RE: [Texascavers] Lost Oasis clean up

[Jim Kennedy]

Oops!  Ron should have said that the Lost Oasis Preserve cleanup is
SUNDAY, not tomorrow!  See you all then!

 

--Jim

 

From: Ron Ralph [mailto:ronra...@austin.rr.com] 
Sent: Friday, December 16, 2011 6:41 PM
To: Texascavers@texascavers.com
Subject: [Texascavers] Lost Oasis clean up

 

Cavers,

 

Clean up starts at 10:00 am tomorrow morning. Bring loppers, saws,
chainsaws, weed-whackers and gloves. We will work hard till noon and
then open the cave for those wishing to explore.

 

See you there across from Bailey Middle School.

 

Ron

797-3817

RE: [Texascavers] Lost Oasis clean up

[Jim Kennedy]

Oops!  Ron should have said that the Lost Oasis Preserve cleanup is
SUNDAY, not tomorrow!  See you all then!

 

--Jim

 

From: Ron Ralph [mailto:ronra...@austin.rr.com] 
Sent: Friday, December 16, 2011 6:41 PM
To: Texascavers@texascavers.com
Subject: [Texascavers] Lost Oasis clean up

 

Cavers,

 

Clean up starts at 10:00 am tomorrow morning. Bring loppers, saws,
chainsaws, weed-whackers and gloves. We will work hard till noon and
then open the cave for those wishing to explore.

 

See you there across from Bailey Middle School.

 

Ron

797-3817

RE: [Texascavers] Lost Oasis clean up

[Jim Kennedy]

Oops!  Ron should have said that the Lost Oasis Preserve cleanup is
SUNDAY, not tomorrow!  See you all then!

 

--Jim

 

From: Ron Ralph [mailto:ronra...@austin.rr.com] 
Sent: Friday, December 16, 2011 6:41 PM
To: Texascavers@texascavers.com
Subject: [Texascavers] Lost Oasis clean up

 

Cavers,

 

Clean up starts at 10:00 am tomorrow morning. Bring loppers, saws,
chainsaws, weed-whackers and gloves. We will work hard till noon and
then open the cave for those wishing to explore.

 

See you there across from Bailey Middle School.

 

Ron

797-3817

[Texascavers] Lost Oasis clean up

[Ron Ralph]

Cavers,

 

Clean up starts at 10:00 am tomorrow morning. Bring loppers, saws,
chainsaws, weed-whackers and gloves. We will work hard till noon and then
open the cave for those wishing to explore.

 

See you there across from Bailey Middle School.

 

Ron

797-3817

[Texascavers] Lost Oasis clean up

[Ron Ralph]

Cavers,

 

Clean up starts at 10:00 am tomorrow morning. Bring loppers, saws,
chainsaws, weed-whackers and gloves. We will work hard till noon and then
open the cave for those wishing to explore.

 

See you there across from Bailey Middle School.

 

Ron

797-3817

[Texascavers] Lost Oasis clean up

[Ron Ralph]

Cavers,

 

Clean up starts at 10:00 am tomorrow morning. Bring loppers, saws,
chainsaws, weed-whackers and gloves. We will work hard till noon and then
open the cave for those wishing to explore.

 

See you there across from Bailey Middle School.

 

Ron

797-3817

[Texascavers] FW: Bexar Grotto Holiday Party on Saturday, December 17

[Geary Schindel]

