for instance, I have a digital copy of large role in the large-scale survey all the notes. The master copies go Aaron: Good. I was hoping you project you worked with. But as you to the PSC library, and a digital copy would add that comment in there. If point out, it's not impossible to do will be burned to a CD. That CD I not, I was going to prompt for it. without it, as Bob has demonstrated can give to anybody I like; I've actu- in using his method since the late- ally given it out to three or four peo- Devin: Good. '60s. ple in the project. So, whether you're working digitally or in paper, Aaron: Yeah. In working on large- Devin: It's a little more challenging make copies of stuff and share it, so scale survey projects in Germany to do it manually, especially when that stuff doesn't get lost or Valley, I have learned so much about you have as many surveyors as we destroyed. surveying, and just why it matters so tend to draw. If you have a project much to collect both foresight and with 40 surveyors, it's basically Again, if you're reducing your data backsight data. impossible to get copies of the lead and building your working map, it's list, the working map, and the survey important that for your working map Devin: That's the kind of knowledge notes out to 40 surveyors on a you get other eyeballs, other people. you get from working with a big weekly basis via snail mail. You Bring in a partner to look at the group of surveyors like the Germany have to have something like a web working map you're drawing, and Valley crew or the Gangsta Mappers. server to do that. allow them to critique it as you're There are a lot of really smart old going along drawing it piece by birds out there in the caving commu- Aaron: Yeah, and now with every- piece. Send them what you've nity, and they can share a lot of one using the internet, people don't done, and allow them to comment as insight. really have any excuses to not do it. you're working. If you're doing a really big cave, something that's Aaron: Yup. A day with Bob Thrun Devin: Exactly. I don't think there miles long, you don't want to draw is definitely an education. At least it was a surveyor in the 2002 summer the whole thing, and send it off to was for me. survey that didn't have internet someone for their opinion on it, access and we had well in excess of because it's too much for them to try Devin: It's an education, alright. 40 people working on that project. to critique, or if they do critique at all, you're going to find they'll come back Aaron: Yeah, I learned an awful lot Aaron: O.k. Well, let's see. I with so many errors that you're about surveying the day I spent with guess we went over the manage- going to be unwilling to try to fix that him. Continued on Page 13 entire map. So do it a piece at a Caves.com Page 12 ment of the project. How about measurements. This was important some specifics about Compass and in this cave because very often the Devin: What was your biggest ceil- Carto and data reduction? Can we ceiling was 140' to 150 feet over our ing height in Bobcat Blowhole? talk about that a little bit? heads, and that's the kind of data you could never collect without a Aaron: Eighty feet. Devin: Sure, let's talk about that. laser range find- Actually let's start out with a couple er. Devin: I'm looking forward to having of things that just came to mind. one of those on the survey next We're trying to improve the quality of Aaron: summer because there are some our survey and we have a lot of Absolutely. We pretty big domes that need to be engineers involved in the surveys recently used measured in the cave. that we do. We're always kicking laser range find- around ideas about how to improve ers in the Fault Aaron: Yes. There are some large cave survey. Chamber in voids in there... Bobcat Naturally, what it seems to boil down Blowhole, just Devin: Some you can't even see the to is the ability to collect accurate two weekends top of. data quickly... so getting more data ago, to get real more quickly will allow you to repre- accurate ceilings Aaron: O.K. So do you believe, side sent the cave in higher fidelity, shall heights. In fact by side, the laser range finders can we say. Those kinds of devices some of the traverses we surveyed give us numbers similar to a tape? don't exist yet. They are surveying with the lasers as well. Now... how in Wakulla with a radar mounted on do you feel about the accuracy of Devin: A tape? Easily.... especially a sled. You know, we can't afford those on high angle shots for the over longer distances, because at anything like that. Improved survey actual cave survey? longer distances you get tape sag, technology is still pretty far off. I and nobody even tries to compen- believe you and I have even had a Devin: I was very pleased with sate for that. We just accept it as conversation on this topic last sum- them, but what you need to do to part of the survey, and I have a feel- mer. improve the accuracy of the shot is ing that tape sag and the potential to give the laser a target. When we error in a laser range finder are pret- Aaron: I recall that we talked about were surveying with them down in ty comparable. So, I'm comfortable the 3-D mapper used by the Wakulla Belize, the laser would normally be using them. project members. on the point station and the guy would measure back to me - I was Aaron: What about for vertical shots Devin: In the interim, while we wait sketching. I would put my sketch within the survey itself? for those devices to appear commer- book on the station, and he would cially, we have started using some shoot to my sketch book, which was Devin: Having other devices that have definitely wonderfully reflective... just a nice not done improved our accuracy and ability to yellow book and that increased the enough com- collect data that we wouldn't normal- accuracy of the shot tremendously. parisons ly be able to collect accurately Now naturally you can't do some- between laser before. An example is a laser range thing like that when you're shooting and tape on finder. ceiling heights, but even if you have actual vertical a relatively accurate ceiling height, shots, I don't I first used one of these when I was it's a lot better than what we normal- know. I have surveying in Belize in some tremen- ly do. compared laser dously large borehole passage. The to tape on multiple horizontal shots, project lead brought a couple of Aaron: Right. Exactly... and the basic survey shots, and it always these things from the States and we same goes for left and right dis- came out quite comparable, so I could have used them for shots up tances in large passages too. don't know that a vertical shot would to 300' long for distances. Now nat- be that dramatically different. urally we wouldn't do a survey shot Devin: Exactly... and I know for a Maybe if it was an extremely long 300' long: it would be too inaccurate fact that Peter Penczer has brought shot, like a hundred foot shot or on a compass. his own laser range finder the last more there could be a difference... few weeks and was using it in but that's an interesting question you What we typically wound up doing, Memorial Day a few weeks ago to pose: I couldn't really offer an opin- surveying through this borehole, was survey, and he was recording ceiling ion. I would have to just go with, survey shots measured with this heights in there up to 110'. "Yeah, its going to be O.K." Why did laser out to 100' to 125' and we Continued on Page 14 could get very accurate ceiling Aaron: Wow! Caves.com Page 13 you guys have reason to suspect it? Devin: I've been a fan of Compass Devin: That's not the place to use for a number of years. It has its Aaron: I was keeping the book, and them. Otter Case makes a really detractors... For the purpose of I let them use the laser range for good box that those things fit into working to develop maps that are horizontal and of course to get very nicely, and we used those down accurate, given the constraints in left/right and up/downs, but I just in Belize to keep ours protected. which we work - our data collection wasn't comfortable with them doing We were surveying in a river cave, isn't exactly accurate - I don't really it for the 90-degree shots that we so everything got completely have any issues with some of the had. Actually I encouraged them to soaked. complaints that certain people have not do it for any of the high-angle with Compass and the way it closes shots we had... I didn't have any- Aaron: What about the digital incli- loops. thing to base that on really, except nometer? that high-angle shots should be So I've used Compass for a number avoided entirely. Devin: I've not tried one of those, of years and I'm quite comfortable so I don't know how well it might with it, but something that has actu- Devin: Well... the next time you go, work. ally been a nice innovation in the have them do it both ways: tape and process of making cave maps is a laser. Aaron: We had one of those in software application that Ralph Bobcat as well, and again I was real Hartley developed which he calls Aaron: Yeah. Now we did do some reluctant to believe the numbers that Carto. of the shots like that, and in one were coming from it. We went with case we had an error of two inch- the traditional method, but occasion- What Carto allows you to do is es... ally did a digital shot, and in one import the line plot Compass gener- case we did it, we had a forward ates and you can display that line Devin: Over what distance? inclination of about twenty degrees, plot inside Carto. You can also which is about as high as you want import a scanned copy of the cave Aaron: About twenty feet. I think to go. The backsight was giving us sketch - the survey sketch - and if what happens is that