CULLMAN GROTTO FLOWSTONE JANUARY 1996 pq 2 C A L E N D E R Jan 7-Grotto vertical trip TBA. Meet at library at Sam. Peb 6-Monthly grotto meeting, 7:30pm, Cullman Public Library conference room. Peb 10-Grotto horizontal Trip, TBA. Meet at library at 8:00am. Jul 19-21-SERA Cave Carnival, Camp Jackson Boy Scout Camp, Scottsboro, AL. Hosted by B'ham Grotto. Pre-register by June 15 and save $5. Contact Scott or Jaime Fee (205)854-7487. !uq 3-9-NSS Convention, Salida, Col or ado. Contact 1996 MSS Convention Committee, c/o Skip Withrow, 5404 South lialden St., Aurora, CO 80015, (303)693-0997. ECHO CHAMBER =============================================================================== RUSSELL WHITE CARBIDE It was mentioned at last month's AVAILABLE meeting that Russell White, longtime Ron Helton and Paul Salinger, of the caretaker and access granter to Dogwood City Grotto, recently Moses ' Tomb, had been placed in a obtained over 1000 pounds of carbide. nursing home in Fort Payne. For It is available for sale at $80 per anyone interested in dropping him a 100 pounds, in any quantity. Contact letter or making a visit his address Paul at "[email protected]" or 706-764- is: 1640, or Ron at 706-375-2142. Russell White c/o Mountain Manner 403 13th St NW Fort Payne, AL 35967 COVER PHOTO Artist sketch of crawl leading to the We wish him well. breakdown bridge over Surprise Pit. Sketch was made from description given by Patrick O'Diam. Brad 1s STRIKE TWO! Pat's roomate in Argentina. Another unsuccessful attempt to install a permanent rope pad 1n McClung's Hole was made 12/15/95. Two partial anchor holes were made BAT FAX before the drill ran out of juice. Bat droppings in caves support whole The job should be completed in one ecosystems of unique organisms, more t r ip_,._l'_r._ob~~em__i_s_l'_ll__be_____tir.ed---i-nclud~.ing--bae-t:-el:'-i-a~-us-ef-u-1----i-n~ - of doing the drop after the pad is detoxifying wastes, improving installed! detergents, and producing gasohol and antibiotics. CULLMAN GROTTO FLOWSTONE JANUARY 1996 Pg 3 · . DRAKES LOOKING FOR DRAKE'S the secretary put me on the 12-21-95 phone with another fellow who D.Drake S.Drake convinced me that Byrd st. was the one we were looking for. Having kept a couple of "This is the one", I said video tapes checked out from as we unloaded our gear and the NSS library for nearly two proceeded up the mountain. months, I felt like I should After aan unmercifully steep return them before Sheila and climb we came to a recently Cami 11 e sent out a posse. Of installed Public Water Works course no trip to Huntsville is water tank. Just below the tank complete without a yo-yo. was a logging road heading On the way to the Rocket north. City Shane and I had decided to Shane and I hiked up, down try and find Drake's Pit and around the mountain for instead of bouncing the usual close to 45 minutes before Wells, Hooper's or Natural. reaching the conclusion that, Louis had given me directions "This ain't the place!" the day before when I had By now the sun was dropped by the paint store. starting to set so we headed While at the NSS office, Torode back to Cullman thoroughly gave us a more detailed account ticked and wishing we had done of how to find our namesake Hooper's. As we got back on Old hole. Big Cove Road toward "Look for an old store Huntsville, Shane looked out with a 1 ake by it", he said. his window and exclaimed, "When you get to the store "there's the old store and you've gone a hair too far. Go there's the lake." back and take the first road "And there's the road that toward the mountain." they're just a hair past", I Should be simple enough to disgustedly interjected. find we thought. The name on the road sign We thought wrong. said Newcomb. Once we were convinced that we needed help in finding PC>ET•s CORNER the place, we stopped a Huntsville Grotto Newsletter mailcarrier but she didn't know June 1969 much more about the area than her route. Finally we stopped Them Bug-ologists at City Hall in Owen's How about them bug-ologists Crossroads and asked some of Like Cooper, Peck, and Barr? the Sheriff's Dept. 1 obbyf 1 ys Catchin' creepy crawlers, if they knew of any pits in the Puttin' em in a jar. area or of a road that matched Catchin' lil' fuzzy bugs, our meager description. One of Catchin' lil' beetles, Catchin' them flyin' bugs, them said that Newcomb St. was Stickin' them with needles. probably the road we were 1 coking for. Another suggested Splashin'Them ravin', through cavin' the buq-oloqists water, that we ask a Mr. Drake that Catchin' them crayfish wor:Kea.