Party reminder, come on out and have some fun.
The Bexar Grotto of the NSS will have a holiday party at Sue and Geary 
Schindel's  house on Saturday evening, December 17, 2011.  The address is 11310 
Whisper Dawn, San Antonio, Texas. The party will start around 6 pm and will be 
a pot luck dinner and holiday celebration.  So, whether you celebrate 
Christmas, Kwanza, Chanukah, Muharram, Lhabab Duchen, Rohatsu, winter solstice 
or Amitabha Budda Day, please come.
Rules of the party - please read very carefully.
Cavers and guests are welcome; however, we would prefer that you NOT bring any 
living non-human species unless they are service animals such as seeing eye, 
hearing ear, or tasting tongue dogs or monkeys.  Dead animals, properly 
prepared and in an appropriate holiday sauce, are welcome and encouraged. We 
will also have the grill fired up.  Bring a dish with some food in it.  Take 
your dish home when you leave. If you see any dishes (or coolers) from last 
year that are yours, take them home also. Don't take anything else home except 
gifts. Please bring a can of food or other dry goods as a donation to the San 
Antonio Food Bank. Though a limited amount of beverages will be available, you 
may want to bring your own. Stay off the roof. The hot tub will be up and 
running, please bring your own towel and bathing suit - or not.  No fireworks.  
If you must yak, yak outside (I prefer the backyard as this doesn't impress the 
neighbors and has been known to remove the paint finish off cars.)
The Grotto has a customary white elephant exchange so bring a wrapped gift if 
you want to participate.  All white elephant gifts MUST go home with the new 
owners.  The white elephant swap will start around 8 pm.
If you want to or need to spend the night, we'll serve breakfast to everyone on 
Sunday morning (you may be asked to help clean the house LOL).
Have fun,
Geary and Sue Schindel
210-479-2151 home
210-326-1576 cell

[Texascavers] FW: Bexar Grotto Holiday Party on Saturday, December 17

[Geary Schindel]

Party reminder, come on out and have some fun.
The Bexar Grotto of the NSS will have a holiday party at Sue and Geary 
Schindel's  house on Saturday evening, December 17, 2011.  The address is 11310 
Whisper Dawn, San Antonio, Texas. The party will start around 6 pm and will be 
a pot luck dinner and holiday celebration.  So, whether you celebrate 
Christmas, Kwanza, Chanukah, Muharram, Lhabab Duchen, Rohatsu, winter solstice 
or Amitabha Budda Day, please come.
Rules of the party - please read very carefully.
Cavers and guests are welcome; however, we would prefer that you NOT bring any 
living non-human species unless they are service animals such as seeing eye, 
hearing ear, or tasting tongue dogs or monkeys.  Dead animals, properly 
prepared and in an appropriate holiday sauce, are welcome and encouraged. We 
will also have the grill fired up.  Bring a dish with some food in it.  Take 
your dish home when you leave. If you see any dishes (or coolers) from last 
year that are yours, take them home also. Don't take anything else home except 
gifts. Please bring a can of food or other dry goods as a donation to the San 
Antonio Food Bank. Though a limited amount of beverages will be available, you 
may want to bring your own. Stay off the roof. The hot tub will be up and 
running, please bring your own towel and bathing suit - or not.  No fireworks.  
If you must yak, yak outside (I prefer the backyard as this doesn't impress the 
neighbors and has been known to remove the paint finish off cars.)
The Grotto has a customary white elephant exchange so bring a wrapped gift if 
you want to participate.  All white elephant gifts MUST go home with the new 
owners.  The white elephant swap will start around 8 pm.
If you want to or need to spend the night, we'll serve breakfast to everyone on 
Sunday morning (you may be asked to help clean the house LOL).
Have fun,
Geary and Sue Schindel
210-479-2151 home
210-326-1576 cell

[Texascavers] FW: Bexar Grotto Holiday Party on Saturday, December 17

[Geary Schindel]

Party reminder, come on out and have some fun.
The Bexar Grotto of the NSS will have a holiday party at Sue and Geary 
Schindel's  house on Saturday evening, December 17, 2011.  The address is 11310 
Whisper Dawn, San Antonio, Texas. The party will start around 6 pm and will be 
a pot luck dinner and holiday celebration.  So, whether you celebrate 
Christmas, Kwanza, Chanukah, Muharram, Lhabab Duchen, Rohatsu, winter solstice 
or Amitabha Budda Day, please come.
Rules of the party - please read very carefully.
Cavers and guests are welcome; however, we would prefer that you NOT bring any 
living non-human species unless they are service animals such as seeing eye, 
hearing ear, or tasting tongue dogs or monkeys.  Dead animals, properly 
prepared and in an appropriate holiday sauce, are welcome and encouraged. We 
will also have the grill fired up.  Bring a dish with some food in it.  Take 
your dish home when you leave. If you see any dishes (or coolers) from last 
year that are yours, take them home also. Don't take anything else home except 
gifts. Please bring a can of food or other dry goods as a donation to the San 
Antonio Food Bank. Though a limited amount of beverages will be available, you 
may want to bring your own. Stay off the roof. The hot tub will be up and 
running, please bring your own towel and bathing suit - or not.  No fireworks.  
If you must yak, yak outside (I prefer the backyard as this doesn't impress the 
neighbors and has been known to remove the paint finish off cars.)
The Grotto has a customary white elephant exchange so bring a wrapped gift if 
you want to participate.  All white elephant gifts MUST go home with the new 
owners.  The white elephant swap will start around 8 pm.
If you want to or need to spend the night, we'll serve breakfast to everyone on 
Sunday morning (you may be asked to help clean the house LOL).
Have fun,
Geary and Sue Schindel
210-479-2151 home
210-326-1576 cell