the further out like minus 27 degrees, and so you have the stations marked on you get the more error you can get something was obviously wrong. your sketch, which any good sketch- just because of the wobble of the That's when we whipped out this er will do, you can map the stations holder. We tried laying the laser digital inclinometer and he got like in the line plot to the stations drawn down on a backpack to keep it real 24 degrees going forward with it and on the cave sketch and then Carto stationary and then shoot toward a we did the backsight again and got will render or morph that cave reflective surface. A survey book like minus 23 or 24 degrees, so it sketch to fit nicely onto the line plot. works, but you know what works was giving us more consistent num- What you can do using this, is you really well is a piece of calcite bers than the users were giving. It can actually come up one segment [chuckles]... if you happen to have could have been a situation of the of cave sketch at a time with a very one lying around, which we hap- instrument people not being able to nicely laid out working map that pened to have in this cave, but even get their instruments in close enough actually gives something very legible then it was real hard to lock on to to actual station. that surveyors can work with. You the distances over 100' in length. can use it to understand the cave Devin: I'll have to watch for them. I early on in the survey, you don't Devin: Oh. Well, I'll have to keep my haven't even seen them in the flesh have to wait for a final map before eye out for that. We didn't have that yet. you actually get to the see the cave much of a problem in Belize, but we as one consecutive piece of cave. were in very big, wide-open bore- Aaron: I think its something that's You quickly morph something hole. going to have to prove itself before it together in just a matter of hours replaces our current tried and true after you get out of the cave. Carto Aaron: I agree that they have a method, but if the technology can has been a real godsend… it's a place. It's quick and probably accu- come along, then these electronic wonderful tool that Ralph has come rate as long as you can keep the instruments are going to revolution- up with. instrument clean. Now there are ize surveying, as the software pack- some cases where it won't work, but ages and the internet have done. Aaron: I was real impressed with we lucked out in that we had a giant that when I was able to see what room to survey, and it was dry, and a Devin: Oh yeah, definitely. Let's talk you guys were able to do with it in perfect place to use them. Had it a little bit about the software. the Germany Valley survey last sum- been a low stream crawl, then some mer, and we have recently been people would be out a few hundred Aaron: O.K., yeah. using it a lot because we saw just bucks per unit. Continued on Page 15 Caves.com Page 14 how well it worked. It took us a little computer to be able to use it, but clearly see a boulder or the outline bit of time to learn, but we just fol- Java is free so it's not a big deal. of a pit. In our original attempts with lowed John Ganter's tutorial and got You do want to work with John it, we weren't able to keep the reso- started with it. We've found that Ganter's tutorial that he put together; lution very good, but lately we have scanning the sketches at lower dpi that will get you started. Now I have been able to do that. (~100) doesn't give us enough been working with Ralph recently detail. We've also tried at a higher and Ralph is very open to input and Devin: At that's in exporting from dpi of 300, but Carto wouldn't morph suggestions. I've been working with Carto? these scans, and Freehand doesn't him to try to improve the user expe- accept the scans that use up a lot of rience of Carto. I'm a computer sys- Aaron: Yes, exporting from Carto, resolution. I've noticed that the tems engineer professionally and as well as what size to work with in Carto plots you guys make have I've gotten some experience in Freehand. So we're learning as great passage wall detail, and that designing software and user inter- we're going. Can you give us any the stations line up nicely. How do faces and so Ralph has implement- pointers on this? you do this? Also we've had some ed a few of my suggestions which trouble with the correct settings for makes it a lot easier for a user to Devin: I set my dimensions to how I the export file from Carto. Could jump right into Carto, start up a map, want my exported map to appear. you give us some guidance about and begin dropping in the different For instance, if I have a piece of the the dpi scans, the passage snipping, pieces one needs into the map in a entire cave or just a piece of the and how to set Carto for export? much more logical work flow. The cave, I will export it to be a certain user interface is seeing some dimension, maybe 6 inches by 6 Devin: Ralph and I have discussed improvement and enhancement inches. I believe that the default it and agreed that 125-150 dpi is the now, which is something the earlier export in Carto is like 96 dpi, so minimum you want to scan. Anything version really suffered from. because most of my stuff is present- less doesn't capture enough sketch ed on the web, if you look at it in 6 detail to be drawn over later. Aaron: Do you use some kind of inches by 6 inches, it will look pretty sketching or drawing program with good. I haven't really tried to As for snipping (or bounding) the the export from Carto to make a dig- increase the pixel depth for those walls. I generally crop the image ital cave map? who want to zoom in on passage down, but leave some space around detail. So that's a good point; you the passage walls. Then I use the Devin: Yes. I've played around with guys are actually doing some things bounding tool in Carto to eliminate a few of them and since the mid- with it that I haven't bothered to get some of that surrounding space from 90s, I've used Macromedia's around to yet. We know now that the final morph. Ralph seems to take Freehand to draw my digital cave dpi of 300 is probably too much for it one step further, and he "erases" maps. I started doing digital cave the scan detail; however, 180 dpi the graph lines and everything that maps back with the Taylor Run seems to work better. falls outside of the cave walls from Project. I've tried a few others, such his original segment jpeg. That's as Corel Draw, that's what they were Aaron: Now one of the problems how he gets that very clean look on using in Belize. I've also worked with that we had was with the jpeg files. the Memorial Day map. I may do Adobe Illustrator. Those packages The default saving setting was 5, this with my map, but it takes a little have their benefits, but I haven't which appeared to be a medium more time and effort. found anything in them that made it level, but this didn't give us enough worthwhile to move away from detail. So I increased it to 9 or 10. Also, you're correct to trim the Macromedia Freehand, so I continue "ends" of passage segments cleanly. to use that now to do my maps. Devin: By reducing the quality jpeg It helps line them up much more export of 5, you are increasing the accurately and give a cleaner mor- Aaron: I agree. That's what we've compression factor in a jpeg. So phed map. When I export from Carto been doing too; however, my experi- when you begin to compress, you're I usually use dpi, and then export at ence with this is quite limited. Bob throwing away pixels, so that makes a 150 dpi factor. Therefore if I want Kirk and I have been spending our your jpeg a little fuzzy looking. a 7 inch wide print (to fit on 8.5 x 11 time learning how to do this and paper) I print it out at a 7x150 or we've been using Freehand, and Aaron: Yes it did. 1050 pixel width. playing with how to trace the lines, and how to import and export. Devin: By increasing the number, Aaron: Do you know how it works? Something I've found that's really you get a larger file size, but 100 I had to install Sun's Java to get it to critical is to keep control of your kilobyte versus 1 megabyte file work, so is Carto a Java program? number of pixels per unit of meas- size… its well worth it to go with the ure, so that when people zoom in on higher quality. Devin: Yeah, it is a Java program, the cave map, if you want to look at Continued on Page 16 so you need to load Java onto your just one room, you should be able to Caves.com Page 15 function in Compass do you use to Aaron: We're working with Devin: I completely agree. enter foresights and backsights? grayscales, so our file sizes are What I see in Compass is that only even smaller, since they're not color. Aaron: Now let's switch gears back the frontsights can be entered. to Compass… I'm curious if Devin: Going to grayscales you're Compass has the ability to do error Devin: That is the default that definitely saving a lot of space. analysis? you're seeing. As you're in the Project Manager, and you're creating Aaron: Let me tell you what we're Devin: Yes, it does. It has some a new survey, there's a window doing with this: in Bobcat we have a basic tools to allow you to examine there where you type in the name of passage that is typically two feet the survey data you put in and look the survey, look at the bottom of that wide to five feet in width -in some for blunders. window, there's some folder tabs at places its wider - so when you put the bottom of the window, and one that down on the cave map and Aaron: I don't know how that works. of those is "Options". Click on zoom way out (especially in compar- Can you explain it? "Options" and that's how you setup ison to the Fault Chamber), its how you want the editor to display. essentially a line. What I wanted to