----at~-th-e-Wab:r---wo-rk-s-------------""In"---"S"'h~el~t~a, ..'Fern, and Sauta. trai 1 er next door. Pokin' in thair innards, Mr. Drake was not in but Studyin' all the parts, Then they go and cut 'em From their gizzard to their heart~. How to be a bug-ologist? It's easy enuff, dagnabit: Just go down in the cave And if sonething moves, grab it: - s. P. Lunker INfr(OrJUCINGr i'H~ M05f At/VANC~t? ~~~ll(N~ IN V~fiCAl, q~At< ~f~~"(lol/jii!.Cl.I..J!!.~ V+" ~UN9¥~ ~(~ At::>J~I"ie.J.T- ~e./ I:'OUe.l..k: ~ ~· l"fl.let.I~....:Z. lo-JE.I!!e!N9- ~I'' 17-j:Z.tt-1'1 F..--.,-.sN~. I{ ,-J.JE.~IN"! ~AI..~ I _.,.- ~ .. Wl!:be.i """' • / ~/ ~ / ;' 1/ /; NO(~; r. FaorL..c::>of" 6t'Z.~ · ~-Ws-a 1"1-t../"'1-I'Z. '2. C..l-ll?.:rr -61 'l. ~;.~ ::>-W.S+".,-.,4<?", 1'1-L/+Z".,...~+a~. f'ANc.tA~ Cj~ ,INC. -21 H"""CZCJ.I, I et"'-:> ~:~~N er:o-rM ~--~----~--......--~~ ...... iii------------ PAN4AEA (rl:.AR INC. AI?VANCt=-1? A~Cl::.Nl?IN4 ~~~1'e:M-:, _j 11539 C..~?4-? HANCe'V1LLE,AL:3W71 L l-05 · 35Z • 620 B ._---------------------------------------------------==~-~=-~-==~--~ CULLMAN GROTTO FLOWSTONE JANUARY 1996 Pg· 5 DR.AKE•s PIT I'm glad I needed batteries. D.Drake NSS 15430 With 3 or 4 pits in close 12-26-95 proximity to one another a choice had to be made as to A.Baker K.Baker which one to do. Three Turkey V.Bradford D.Drake Plunge meant a long hike into the teeth of a 15mph north wind I had sweet revenge on my and the~possibility of having mind as I waited for the other to rappel and climb in a three to arrive. Not revenge waterfall so it was dismissed against them but revenge as was O'Hara's Farewell. against the pit that had eluded Drake's Pit is a 109' hole me a few days earlier. A that is more or less a fissure decision had not yet been made in the limestone with no cave as to what pit we were going to or formation to speak of at the do, but we had decided on a bot tom. Although a short drop, Green's Mountain drop. Deep it is an enjoyable one down inside I was hoping it nonetheless. A very easy in and would be Drake's. out. The steep climb up the We 1 oaded our gear into road to the pit could probably the caving Geo and 1 eft the be negotiated with a Hummer but Texaco station at the corner of not much else. Heavy rains have 157 and Eva road at 9am. After eroded canyons thus forcing a stopping briefly in Cotaco to tiring climb to a pit that get some batteries for my otherwise could be driven to. backup and mi 1 k for Bradford we After we had all bounced the continued our trek northward. pit one time, Arlon started As we passed by the cutoff, it developing a migrane that three was extremely difficult to of us agreed was caused by sti f 1 e the urge to cancel our Vic's mere presence. I asked ) vertical trip and go take in his permission to go down and the splendor of the spray up one more time. He said I painted walls of Talucah, but could if I didn't mind walking somehow we managed. home. I reminded him that I had It is so much easier the keys and went over the lip. finding a cave you've never Whi 1 e Kevin coi 1 ed the PMI been to when you're traveling we decided to forgo our search with someone who has, thus we for Hawk Hole and instead cross were unloading gear at about the road and take a 1 ook at 11:15 and that was after a 20 O'Hara's Farewell, a guarateed minute delay as we waited for wet 232' drop. After spending paramedics using the Jaws of a short time at O'Hara's Arlen Life to cut someone out of a indicated the need to take car involved in a wreck with a something for his headache. So dump truck on the Tennessee we loaded up the truck and River bridge. The wreck had moved to Bever! y. I guess happened only moments earlier. Drake's is worthy of the name.