[Texascavers] Archeologist position posted

[Jim Kennedy]

Any up-and-coming archeologists out there?  TPWD just posted a position
opening at Big Bend Ranch State Park for $44K/year.  Details are at
http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/business/jobs/postings/?page=12_15_100

-- Crash

[Texascavers] Archeologist position posted

[Jim Kennedy]

Any up-and-coming archeologists out there?  TPWD just posted a position
opening at Big Bend Ranch State Park for $44K/year.  Details are at
http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/business/jobs/postings/?page=12_15_100

-- Crash

[Texascavers] Archeologist position posted

[Jim Kennedy]

Any up-and-coming archeologists out there?  TPWD just posted a position
opening at Big Bend Ranch State Park for $44K/year.  Details are at
http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/business/jobs/postings/?page=12_15_100

-- Crash

texascavers Digest 16 Dec 2011 17:01:20 -0000 Issue 1456

[texascavers-digest-help]

texascavers Digest 16 Dec 2011 17:01:20 - Issue 1456

Topics (messages 19203 through 19208):

Tennessee Caves Reopening from WNS closures in 2012
19203 by: J. LaRue Thomas

a gallery of cave pix
19204 by: Mixon Bill

December CBSP Project report
19205 by: Jim Kennedy

Breakthrough creates Hungary's largest cave system
19206 by: Lee H. Skinner

Extremophile Microbe Found in Lava Tube
19207 by: Mark Minton

Re: December CBSP Project report-Addendum
19208 by: Mark.Alman.L-3com.com

Administrivia:

To subscribe to the digest, e-mail:


To unsubscribe from the digest, e-mail:


To post to the list, e-mail:



--
--- Begin Message ---
Interesting link from theCascade Grotto remailer regarding reopening of 
Tennessee caves:



http://www.scci.org/News/ReopeningCavesMay2012.html



--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---

Called to my attention by Gustavo Vela:

http://www.shonephotography.com/gallery/underworld/

--Mixon

For an easy holiday this year, just give everybody the finger.

You may "reply" to the address this message
came from, but for long-term use, save:
Personal: bmi...@alumni.uchicago.edu
AMCS: edi...@amcs-pubs.org or sa...@amcs-pubs.org

--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
Project date:   9–11 December 2011
Reported by:Jim Kennedy 
Report date:12 December 2011
Person-hours:   275 hours (142.5 work, 133 travel)
Personnel: (23 folks)   Mark Alman, Laurie Culbert, Nate Culbert, Andy Edwards, 
Angela Edwards, Galen Falgout, Lee Jay Graves, Meg Inglis, Jerome Cap 
(incorrectly listed as C. P. Jerome on last month’s trip report), Robert 
Lassen, Jim Kennedy, Maya Liu, Ryan Monjaras, Adiah Oyefesobi, Muyiwa 
Oyefesobi, Kris Peña, William Quast, Riley Ross, Scott Serur, Bryce Smith, 
Heather Túček, Matt Turner, Matt Zaldivar (+11 Boy Scouts and their leaders)

We thought that the predicted cold temperatures, rain, and proximity to the 
Christmas holidays would give us a low turnout this weekend, but we were 
pleasantly surprised by the number of enthusiastic cavers that showed up.  
Friday was bitterly cold, but Saturday was quite pleasant.  Saturday night was 
warmer than Friday, but it rained from about 1 a.m. to 6 a.m., making the exit 
from camp tricky for those folks with passenger cars and street tires.  As for 
the caves, Dog and Butterfly continues to go, with a third pit discovered after 
some rock removal.  Two small caves were mapped by Jim’s team, with another 
karst feature discovered and mapped.  And several teams went out to ridgewalk 
and verify locations of known caves.  Five teams had a very productive and fun 
weekend.