Devin: Sure, without having it in In there, you can "Turn on be able to see are the relevant fea- front of me, off the top of my head Backsights." Personally, I would like tures of the sketch, like pools of there are a couple of things in there. for that to be the default. water and the arrows indicating One, as Compass is doing loop clo- stream passage, and so if someone sures, it has a method of predicting Aaron: Is there any error analysis zoomed in, I wanted them to be able what the loop closures should be. It possible with the frontsight and to see these features and be able to uses statistics to estimate what the backsight data? see the detail. At 300 dpi, we are amount of the error should be, and it able to do this, but the file size is will go through the survey data and Devin: In addition to the activity getting very large. However, once return a value for the quality of a where Compass processes loops, the digital trace is done, which hap- particular loop. If it falls outside, say there is something that Rick Royer pens with vector graphics that retain one standard deviation, of what turned me onto. There is a tool that their detail down to extremely small Compass calculates the error should will look at the survey data and com- details, the scan and/or Carto plot be, it will report that as "quality of pare the foresights to backsights can be removed and what's left is loop," as a good loop or an O.K. and report errors in excess of some the digital version of the map, which loop. I think if it is over two standard median that you set. I believe the isn't as large. deviations, it reports it as a bad default is greater than two degrees. loop. That feature is actually done So if you have foresights and back- Devin: I would love to see what for you automatically, and you can sights that are off by 2.5 degrees, or you've done, and I'm sure Ralph get to those reports after you greater, they're going to be reported would love to hear that you're using process the survey file, there is a to you. This is a good way to check Carto. menu item you can pull down -I think for the data that was keyed in, its 'View ' Blunders-and it just gen- whether it was keyed in accurately. Aaron: We're pretty gung-ho about erates a text report of the quality of It's a really wonderful thing. this whole Rader's Valley project all the loops that are in there. and we'll probably have a continua- Aaron: Is there any more formal tion of our map in just a couple of Aaron: Is it possible to enter front error analysis available than that? days. So what I learned last sum- sights and back sights in Compass? The foresight data and the backsight mer about the sharing of information data can be thought of as two differ- using Carto and scans of cave Devin: Yes it is. I put that sugges- ent surveys, as you mentioned pre- sketch, added with our enthusiasm tion to Larry a long time ago. People viously, and people would put in level of the group, has really helped were using Compass - early ver- both as different stations and look to keep up the excitement and focus sions of it - to enter front and back- for differences that were apparent in of our cave survey projects. sights, but what they had to do was the line plots. I suppose its possible to enter one shot as a frontsight and to do that and then at the end of Devin: When people get to see the enter a second shot as a backsight, two, long linear sets of data, to look map growing in front of them, it real- and I convinced him to concatenate at the differences between the two ly keeps people involved and excit- all that onto one line. It changed his end points and come up with some ed. data format a little bit and improved measure of error that way. Perhaps his software, and that was back in take the mean of them and find out Aaron: Carto, as far as I'm con- the mid-90's when he did that. the difference the two are from the cerned, has completely revolution- mean. Is there any way of doing ized the cave surveying experience. Aaron: How does that work? What Continued on Page 17 Caves.com Page 16 that? vey [not necessarily cave survey], take all the backsights and build a and closing loops in survey. One of traverse, tie them together, and pres- Devin: In Compass I don't think so. the methods is known as the least ent them and show how one com- I know what you're getting at, and it squares method. The simple pares to the other. From what I sounds like an entirely desirable way approach of taking the average, as know of my Systems Engineering of looking at the data, but I don't I've learned from Larry Fish, results background, error is additive and think Compass has that kind of abili- in apparently destroying the data that each situation where you're record- ty built into it. has errors that you could extract ing a new element of data, you have from the survey data. That's why you to consider all the factors: the envi- Aaron: So what do you do as a never average the foresights and ronment of the shot, the condition of Survey Manager when you backsights of the data; you can lose the equipment, the skill of the sur- encounter survey data that is differ- valuable information about the loop veyor, and consider that in each shot ent by, say, three degrees? closure. those conditions are going to be dif- ferent every time. Devin: [Chuckling] I scold the guy Aaron: That sounds like it makes who gave me that data… One of the sense. But, not talking about loops, Aaron: Coding those variables into a aspects of a survey is that the sur- instead talking about linear surveys formal study design would be a pret- veyors have to live by the rules, and where a little bit of a difference in ty tall order. the rules are that we accept no error of the user and/or error of the greater than 2 degrees of error for instruments will grow great devia- Devin: The cave is always changing, any shot, and if they can't overcome tions - in three dimensions - perhaps the equipment could be getting less that, then there are some extenuat- taking the passage 50 feet to the and less accurate, and the surveyor ing circumstances where I will allow east, when the passage should have is definitely getting more and more it to slide. For instance, if it's a high- actually been going in a different tired. angle shot I will increase the amount direction. It seems to me that if you of error they are allowed to have. I can enter both foresight and back- Aaron: Perhaps the data could be started doing that after a conversa- sight, then at the end of a linear set extracted from controlled environ- tion I had with you last summer, of data, you should be able to find ments, like survey courses on the where you convinced me of the wis- out how far apart the ending points surface. dom of that… for safety reasons in are. Maybe it's just something that very vertical situations. I mean I had can be done in Compass by treating Devin: Yeah, and I think the way you thought about it before, but after the foresight and backsight data as would have to do it is from massive hearing you say it, I agreed, "He has two different surveys and using the amounts of data and do statistical a point." Compass Measure Distance tool to analysis of the data. find out how far apart they are. Aaron: Yeah… environmental con- Aaron: Right now WVACS is in the siderations… like major vertical Devin: Any shot you take is bound to process of developing a survey exposure. have a good chance of having error course on their property in in it. You could do as you said and Greenbrier County, WV, and I think Devin: Exactly. tie the surveys together at one point, that is something they might be inter- and then examine how far off the two ested in doing because people will Aaron: So do you know if anyone end points are from one another, but be surveying that course to check has done some work in the area of I don't think you're going to see con- their instruments, to check them- foresight and backsight error com- sistent results from survey to survey. selves, and to practice. parison? If you enter the foresight and you enter the backsight, and Aaron: I wonder if there would be Devin: If they record their data con- look at them and compare them and any factors for which there would be sistently, you can study that over can be notified when there's a differ- consistent results. Perhaps factors time. ence, then that's great. If the data like surveyor, instrument, passage are both good, then all you really type, or length of traverse would Aaron: That would be a really inter- had to enter were the foresights (or show up as consistently affecting the esting thing to work on. Currently the the backsights), but if there's some linear survey error. It certainly seems importance of foresights and back- measure - I think what we're talking like an area of study where it would sights is in the surveying itself, to about is systematic error - of the dif- be worthwhile to try to extract out check that the collected data is close ferences, then maybe that can be what those factors are. for the reported values. If you're used to adjust the survey. Why not greater than 2 degrees, take another just take the average? Devin: I would agree. That would be look at it and see if the data can be a really nice feature if any survey made to be in better agreement. I'm Devin: There are entire books writ- application could do that: take all the ten on methods for conducting sur- foresights and build a traverse, then Continued on Page 20 Caves.com Page 17 Middle Earth was recently discovered in Greenbrier County WV, and with that has come many great sur- prises. The area in these photos is named Helms Deep, which was pho- tographed in March 03’ by Ed McCarthy. Exploration continues with over 3,900’ of cave mapped and a depth of 378’.

