ALIFORNIA AVER CA publication of the Western Region of the NationalC Speleological Society Issue 234, Fall 2005 The California Caver is a publication of the Western Region of the National Speleological So- ciety. All exchange publications and analog material for publication, including maps, prints, slides, should be sent to the editors at the address listed below. Text can be transmitted elec- tronically in a variety of formats, including Microsoft Word, Rich Text Format (RTF), and ASCII text. The editors can accommodate a variety of other formats, but please check in advance of submission. Digital illustrative materials can also be transmitted in a variety of formats, but the editors would prefer files in the richest quality original and unaltered format. Please check with the editors to see what is preferable. The California Caver is published quarterly, in February, May, August, and November. Submis- sion deadline is by the 10th of the month prior to publication. The California Caver is published for members of the Western Region of the NSS. Membership up- dates and address changes should be sent to the secretary-treasurer of the region (please see the inside back cover for this and other regional information). The annual membership rate is $10. Opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the editors, the Western Region, or the National Speleological Society. Except for items specifically copyrighted, any material may be reproduced by other internal organizations of the NSS without prior permis- sion, provided proper credit is given to the California Caver and to the author. California Caver Editors: Merrilee Proffitt & Keith Johnson California Caver staff Circulation manager: Jim Lakner Circulation Assistants: Gale Beach, Ray Beach, Claire Lakner Proofreading for Issue 234: The editors can be reached at: 6503 Valley View Road, Oakland, CA, 94611-1230 (510) 339-7483 mproffi[email protected] CALIFORNIACAVER Fall 2005 | Issue Number 234 Bill Papke 2 WESTERN REGIONAL MEETING 2005 Kelley Prebil 4 WILDERNESS FIRST AID COURSE Bruce Rogers 6 CAVING ON THE SAN ANDREAS FAULT Talus Caves in Pinnacles National Monument, California Dan Snyder 22 DRAFT MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL MEETING OF THE WESTERN REGION Dan Snyder 25 WESTERN REGION OF THE NSS ANNUAL FINANCIAL STATEMENT 28 WESTERN REGION NEWS & ACTIVITIES 29 REGIONAL CALENDAR FRONT COVER: XXXXXXXX BACK COVER: XXXXXXXXXX Photograph by XXXXXXX Western Regional Meeting 2005 Bill Papke, Mother Lode Grotto Host Chair he weekend of September 16–18 2005 saw out what projects in caving were available in the state and elsewhere you Tapproximately 95 caver folk attend the an- would have found yourself in Rhodes Hall listening to the likes of Paul nual Western Regional at Berkeley Tuolumne Lukshin of the Stanislaus Grotto talk about how to dig more cave. Later Family Camp. This facility, run by the city of John Tinsley and Roger Mortimer told of the Cave Research Foundation Berkley, has been a gathering place for previ- (CRF) work in the Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Parks with an empha- ous regionals. So it was with fond memories sis on Redwood Canyon and Mineral King. Before breaking for lunch, that many old timers gathered there. But of David and Eleanor Larson presented information on the ongoing project course, each year that the regional is held of exploring and surveying caves in the Central American country of here, new participants are treated to this fam- Belize. ily-friendly environment for the first time. After lunch, Janet Sowers of CRF gave us an update on the research Tent cabins and plentiful good food make this center that caver money helped create in Lava Beds National Monument. a great place where food preparation and the The center is now complete and is being used by all types of research setting up of tents do not distracted from the groups, not just by project cavers. Steve Deveny of the Southern Nevada focus of the regional. Grotto came all the way from Las Vegas to give us a detailed report on Members of the Mother Lode Grotto, which the high-precision survey of Lehman Caves. This project is still ongoing acted as host for the event, arrived on Thurs- and needs surveying help. Bill Frantz then gave a short history and pres- day evening and spent most of the day Friday ent exploration and survey activity of an area near Jamestown, California getting things ready for those arriving on known as Table Mountain. Fissure like caves have formed in latite lava Friday evening. The first real gathering was flows that formed millions of years ago from lava flowing down the at dinner that Friday evening. Upon arriving western slope stream channels of the ancient Sierra Nevada. The after- attendees were encouraged to find an