Team 1  Andy Edwards, Kris Peña, William Quast, Heather Túček   

Last month’s Dog and Butterfly Cave (SAB197) team returned to the cave again, 
this time with new Aggie caver Jerome.  While Kris and Heather surveyed the 
first pit and a room named “Olivia’s Chamber,” the boys went to work on the 
rock that was precariously perched on the edge of the second drop.  Some 
hammering finally sent it to the bottom of the pit.  William rigged this drop 
about the same time that the girls finished their survey.  Everyone descended, 
and found that the passage continued through a mud squeeze, where they found a 
third drop!  It’s at least 5m deep, and another drop or climbdown can be seen 
beyond that, but it is not freeclimbable and there are no natural anchors.  
Water could be heard below.  The next trip will require yet another rope (the 
third) and a bolt kit to set an anchor.
Team one’s hours: 32.5


Team 2  Maya Liu, Jim Kennedy, Adiah Oyefesobi, Muyiwa Oyefesobi

Jim promised to help teach Maya some sketching skills, so this group headed out 
to some small caves that we didn’t yet have survey for.  The group drove past 
the old Caver Camp and parked near Ankle Biter Cave (SAB591).  They also walked 
past Tire Eater Cave (SAB615) before crossing over some nice fissure karst that 
Jim found many years ago.  One spot actually turned out to have a real 
surveyable cave, but barely so.  The enthusiastic group of new cavers took 
turns climbing into the cave, and Maya kept book while the others completed the 
two-shot survey.  Maya made serviceable plan, profile, and cross-section 
sketches to scale while Jim coached.  It was named Unexciting Cave (no SAB 
number yet), and it certainly lived up to it’s name!  Next they walked towards 
Barrets Cave (SAB388).  On the way they found another pit, which turned out to 
be Scorpion Pit (SAB289), which was mis-plotted by over 200m!  We got better 
coordinates while Maya climbed partway in.  She said that she saw water in 
there, also.  From there, the group went straight to Barrets Cave, where they 
re-mapped it in

texascavers Digest 16 Dec 2011 17:01:20 -0000 Issue 1456

[texascavers-digest-help]

texascavers Digest 16 Dec 2011 17:01:20 - Issue 1456

Topics (messages 19203 through 19208):

Tennessee Caves Reopening from WNS closures in 2012
19203 by: J. LaRue Thomas

a gallery of cave pix
19204 by: Mixon Bill

December CBSP Project report
19205 by: Jim Kennedy

Breakthrough creates Hungary's largest cave system
19206 by: Lee H. Skinner

Extremophile Microbe Found in Lava Tube
19207 by: Mark Minton

Re: December CBSP Project report-Addendum
19208 by: Mark.Alman.L-3com.com

Administrivia:

To subscribe to the digest, e-mail:


To unsubscribe from the digest, e-mail:


To post to the list, e-mail:



--
--- Begin Message ---
Interesting link from theCascade Grotto remailer regarding reopening of 
Tennessee caves:



http://www.scci.org/News/ReopeningCavesMay2012.html



--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---

Called to my attention by Gustavo Vela:

http://www.shonephotography.com/gallery/underworld/

--Mixon

For an easy holiday this year, just give everybody the finger.