Raders Valley Project/West Slope Project---We are actively seeking cavers interested in surveying, dig- ging, and documenting many of the known caves in what we have termed the Western Slope Project Area. It basically claims a stake from Williamsburg, WV to Alderson, WV and contains a bunch of caves needing documentation. There is also another area near Raders Valley that holds promise of a substantial cave system and remains largely unchecked. Project weekend have been set as the 2nd weekend of each month. If interested contact Mark Passerby at: 517-896-4376 or [email protected]

Caves.com Page 18 Caves.com Page 19 thinking that there is more informa- Germany Valley again this summer. Digital/Laser Inclinometer tion that can come out of the collec- tion of both fore and backsights, and Aaron: [Chuckling] Alright sounds that's why I had originally asked good. Nice talking with you. about it. Devin: You too, take care. Devin: You're right. I had kicked around a similar idea last summer in Germany Valley and it really does We had a chance on 4/5/03 to test boil down to collecting a lot of data the Digital Inclinometer and doing statistical analysis to be Digital Surveying www.mytoolstore.com/checkpnt/680.html able to find differences in what and have found it to be one highly by Mark Passerby you're seeing. There are just so accurate device! Instead of +2 many variables in there from caver Perhaps nothing is changing degrees you can lock it on the sta- to caver, instrument to instrument, faster in caving than the sur- tion and get a reading of +2.4 and cave to cave. degrees. The issue of settling is not veying process. Every part an issue actually although you may Aaron: I wonder if the electronic from the data collection to the have to wait 2 seconds or so for it to instruments - as they become more final map is and has under- settle i.e. between +2.4 & +2.7. In and more available - if they would gone major digital changes, other words the unit doesn't bounce help, at least in the data collection, if and the movement is rapid between say 2 and 5 degrees....only they could remove some of the vari- the tenths have to settle out. ables and reduce the error. towards even better, faster, and more useful processes. Water Resistance---I simply used sil- Devin: That's possible, but to be Here is a list of some of the cone to seal around all areas that honest, if you want to improve the things that perhaps will could be a potential problem i.e. accuracy of the data, the compass is change the way many of us around the rim of the LCD readout the last place you would want to try, area, around the plastic shield that because the compass is now the survey. surrounds the LCD readout, and most accurate and consistent of the Disto Laser Measure around the 9 volt battery door. I then whole equation. What you want to put it in its case(not waterproof) and do is decrease the error introduced carried it into the cave. When the by the caver or decrease the size of Range of measurement: from 0.2 survey began I dropped the unit into the error caused by the environment. up to 200m (0.7 up to 650 ft) with a ballistics pouch that hangs around an accuracy of +-3mm (0.1 in) my neck while surveying and used Aaron: Sometimes the error caused www.disto.com the unit without removing my gloves by the environment is reduced when so it suffered a bit of moisture and cavers use new clothing to keep mud there. After the survey I threw themselves warmer and thus are NOTE: We have used the basic unit the unit in the ballistics pouch into better able to function. Also staying for many trips now, and are com- my pack and ended up throwing my in shape and eating well before pletely satisfied with the sons soaking wet gloves on top of going on trips can help the performance. that. The unit during the trip out caver/surveyor better handle the sit- thus was exposed to a substantial uation and thus give better accuracy amount of moisture and showed no to the survey. It's interesting to think sign of damage. Sitting here on my about anyway. desk it is covered with a substantial amount of dried mud from the trip Aaron: Well, we've been at this for a and still works perfectly. FINAL while now, and we've touched on a TEST: The final test I just finished lot of important topics, so maybe it's and that is a complete submersion about time to wrap things up. in my sink in full running water.....and the unit is just fine and unaffected by Devin: Yeah, I think you probably the direct water pouring continuously have enough to write a little some- over it.(make certain to seal with sili- thing by now. cone before trying to wash or bring in cave) Aaron: O.K. Thanks for you time. Simple to Operate---This is where Devin: It's been a wonderful chat, and I look forward to seeing you in Continued on Page 21 Caves.com Page 20 this things wins out hands down. finished unit. It will be mounted at es: I purchased a Bushnell Digital a point above the inclinometer so Compass to check for accuracy and 1) Using thumb turn on the digital that it is not effected by the unit. was not pleased with the results so it readout and leave thumb in place on Then using the line laser to project a did not go in-cave with us. I have this button while targeting the next perfect vertical line down the tried others and my conclusion is station passage this will be aligned to the digital compasses aren't there yet. station and the azimuth read. How 2) On the back of the unit is a brass accurate will this be? Manifold 5.5 srew that you twist to turn on the Exactly the accuracy of the compass laser then place the center of the itself even on a high high angle “by far the best GIS investment for brass screw on the survey station shot. The laser line projected down the money..handsdown”...Morris Hall and target the next station the passage is quite impressive and highly visible. The unit will be My limited experience with GIS soft- 3) Keeping your eye on the placed on the survey point and read ware at first made Manifold and laser...steady it on the next station quickly for the vertical shot then other GIS programs seem too diffi- and using your thumb press the but- brought down to a horizontal cult, but 20 minutes into using ton to "hold" the reading(note: this position. At this point the line gener- Manifold and I was convinced other- also turns on the backlight so read- ator is effortlessly slid onto the wise. ing is quick and simple and accurate adapter and line aligned with the One of the most important features in tenths). The whole process is real next survey station. The Eclipse is the georegistering, which can quick, real comfortable and real or another similiarly accurate easy to function much like Cartos. Using accurate. read compass is then read for this a working map can be quickly azimuth. All of this from a comfort- registered and redrawn by Manifold Laser Line Function---The optional able reading position and in my to align with the line plot generated Lens Adapter Base and the Line opinion what will be a high degree of by programs such as Compass or Lens are MUST HAVES as well. consistent accuracy. NOTE: Winkarst. More on how this inexpen- Here is how these will be used on mounting the compass is something sive GIS software performs and can our next trip. The Brunton 8099 we still must do and I will post aid in the study of a cave project Eclipse is the compass we have pictures of the finished unit on the area will be in our next issue. chosen to test and it hopefully website when it is complete. http://www.manifold.net will become the centerpiece of our A Note concerning digital compass-

Caves.com Page 21 Searching for Maxwelton gravity traverses each produced a attempt to Sink Cave–2002 Style 30- to 40- microgal anomaly (micro- figure out the gal is a unit of measurement of the direction of by Jeff Bray (Photos by Jeff Bray earth’s gravitational force) that could water flow unless noted) be correlated to each other. and get some scale, (NOTE: This article was written in, as well as to let’s say, “real time.” As the project see if there progressed, so did this article, with was some portions being written both before passage and after the actual events. Please down there. keep this in mind when reading this The scale article, one year in the making!) ideas didn’t Maxwelton Sink Cave has work, but I eluded many since its closure in the believe I was early 1970s. Since the WVCC- Bearings were also taken between able to make out a rock that attempted purchase had failed, the the anomalies that seemed to match appeared to be a 3-foot-tall piece of next attempts to get into the cave at a few points on the map along breakdown. Using this, I estimate had to take place away from the that passage. The decision was the passage to be about 10 feet in original Cove Creek Entrance. Dave made to drill an exploratory well at a height, where it is traversable, and Scott has land that overlies the cave site along those anomalies to see if about 6 feet in width. Water was further to the south of the original we would in fact intersect cave pas- found to be flowing north, into the entrance, so his property was target- sage. hillside. We appeared to have ed for the next attempts. Many digs On July 24, 2002, Tuckwiller drilled in the eastern wall. Carroll were conducted from 2000 till 2002 Drilling came out and performed the Bassett and Dave Cowan helped at various locations on this property. drilling. We expected to hit the cave with the video shoot, and we came One, costing over 1000 dollars that between 60-100 feet, based on the away with a nice video. made use of a trackhoe from Union anomaly and drill hole data from Dave Scott, Bill Liebman, Concrete, still provided no cave, another nearby project. Good and myself continued the microgravi- although it did have some airflow at bedrock was hit at a depth of 15 ty traverses on August 12 and 13, one time. feet, and a 2002. We conducted two more–both During the winter and spring small void was down in the sinkhole below the well. of 2002, myself along with Dave hit at 30 feet. Both of these lines produced anom- Scott, Tom Malabad, Bill Liebman, Then nothing. alies as well, with the line higher on and Ed Swepston conducted a At 100 feet, we the hill producing roughly a 10- decided to go microgal anomaly, and the lower