empty noon was capped by a humorous presentation (what else?) by Bruce tent cabin and carry or roll their gear there. Rogers on the history of project caving in the west. The basic message of That evening a small “howdy party” was this presentation was “just do it.” held in the dining hall to welcome these early That afternoon the annual meeting of the Western Region took place in arrivals. the outdoor amphitheater with Matt Bowers presiding. You can read of The next morning activities began in ear- the agenda and results of this meeting elsewhere in this issue of the Cal nest. There was a full day of project presen- Caver. Saturday evening, after dinner, we once again gathered in Rhodes tations in Rhodes Hall while outside three Hall for the annual auction. Team auctioneering was presented by Rolf challenge events were held. The challenges Aalbu of the Mother Lode Grotto and Bill Frantz of the San Francisco were in rope work, a Bay Chapter. A spirited hour, or so, ensued, and $XXXX were raised for Bill Papke looks on while survey, and geocaching. the Western Region. After this, we returned to the cozy environs of the Tom Rohrer checks out the survey course. If you wanted to find Beckley Hall where a crackling fire in the fireplace warmed the room and the Hodags and Marianne Russo’s Schnapps Tasting raised the spirits of those participating. We should not forget outdoor ac- tivities on Saturday. Don Dunn and his helpers had ropes dangling everywhere from the trees and at each station a particular challenge was created. One creative one was to simulate having all your lights go out and you have to put on your equipment in the dark to ascend the rope out of the cave. A blindfold on the participant created the requisite darkness. But most of the ver- tical activity seemed to be just practice, with not many people taking on the challenges. Elsewhere, Eileen Belan, Morley Har- daker, and John Hargreaves (when he wasn’t taking pictures) instructed folks in the sport of geocaching and how to John Hargreaves 2 California Caver Issue 234 ✌ Fall 2005 use a GPS device to guide them Roger Mortimer Another two-person to a group of hidden “caches” watches the Regional team used a theodolite to leading to a prize. A beginner Business Meeting, do some survey, but they while John Mortimer teenager, Greg Wilson-Hartwig looks at the camera. didn’t follow our course. teamed with another teen, I think this was a fun Dustin Cowan (Dave Cowan’s idea, and we’ll try doing grandson) worked hard and won the prize. the same sort of thing The survey course created by Tom Grundy, Matt in another venue in the Leissring, and Heather McDonald also had its tak- future. ers. (Here Heather reports) Bright and early The combination of natural and man-made fea- Sunday morning the bell tures made for a challenging survey course where rang, letting the campers people could survey their way around a “cave” know that another day with a wide variety of features. They could drop had begun and that they their tape down the vertical entrance (the 28-inch had approximately 30 sonotube) and then sketch the giant “igloo” sta- minutes to get ready for lagmite (the sauna), survey their way through the breakfast. After breakfast optional “phreatic tubes” (16-inch diameter sono- a few more announce- tubes), which lead to a “room” with helictites. ment were made and Borehole passage (the porch hallway for the then at 11 AM a con- lower level of Beckley Hall) led to a place to cross tingent took off for the a stream, and there the surveyors could use trian- region of Table Mountain gulation to determine the ceiling height using the John Hargreaves to see and explore the giant column (a big leaning tree). Finally, they could survey their way now famous Toppled Table Talus Cave as well around the lake room (the swimming hole). as others that had only recently been discov- MLG planners had scheduled quite a lot for Saturday: programs, a ered. vertical challenge course, vertical practice, geocaching, breakfast, lunch, So it was with great fondness that we left dinner, and the Western Regional Meeting. And if this was not enough, this wonderful site of yet another Western there was always ping-pong, swimming, and hiking to distract from the Regional Meeting. Next year the San Diego planned activities. Grotto is hosting over the Labor Day Week- As a result, attendance at many of the “side” activities like the survey end. See you there! course was small. There was just too much to do and almost not enough time to do it! Fortunately, several people came to visit me to learn about survey and how to read instruments. One four-person team went through a portion of the course (They went through the optional crawls!) Relaxing at Berkeley Tuolumne Camp: Bill Frantz, Doug Bradford, and Janet Sowers.