You may "reply" to the address this message
came from, but for long-term use, save:
Personal: bmi...@alumni.uchicago.edu
AMCS: edi...@amcs-pubs.org or sa...@amcs-pubs.org

--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
Project date:   9–11 December 2011
Reported by:Jim Kennedy 
Report date:12 December 2011
Person-hours:   275 hours (142.5 work, 133 travel)
Personnel: (23 folks)   Mark Alman, Laurie Culbert, Nate Culbert, Andy Edwards, 
Angela Edwards, Galen Falgout, Lee Jay Graves, Meg Inglis, Jerome Cap 
(incorrectly listed as C. P. Jerome on last month’s trip report), Robert 
Lassen, Jim Kennedy, Maya Liu, Ryan Monjaras, Adiah Oyefesobi, Muyiwa 
Oyefesobi, Kris Peña, William Quast, Riley Ross, Scott Serur, Bryce Smith, 
Heather Túček, Matt Turner, Matt Zaldivar (+11 Boy Scouts and their leaders)

We thought that the predicted cold temperatures, rain, and proximity to the 
Christmas holidays would give us a low turnout this weekend, but we were 
pleasantly surprised by the number of enthusiastic cavers that showed up.  
Friday was bitterly cold, but Saturday was quite pleasant.  Saturday night was 
warmer than Friday, but it rained from about 1 a.m. to 6 a.m., making the exit 
from camp tricky for those folks with passenger cars and street tires.  As for 
the caves, Dog and Butterfly continues to go, with a third pit discovered after 
some rock removal.  Two small caves were mapped by Jim’s team, with another 
karst feature discovered and mapped.  And several teams went out to ridgewalk 
and verify locations of known caves.  Five teams had a very productive and fun 
weekend.


Team 1  Andy Edwards, Kris Peña, William Quast, Heather Túček   

Last month’s Dog and Butterfly Cave (SAB197) team returned to the cave again, 
this time with new Aggie caver Jerome.  While Kris and Heather surveyed the 
first pit and a room named “Olivia’s Chamber,” the boys went to work on the 
rock that was precariously perched on the edge of the second drop.  Some 
hammering finally sent it to the bottom of the pit.  William rigged this drop 
about the same time that the girls finished their survey.  Everyone descended, 
and found that the passage continued through a mud squeeze, where they found a 
third drop!  It’s at least 5m deep, and another drop or climbdown can be seen 
beyond that, but it is not freeclimbable and there are no natural anchors.  
Water could be heard below.  The next trip will require yet another rope (the 
third) and a bolt kit to set an anchor.
Team one’s hours: 32.5


Team 2  Maya Liu, Jim Kennedy, Adiah Oyefesobi, Muyiwa Oyefesobi

Jim promised to help teach Maya some sketching skills, so this group headed out 
to some small caves that we didn’t yet have survey for.  The group drove past 
the old Caver Camp and parked near Ankle Biter Cave (SAB591).  They also walked 
past Tire Eater Cave (SAB615) before crossing over some nice fissure karst that 
Jim found many years ago.  One spot actually turned out to have a real 
surveyable cave, but barely so.  The enthusiastic group of new cavers took 
turns climbing into the cave, and Maya kept book while the others completed the 
two-shot survey.  Maya made serviceable plan, profile, and cross-section 
sketches to scale while Jim coached.  It was named Unexciting Cave (no SAB 
number yet), and it certainly lived up to it’s name!  Next they walked towards 
Barrets Cave (SAB388).  On the way they found another pit, which turned out to 
be Scorpion Pit (SAB289), which was mis-plotted by over 200m!  We got better 
coordinates while Maya climbed partway in.  She said that she saw water in 
there, also.  From there, the group went straight to Barrets Cave, where they 
re-mapped it in

texascavers Digest 16 Dec 2011 17:01:20 -0000 Issue 1456

[texascavers-digest-help]

texascavers Digest 16 Dec 2011 17:01:20 - Issue 1456

Topics (messages 19203 through 19208):

Tennessee Caves Reopening from WNS closures in 2012
19203 by: J. LaRue Thomas

a gallery of cave pix
19204 by: Mixon Bill

December CBSP Project report
19205 by: Jim Kennedy

Breakthrough creates Hungary's largest cave system
19206 by: Lee H. Skinner

Extremophile Microbe Found in Lava Tube
19207 by: Mark Minton

Re: December CBSP Project report-Addendum
19208 by: Mark.Alman.L-3com.com

Administrivia:

To subscribe to the digest, e-mail:


To unsubscribe from the digest, e-mail:


To post to the list, e-mail:



--
--- Begin Message ---
Interesting link from theCascade Grotto remailer regarding reopening of 
Tennessee caves:



http://www.scci.org/News/ReopeningCavesMay2012.html



--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---

Called to my attention by Gustavo Vela:

http://www.shonephotography.com/gallery/underworld/

--Mixon

For an easy holiday this year, just give everybody the finger.