line 20 more feet. producing about a 15-microgal At 105 feet, we anomaly. I believe this is the lower hit a void that passage seen in the well, and the appeared small, higher passage has ended in break- then we stopped at 125 feet. We down in the hill. I also think the then sent a camera down the hole to sinkhole we ran the lines through is see what we had. The void at 30 filled with breakdown–I don’t suspect feet appeared to possibly be a small much solid rock. The test for these window to a cave passage. We con- lines will be conducted on August series of three microgravity traverses tinued down, and at 105 feet, we hit 14, 2002 when we bring back the (a geophysical method that can the larger void. But instead of going trackhoe from Union Concrete to dig identify minute changes in density) back into limestone like we originally us another hole, about 200 feet on a part of the property that, after thought, we actually drilled down a north of the first one from the Spring being surveyed by Dave Scott from wall, with rock on one side of the of 2001. the Cove Creek Entrance to his borehole, and void on another, for The trackhoe dug for one property, seemed to overlie a section most of the next 20 feet. It and a half days, leaving behind a of cave called Heaven. This section appeared we had found good cave deep hole (about 20 feet deep and of cave ended in breakdown, and by passage, with airflow traveling down 20 feet in diameter), with two good our best guesses and the help of the hole, and flowing water, about an blowholes at the bottom. One blow- some of the folks that had been in inch deep and clear at the bottom. hole was surrounded on three sides the cave for the original survey, was Also, the rock dust appeared to have by very solid rock, but the other a passage with dimensions of about been sucked into the cave. blowhole, on the north side of the 10 feet by 10 feet. The three micro- A video camera was sent down the hole the following day to Continued on Page 23 Caves.com Page 22 Continued from Page 22 more work was being done on this, a ting off circulation to his arm. A res- slot leading to more cave was found cue then commenced. Dave stayed by Chris Printz, and opened (found with Carroll and I went out to get on September 14-15, 2002). This help and coordinate. Bill Balfour, continued, so the slot (now called Daryl Trusty, and others helped use the Printz Pinch) was enlarged so two car jacks, under Carroll’s direc- everyone could fit (September 21). tion, to hoist the rock enough to free On September 21 and 22, a Carroll’s arm, and he was able to great deal of rain came through the come out on his own. But this inci- area and caused a major rock/mud dent did end the exploration for the collapse in the open pit. The group day; still no one had made it into the came out of the cave on the 22nd large passage below. just before a great deal of mud col- Digging then continued to lapsed near the entrance. This enlarge the entrance, and then to Photo by Bill Liebman ended work for a few days. take out any rocks that may be a pit, was all breakdown, with cave for- Carroll Bassett along with danger, even if it was questionable. mations, and moist and sometimes Dave Scott cleared out the mess On one of these days, Saturday, wet rocks. The rock was dipping that had fallen on September 29, October 12, 2002, a large group was more this direction also. It is now and the two, along with myself, fin- digging. Carroll Bassett was outside thought (at least by me) that the ished cleaning the open pit on the with Tim Bleech, Pam Tegelman, cave lies about 10 feet down and 30th, intending to also construct a and Vonny Droms. Dave Cowan maybe about 5 feet over (south) lean-to which would help keep more and myself were digging inside the from this blowhole. After a meeting debris from scaring diggers. We entrance, making it a hands-and- between myself, Dave Scott, and Bill went into the cave, and once inside, knees crawl. Dave Scott, Tom Liebman, we decided to commence noticed that things were not too bad. Malabad, and John Kerr were inside digging on site Thursday, August 22, We brought the drill in the cave to digging and securing. The latter 2002 and Friday the 23rd. We’ll be the last spot we had left the week three decided to attempt to drop into using a D-8 bulldozer and the exca- prior, and set off 3 straw-poppers, the larger passage. Being a smaller vator, and I think if we move the pit later dubbed “the money shot.” This team, they were able to squeeze over 5 feet, terrace it, and dig down was very productive, and opened through the spot that was thought to 10 feet, we’ll be in something. The this slot large enough for all of us to require a cable ladder. It was tough hole was now 40 feet deep, and fit. Carroll dropped down, and found to get back up, but they made it roughly 30 feet in diameter. a hole that continued down. He back up. But before coming up at Also worth noting, when we slithered down it, noticed a forma- around 2 pm, they were able to con- got these two blowholes in our new tion. I followed and soon the two of firm that this was in fact the Heaven pit, all the air that was blowing in the us were in a comfortable room (only Passage in Maxwelton Sink Cave. old trackhoe dig and the well comfy due to size, not lack of break- They spotted footprints, survey sta- stopped blowing. Also, an air trace down). We heard a stream flowing tions (S167 and S180), and the well was done from the well to the pit and in the distance, and looked over a that we had dug! Everyone was it took eight minutes for the positive mud mound and saw a large pas- excited, and we stabilized the result. sage (possibly 15 feet tall, 7 feet entrance after they had come out The dig continued by hand wide) below us! We had intersected and celebrated. after the trackhoe and dozer left. a passageway with large breakdown A meeting took place on the Work was started before OTR with and a stream, via the passage’s ceil- night of the 13th to figure out what various high points along the way. A ing! My light was going out, and we was next. We decided that a project number of people, mostly the needed some vertical gear, so we would be set up, a lease with the Monroe County Cave Survey crowd left. We called Dave Scott (who had WVCC would be written, and that we along with Carroll Bassett, Dave to leave for a while) and told him to would assess our current entrance, Scott, Dave Cowan, and others, also plan to cave the next night after stabilize, and construct the culvert helped out during this time. We work. entrance. While we were talking began to use the straw-poppers to So on the evening of about these, the following day on the blast the tighter spots, with the inten- October 1, 2002, Dave Scott, Carroll 14th, we decided to try to learn more tion of making the passage big Bassett, and myself entered the about the void in the well at 30 feet enough for the larger folks in the cave around 7:30 pm to rig a cable down. We got more video, much group to fit. A pit was found near the ladder and descend into the large better video, and have decided to hole at the base of the open pit (now passage below. At about 8 pm, send the small group back into the the entrance since there actually is while Carroll was climbing down cave once more to see if they see some cave there). This pit went through the money shot, a large rock the well in any upper leads in the down about 15 to 20 feet, but while (about 1000 lbs.) came down on his Continued on Page 24 arm, pinning his right side, and cut- Caves.com Page 23 cave, and maybe survey any upper some colder temperatures that had sure we’ve provided many minutes leads, tying into the well inside the taken over the area recently. The of entertainment for them since we cave. This is to happen on Monday, headwall still looked good too. started. October 21, 2002. The next day Dave Cowan It’s now been almost a year This actually didn’t happen brought his backhoe over so that we since that very frozen day that Tom until Saturday, November 25, 2002 would have it ready to possibly dig Malabad and myself stayed on the due to some technical delays. Tom down the well to the 30-foot void property freezing our, well, you Malabad, Tim Bleech, and Dave during the winter. We are consider- know, off until midnight, collecting Scott entered the cave with Carroll ing the lower void and pit entrance microgravity data. But it seems as if Bassett, Dave Cowan, Pam closed for now, except for one trip that late evening, and all the other Tegelman, Kristen Matak, Bill into the upper room that was found long days and nights put in by many Balfour, and Jeff Bray on the sur- before the Printz Pinch to see how will finally pay off. Special thanks go face. Thanks to a mud plug at the close it is to the upper gypsum pas- out to the following for all their help: 42-foot mark in the well, we could sage. Tom Malabad, Dave Scott, Tim not drop a phone line all the way to The group took Bleech, Chris Printz, Carroll Bassett, the bottom passage as planned. But Thanksgiving off, and digging with Dave Cowan, John Kerr, Bill Balfour, we did drop it into the 30-foot void, Dave’s backhoe commenced on Bill Liebman, Pam Tegelman, Pat along with a strobe light built by Monday, December 2 and lasted Smith and many others, including Carroll, and a loud and annoying pretty much 3 days. We dug down others from the Monroe County device we borrowed from Ed and exposed pinnacles of limestone Cave Survey who have taken time Swepston that we called the mine with deeper pits of dirt and clay. The from our normal projects in Monroe screamer. well, now plugged by a contraption County to work on this. Stay tuned The group ended up surveying 500 constructed by Dave (which later for updates as the crew continues to feet, starting at the end of a higher proceeded to find its way down the make this cave accessible for every- well when the rope broke, joining a one again. long metal rod which was used to unplug the mud plug at the 42-foot depth and which had fallen the day before), was found to have actually intersected bedrock in one of the pinnacles, at about 5-6 feet in depth. There is a deeper pit of clay about 7- 10 feet below the surface. Digging will now continue during the winter here. I’m sure the folks working up in the airport’s control tower will be glad to hear this news, since I’m