You may "reply" to the address this message
came from, but for long-term use, save:
Personal: bmi...@alumni.uchicago.edu
AMCS: edi...@amcs-pubs.org or sa...@amcs-pubs.org

--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
Project date:   9–11 December 2011
Reported by:Jim Kennedy 
Report date:12 December 2011
Person-hours:   275 hours (142.5 work, 133 travel)
Personnel: (23 folks)   Mark Alman, Laurie Culbert, Nate Culbert, Andy Edwards, 
Angela Edwards, Galen Falgout, Lee Jay Graves, Meg Inglis, Jerome Cap 
(incorrectly listed as C. P. Jerome on last month’s trip report), Robert 
Lassen, Jim Kennedy, Maya Liu, Ryan Monjaras, Adiah Oyefesobi, Muyiwa 
Oyefesobi, Kris Peña, William Quast, Riley Ross, Scott Serur, Bryce Smith, 
Heather Túček, Matt Turner, Matt Zaldivar (+11 Boy Scouts and their leaders)

We thought that the predicted cold temperatures, rain, and proximity to the 
Christmas holidays would give us a low turnout this weekend, but we were 
pleasantly surprised by the number of enthusiastic cavers that showed up.  
Friday was bitterly cold, but Saturday was quite pleasant.  Saturday night was 
warmer than Friday, but it rained from about 1 a.m. to 6 a.m., making the exit 
from camp tricky for those folks with passenger cars and street tires.  As for 
the caves, Dog and Butterfly continues to go, with a third pit discovered after 
some rock removal.  Two small caves were mapped by Jim’s team, with another 
karst feature discovered and mapped.  And several teams went out to ridgewalk 
and verify locations of known caves.  Five teams had a very productive and fun 
weekend.


Team 1  Andy Edwards, Kris Peña, William Quast, Heather Túček   

Last month’s Dog and Butterfly Cave (SAB197) team returned to the cave again, 
this time with new Aggie caver Jerome.  While Kris and Heather surveyed the 
first pit and a room named “Olivia’s Chamber,” the boys went to work on the 
rock that was precariously perched on the edge of the second drop.  Some 
hammering finally sent it to the bottom of the pit.  William rigged this drop 
about the same time that the girls finished their survey.  Everyone descended, 
and found that the passage continued through a mud squeeze, where they found a 
third drop!  It’s at least 5m deep, and another drop or climbdown can be seen 
beyond that, but it is not freeclimbable and there are no natural anchors.  
Water could be heard below.  The next trip will require yet another rope (the 
third) and a bolt kit to set an anchor.
Team one’s hours: 32.5


Team 2  Maya Liu, Jim Kennedy, Adiah Oyefesobi, Muyiwa Oyefesobi

Jim promised to help teach Maya some sketching skills, so this group headed out 
to some small caves that we didn’t yet have survey for.  The group drove past 
the old Caver Camp and parked near Ankle Biter Cave (SAB591).  They also walked 
past Tire Eater Cave (SAB615) before crossing over some nice fissure karst that 
Jim found many years ago.  One spot actually turned out to have a real 
surveyable cave, but barely so.  The enthusiastic group of new cavers took 
turns climbing into the cave, and Maya kept book while the others completed the 
two-shot survey.  Maya made serviceable plan, profile, and cross-section 
sketches to scale while Jim coached.  It was named Unexciting Cave (no SAB 
number yet), and it certainly lived up to it’s name!  Next they walked towards 
Barrets Cave (SAB388).  On the way they found another pit, which turned out to 
be Scorpion Pit (SAB289), which was mis-plotted by over 200m!  We got better 
coordinates while Maya climbed partway in.  She said that she saw water in 
there, also.  From there, the group went straight to Barrets Cave, where they 
re-mapped it in

RE: [Texascavers] December CBSP Project report-Addendum

[Mark . Alman]

 

The Boy Scouts of Troop 366 from Denton worked ~3 hours on removing invasive 
cedar in an area between the Spicewood Springs Trail parking lot and the next 
parking lot going back towards the CBSP office.