gypsum passage and surveying all the way out. No connection was made to the well in a higher void, but good data was collected and corre- lated with the microgravity lines and surface survey to give us definite locations for all the various surveys done with this project. They also took pictures of the scary rocks in the breakdown section. One section of the passage on the way in to the main cave had filled with some smaller rocks, but no catastrophic collapse had taken place, despite Caves.com Page 24 Maxwelton Sinks Cave; Cave and environmental concern. The Sink Cave. Digging’s Price, Lessons and amount that the GVEDC agreed to 105 feet straight down is a very Rewards pay to the new owners, which was long way to dig especially when it is essentially state money, was more mostly solid limestone so it was by Carroll Bassett than three times what they had paid decided to try a second dig with the at the original auction 6 months ear- track hoe. A spot about 100 feet Foreword lier. south and downhill from our drilled The jubilation of the new owners hole that had indicated passage in I began thinking about this report at their windfall was to be short lived the previous micro-gravity study was soon after the event described here- however. Apparently state law dic- chosen. in. Feeling that a brief history leading tates that any development with pub- Digging proceeded well and at 38 up to the event was important to lic money requires environmental feet down from the upper edge of understand the circumstances, I impact studies before transactions the hole we found breakdown with have included an extremely abbrevi- can be finalized. The results of the good air flow. Being at the limit of ated version. The conclusions on the study indicated that development the reach of the track hoe we began events are mostly my own. might directly threaten at least two digging by hand in a mostly horizon- Discussion and responses are endangered species. These results tal direction following the air. encouraged and important to this may have led to a suspected with- Over the next several weekends community. My goal is to, in some drawal for political reason the an extremely dedicated dig team, of small way, make digging safer. GVEDC takeover. Consequently, the which I was a member, made excel- owner was alienated from the caving lent progress. Traditional digging A Short History community due to some kind of envi- techniques were used to remove ronmental trump card to ruin their small rock and dirt while micro-blast- The original entrance to this cave very profitable deal. This, of course, ing was used to open spaces was at the end of a blind karst valley was not the case and destroyed our between the large breakdown fed by a small stream which had chances to acquire access to the blocks. This technique also helped to been dug open in the late 60's only property at the old entrance. reduce rock blocking our progress to to be permanently flooded shut in With no chance of gaining access manageable sizes. By the end of 1971 by hurricane Agnes. Before to the original entrance and most of September we had dug our way this unfortunate event however over the original survey data either lost or approximately 70 feet to the top of 10 miles of passage had been sur- of questionable accuracy, any hope relatively large passage with a veyed and mapped with many more to gain an entrance to the cave stream running through it. leads left to explore. seemed unlikely until Dr. Dave Scott With the auction of the property in purchased property he believed In the Blink of an Eye the late 90's, the West Virginia Cave overlaid sections of the cave. He Conservancy (WVCC) began a diffi- expressed an interest in trying to On the evening of Oct. 1, Dr. cult and frustrating series of negotia- gain access to the cave below and Dave Scott, Jeff Bray, and myself, in tions with the new owners, an invest- digs were undertaken both manually a state of high expectation, prepared ment group who planned to develop and with mechanized equipment (i.e. to enter for the first time in 30 years the remaining property. After a verbal track hoe, which was financed by Dr. what we believed to be Maxwelton agreement was arrived with the new Scott). These digs were frustratingly Sink Cave . I took the lead and on owners, a survey was completed on unsuccessful and hope of opening our way in disturbed something the approximately 5 acre piece com- the cave waned until Jeff Bray start- which unleashed an avalanche of prising the bottom of the karst valley, ed studying the area for micro-gravi- rock upon myself. After kicking a most of which had been designated ty anomalies. His work indicated number of smaller rocks off my legs I as flood plain and undevelopable passage at a number of locations realized that my right arm and knee under FEMA regulations. Upon and a six inch test well was drilled at were pinned by what I was soon to entering into an agreement with the one of the most promising spots. A realize was a 1,000 pound plus slab Greenbrier Valley Economic modified black and white surveil- of breakdown. Pressure on my right Development Corporation (GVEDC), lance camera was lowered into the knee was not severe but I was a state funded entity created to bring well and voids encountered at 30 unable to move it; pressure on my industry into the area, the new own- and 105 feet were remotely video right arm between my elbow and ers abandoned on their agreement taped. The 30 foot void did not seem shoulder was extreme. My disbelief with WVCC. particularly promising but the 105 at the predicament very soon gave A new round of negotiations with foot void contained larger passage way to the harsh reality of my situa- the GVEDC produced another verbal and a stream flowing almost due tion. No amount of effort that I made agreement but this time the sur- north. This corresponded with the even began to move the rock pin- veyed property was to be donated to existing map of the cave to indicate ning me and although I could move the WVCC in return for public we had probably drilled into the acknowledgment of their generosity “Heaven“ passage of Maxwelton Continued on Page 26 Caves.com Page 25 my right forearm and fingers my weight of the slab onto them. We recovery agreed on about six entire right arm was becoming pro- realized we would need a second months. Given the rate of recovery gressively and ominously numb. jack, one for raising the slab by my thus far I would say they were right Luckily I remained conscious and feet and holding it up and the sec- on target and I am very grateful. Jeff went outside to call for help ond to slide it off my arm. A second As a result of this incident I have while Dave stayed with me. My arm jack quickly arrived. By this time the had a fair amount of time to consider being subjected to so much pressure call for more cavers to help had many of the aspects of it and have became the priority and we called for been answered, and Mike Corbett come to some conclusions I hope the screw jack and handle from my took up the position above my head might be useful to others. Toyota pickup to be brought in. It where Dave had previously been. soon arrived and with my free left I positioned the second jack with The Scary Truth? hand I placed it just above my right my left hand as in the previous shoulder while Dave cranked the attempt to free my arm. Mike Dig long enough and something is handle from his position in the tight cranked the handle until the jack going to fall on you! passage about three feet above me. made solid contact with the passage If you are VERY LUCKY you will Positioned horizontally between the wall and the slab. Dave then started simply crawl out from under it or wall of the passage and the rock pin- cranking up the slab at my ankles push it off of you with no ill effects ning my arm the jack now shifted the and within a minute or two I was other than a bad moment. rock slightly putting greater pressure able to move my right knee from the If you are JUST LUCKY, someone on my right knee. Backing off the space it was trapped in. Mike then will be able to help get you out and jack returned the rock to its original carefully began to crank more on his you will recover EVENTUALLY...... position relieving the added pressure end and within another minute I was If you are NOT SO LUCKY, you on my knee but my arm was still able to drag my arm from the con- will be rescued but will sustain per- badly pinned. We realized that to striction. manent injury to one degree or free my arm we would have to chock I had been pinned for an hour and another, possibly after a long and the slab somewhere down by my a half but it felt more like a week as I miserable struggle involving many ankles but to access them Dave pushed myself up from the semi others. would have to pass over me and the prone position I had been in. At the If you are UNLUCKY you will DIE, slab on top of me. Four feet directly point when I was again standing the maybe after a long and miserable above the the slab was another 200 chilled blood trapped in my arm and struggle by yourself or with others pound slab hanging vertically and now circulating through me lowered trying to help you but you will be held in place at its upper end by the my body temperature to the point dead and your rescuers, friends and breakdown that made up the ceiling, that I began to shiver uncontrollably family will suffer. Would a quick not an easy choice but at this point and I could barely catch my breath, death help here? Not anyone else seemingly the only option. instant hypothermia. The shivering but you. Summoning up a good deal of subsided after about a minute and I I wouldn't deny this before the courage as well as the aid of the crawled another ten feet and rested accident if asked but I wouldn't have appropriate spirits Dave made his as Daryl Trusty, caver/paramedic, written this then either. So if this is move and made it across the slab checked me out. I got the “good to the truth, and it is for me now, was I without further deterioration of the go” and mostly under my own power in denial or just ignorant? Will this be situation. My arm now was com- crawled the last forty feet to the true for you after an incident or is it pletely numb and yet extremely entrance where a helpful boost true for you now after reading this? If painful. It seemed to be dying and I popped me out. I had made it out not true to you now, are you in deeply mourned its apparent pass- but the struggle was far from over. denial and if so why would anyone ing. Almost four months later nerve want to cave or dig with you? These Having made it across the slab, function has returned to my right questions are rhetorical and need to Dave became energized with opti- hand to allow simple grasping be answered privately first and then mism. I think this was a turning point motions and slow typing (definitely maybe discussed with others. At this for both of us. Even though I was faster than one hand typing). To get point I believe that these are the not yet free the problem and its dan- to this point I have undergone facts and they need to be faced. gers seemed suddenly more defined painful nerve studies, acupuncture, In my mind facing these facts has and the solution seemed within our osteopathic manipulation, STEMS not eliminated digging for me but it grasp. Dave placed the the jack treatments and masses of physical has convinced me that we need to under the slab and raised it slightly. therapy. I list these things only to be prepared as best as we can to Attempts to chock up the slab did give an idea of the repercussions of deal with these incidents quickly. We not work however, the available this incident. Although a serious situ- need to have some plan in place rocks and the geometry of the the ation, it could have been a lot worse. before an emergency. space he attempted to fill with them I consider myself lucky to have not were incompatible, they slid out from been hurt any more than I was. under the slab as he lowered the Initial projections by my doctors for Continued on Page 27 Caves.com Page 26 So It Happens and Someone is not the dig where it may be needed through sheer stubbornness was VERY LUCKY quickly. If you need something quick- able to maintain my commitment to ly you'll need it that much more. free myself. Conversations about In any dig if there is a collapse, These tools are for dealing with how bad things look are counter pro- shift, etc. and someone is trapped, rock and in the case of an engulf- ductive to someone who needs help, time will be of the essence especial- ment buried by loose materials, the but your patient may pick up on your ly if they are pinned or otherwise in victim is more likely to suffocate from fear in ways that are more subtle. If close contact with the passage. “Self lack of air or an inability to breathe possible this should be guarded rescue” should start immediately by because of compression from the against. What is required is a kind of your party as well as alerting others engulfing materials. Obviously in professional “can do” attitude outside the cave/dig to a possible these situations you will only have at grounded in competence. That confi- callout. If you have been digging for most a few minutes to act before the dence experience yields. Fear has any length of time you have probably incident becomes fatal. Engulfment no place in rescue only because it already performed some small self should be carefully guarded against tends to degrade I.Q. and erode the rescue but do you have available as it is most often fatal. necessary confidence a patient equipment for the probable Commercial excavators are bound needs; concern on the other hand is inevitability of a more serious by many safety rules as a result of the reason anyone gets rescued, a event?. Nearby? Prudence would hundreds of fatalities from engulf- thin and difficult line to walk. put some thought into what you ment incidents. I hope this has been of some use might do well before an incident and Since diggers have higher risk to you, my apologies for stating the have ready at least some gear and than the general caving population obvious if it has seemed that way. expertise to deal with the problem (excluding divers) it would also seem My intent was to share my experi- quickly. reasonable that they should gain ence and conclusions with you in the Besides the normal tools of the some cave rescue knowledge and hope that my words might spare trade, i.e. dig bars, buckets, shovels, certainly some practical first aid someone this ordeal. hammers etc., I would have nearby training to offset this risk. If you find DIG SAFE! what I am calling a “Crunch Pack”. yourself needing to call for help in a This would consist of a durable bag dig accident the combination of res- *Larry Fisher has made up 100 of containing at least but not limited to cue training and digging skills seems these oak wedges which are avail- the following: far more likely to lead to a good out- able as a service to the digging and 2 small mechanical screw jacks come. Besides, the rescue commu- cave rescue community at cost for with handles found in small cars nity will gain from your participation $1 each plus shipping. Call 304-497- and light trucks. Small hydraulic and I believe you will to too. I know 4311 for details. jacks do not operate well in all posi- that the people that responded to my tions so they should be avoided. An incident were far better diggers than After word exception to this would be a “port-a- rescuers and had I not been able to Since the events of 10/1/02 there power” set which uses a remote direct my own rescue the outcome have been 2 trips into what is indeed pump. These tend to be large and might not have been as favorable. If Maxwelton Sink Cave so all our not as dependable as mechanical nothing else it would have taken efforts have not been in vain. We are jacks but they can do some amazing much longer which in my case might working on a new and more stable things in a small space. have led to further damage to my entrance at which time, hopefully 20 wooden wedges. A good size right arm. This is debatable of later this year, the cave will at last would be 3” wide by 8” long by 1” course and by no means meant as be open. thick and made from oak*. These criticism. I was really glad they were wedges will allow shimming and there. wedging rock that may be unstable. This leads me to the last big point Cool Link They also can back up progress I want to make in this paper and that made with jacks and be used to is in what cave rescue circles refer favorably position jacks when jacking to as “psychological considerations”. surfaces are slightly out of parallel. After I realized just how serious a sit- They can be used as cribbing when uation I was in, I became extremely stacked in “opposition” to them- focused on figuring out how to solve selves (thin end on fat end). my dilemma. In retrospect this Speleogenesis and I would encourage the reader to seems like a defense mechanism Evolution of Karst play with these tools and feel free to and a good one at that. The greatest add any other equipment they think threat to that focus was the look of Aquifers important to this short list. This is fear in the eyes of my rescuers in A great virtual scientific meant as only a minimum but bear the early stages. When I encoun- journal in mind that if the “crunch pack” gets tered this I could feel my resolve too big it may not always make it to weaken quite noticeably and only http://www.speleogenesis.info Caves.com Page 27 Millenium Camping cave water. We have a one hundred by Terry Byland cd music systems that bounce the sound off the wall (Picture two on the right). We have leveled all the Every cave is different and the trails, put in steps and built up walks exploration is different. So the way ways with stonewalls. The Glacier you are able to camp will vary also. heights being the more luxurious In Scott Hollow we have what we area have cobblestone walkways. call an advance camping system. We call it Millennium camping. We We use a side passage as a are fortunate in that the two-mile trek bathroom. We have a gallon bucket to camp is big borehole so trekking we fill with dirt and take with us to to camp is relatively easy, affording the bathroom. Maybe someday we us the opportunity to take whatever two-burner propane stove for boiling will have a whole new floor built in we want to camp as you will see in water and scrambling eggs in the there. The cave actually does real the pictures. morning. On the right we have two well on handling the problem. propane ovens. This has changed camp cooking a lot. We cook steaks, We have only two rules. One is chicken, pizza, biscuits, lasagne, everybody has to bring in a propane potpies, and chocolate chip cookies. tank and no muddy clothes touch The ovens get pretty hot so some anything. At the end of a hard week- put their wet clothes on top to dry. I end of digging, blasting, surveying, found out the hard way they can get or bolt climbing we retreat to our too hot as it melted my poly pro. camp for food and dry clothes. After dinner we crash into the chairs for We all have picked out our own liv- an evening of enjoying tunes, talking ing quarters. On both sides of the and some engage in a game of room are hills. We named one chess. As our new discoveries con- “GLACIER HEIGHTS” and the other tinue to happen we will eventually is” THE HEIGHTS”. The floor around have to move our camp further in the living room we call the ghettos. Lets start out with the living room, creating camp 2 which will probably We all have an air mattress and which is the first thing you see as be much more primitive. In the mean sleeping bag. Well, except Jeralin you enter our camp. The chair on time I will sit in my lounge chair eat- Molinaro from New Jersey. We call the left is a blow up chair we brought ing a chocolate chip cookie while lis- her sweet pea because she has in. These are the easiest to transport tening to Pink Floyd enjoying our three air mattresses. Some of us and the most comfortable. Many of Millennium camping. nights after a hard caving trip some have our own clothesline and plastic have fallen asleep in these. But most containers to keep clothes and other have felt material on them, which will supplies dry. We keep all these get moldy really quick. To fix the things up at camp for months. As problem temporarily we have cov- long as you keep them sealed tight ered them with plastic. But nobody they will be fine. likes fungus in camp.

As you can see from the pic- ture we have a couple of fold up chairs we hauled in. They hold up great and are very comfortable. In the center we have made a coffee table out of PVC pipe and plastic tarp. Not pictured is a chair that was made out of PVC pipe and an air mattress. The chair is a PVC pipe frame that supports half of an air At just 10.2 ounces the Petzl Stop is mattress so you can recline. a great device for many vertical Next we go to the kitchen. We pitches. The gated eye allows We light the room up with three took an ally way and leveled it out threading of rope without removing propane lanterns. We call them the and built countertops. On the left we the device from the rope. Available three suns. We have built a filter built two flat level shelves covered online at http://www.caves.com/imo with plastic. In the middle we have system for water so we can use the Caves.com Page 28 In a feature article in our last issue the result of making it less likely to but is easily mastered with a mini- by Scott McCrea titled “Danger: open inadvertently. This adjustment mum of practice and adds another Don’t Feed the Micro Rack” we is quite easily made to your Micro- level of safety when negotiating a lip, received a response from Carroll Rack without disassembly. generally accepted to be the riskiest Bassett of BMS Rescue. BMS Essentially all that is required to part of a rappel. After passing the lip among other things manufactures increase the latching force is a tap to the QAS can be removed and the micro racks. the slotted end of the 4th bar there- rappel completed. This is especially by closing the slot a small amount. If good for beginners to gain confi- Rack Safety you find after tapping the bar it is dence and can be taught on steep by Carroll Bassett too hard to engage with the frame slopes for gaining experience before properly you have probably closed a real drop. the slot a bit too much and will need to open it a little. A rod slightly The auto-block is another rappel larger than the slot can be lightly safety technique worth knowing and tapped into it with the effect of simply puts the ascender below the opening the slot slightly. Check the rappel device. Rather than a latching action after each mechanical ascender a small prussic adjustment to make sure of the bar's (6-7mm acc. cord) is tied onto the proper functioning. Older racks rope below the descender and then should be checked periodically as attached to the leg loop on the wear from use can lessen this latch- rappelers brakehand side usually ing force. Anyone who feels uncom- with an oval or triangular quick link . fortable with making these adjust- Be sure to tie your prussik carefully ments themselves is welcome to and dress it properly. This should Pictured above: Long frame return their Micro-Racks to BMS be rigged as short as possible so not and short frame micro-racks. along with the return shipping (see to allow the prussik to ride up above) for a free tune up. into your descender when loaded. To Scott's point is well taken and his move down the rope the prussik is advice to use your other hand (aka Mini-racks made by other broken with the brakehand and rope balance hand, not your brake hand ) manufacturers with aluminum bars allowed to slide through. To stop to not only spread the bars but to may have some issues with cracking simply let go of the prussic and it will hold the fourth bar closed when so the manufacturers should be con- grab the rope stopping progress. feeding stiff rope makes good sense. sulted first before any adjustments Since the prussic only receives a If you routinely find yourself feeding are made. Using a QAS (quick small proportion of the users total rope (either because your rope is attachment safety) is highly recom- weight (most of the users weight is very stiff, you are a light person, or mended when approaching an edge on the descender above) it is rela- the rope weight acts to create especially before one has fully tively easy to continue a rappel after too much friction) we strongly sug- loaded the rope. For those of you stopping by breaking the grip of the gest that you switch frames to the unfamiliar with this technique I will prussic. Again, practice with this longer version (BMS will be happy to briefly describe its components and technique on a steep slope to gain switch your frame for $20US plus their use. A QAS generally consists expertise and confidence. This is $6US shipping). This adds only of a personal ascender or rope grab especially useful for the first person about an ounce and just over an which has the ability to be attached into a pit to use as there will be no inch in length to your Micro-Rack to a rope quickly with one hand and one to bottom belay you in the event and seems to solve most feeding a tether that securely connects it to of an emergency. issues our customers have had in the users harness. The length of the the past. tether should allow attachment Readers should be careful to under- above your descender but not be so stand these concepts fully before If your problem persists and you are long as to not allow easy reach using them and always practice the still uncomfortable with either a mini- when fully loaded on rope. It is gen- highest standards of safety when on rack or Micro-Rack a bobbin type erally clipped to the balance hand rope. Whenever in doubt seek out device or a full sized rack may well side of the rappelers harness to competent training and advice. Be suit your needs better. make it easy and fast to attach to safe and enjoy. the rope when on rappel. As one Another approach to solving this moves down the rope towards the lip Carroll Bassett for BMS possible problem is to make the the cam is held slightly open with the fourth bar latch harder. This will balance hand to allow progress. To Join Caves.com Vertical increase the force that it takes to stop progress the cam is allowed to Discussion Group Online open and close the fourth bar with engage the rope. This adds some- what to the complexity of a system at: http://www.caves.com Caves.com Page 29 DigCon 2003

Come join us in Renick, WV for the annual Diggers Convention! Presentations and discussions on muzmining, soda straws, safety, and other topics relevent to caving and cave digging. It will be a great time and a chance to share ideas, successes, and projects with others! We hope to see you there. Register below or online at: http://www.caves.com/digcon

Where: Renick, WV at the West Virginia Association of Cave Studies Field Station

When: June 5-7, 2003

Event includes: Continental breakfast daily, banquet, keg party, muzmining class- es, soda straw discussions, micro-shaving hands on, caving & digging plus slide shows and presentations on Friday and Saturday evening. Pre-registration is $45.

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Make check payable to: Mark Passerby, P.O. Box 80693, Lansing, MI 48908 Phone: 517-896-4376 Caves.com Page 31 Photo by: Ed McCarthy