 

After lunch, they were then lead by Mark Alman to Dynamite Cave, (which Kevin 
Ferguson, CBSP’s Acting and, hopefully, next Superintendent, was gracious 
enough to show yours truly how to get there) for a fun bit of exploration.

 

I had the Scouts flag the heck out of the trail to the cave, so we’d be able to 
find it next month when ~60 Girl Scouts and a Boy Scout Troop from Brownwood 
will descend on the park the weekend of January 14th.

 

Note: I will need volunteers for this, so if you’re interested, contact me 
offline at texascav...@yahoo.com.

 

We discovered the bones from some small varmint and placed the bones on a 
makeshift altar formed from a dry stalagmite for all of the world to admire and 
enjoy. We then left Dynamite Cave and made our way to Turtle Shell Cave.

 

No varmints were observed, but, the Scouts again flagged the trail so well to 
the cave that I believe Stevie Wonder and Helen Keller would be able to find 
it! They also reflagged the area inside the cave that contains bones and some 
delicate formations on the floor. This was done to insure no one would cross 
this area and destroy the flowstone.

 

We contemplated dropping the pit in Turtle Shell, but, water was flowing very 
well into this area and we opted not to. (Note: No bats observed, but, this is 
the wettest I have ever seen this cave!).

 

Around 4 PM, we parted ways, as the Scouts were wanting to hike to Gorman Falls 
and I had to make a beeline back to Dallas for the DFW Grotto Holiday 
Extravaganza at Natasha Glasgow’s house!

 

 

Thanks!

 

Mark

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From: Jim Kennedy [mailto:jkenn...@batcon.org] 
Sent: Friday, December 16, 2011 10:23 AM
To: CaveTex
Subject: [Texascavers] December CBSP Project report

 

Project date:   9–11 December 2011

Reported by:Jim Kennedy 

Report date:12 December 2011

Person-hours:   275 hours (142.5 work, 133 travel)

Personnel: (23 folks)   Mark Alman, Laurie Culbert, Nate Culbert, Andy Edwards, 
Angela Edwards, Galen Falgout, Lee Jay Graves, Meg Inglis, Jerome Cap 
(incorrectly listed as C. P. Jerome on last month’s trip report), Robert 
Lassen, Jim Kennedy, Maya Liu, Ryan Monjaras, Adiah Oyefesobi, Muyiwa 
Oyefesobi, Kris Peña, William Quast, Riley Ross, Scott Serur, Bryce Smith, 
Heather Túček, Matt Turner, Matt Zaldivar (+11 Boy Scouts and their leaders)

We thought that the predicted cold temperatures, rain, and proximity to the 
Christmas holidays would give us a low turnout this weekend, but we were 
pleasantly surprised by the number of enthusiastic cavers that showed up.  
Friday was bitterly cold, but Saturday was quite pleasant.  Saturday night was 
warmer than Friday, but it rained from about 1 a.m. to 6 a.m., making the exit 
from camp tricky for those folks with passenger cars and street tires.  As for 
the caves, Dog and Butterfly continues to go, with a third pit discovered after 
some rock removal.  Two small caves were mapped by Jim’s team, with another 
karst feature discovered and mapped.  And several teams went out to ridgewalk 
and verify locations of known caves.  Five teams had a very productive and fun 
weekend.

Team 1  Andy Edwards, Kris Peña, William Quast, Heather Túček   

Last month’s Dog and Butterfly Cave (SAB197) team returned to the cave again, 
this time with new Aggie caver Jerome.  While Kris and Heather surveyed the 
first pit and a room named “Olivia’s Chamber,” the boys went to work on the 
rock that was precariously perched on the edge of the second drop.  Some 
hammering finally sent it to the bottom of the pit.  William rigged this drop 
about the same time that the girls finished their survey.  Everyone descended, 
and found that the passage continued through a mud squeeze, where they found a 
third drop!  It’s at least 5m deep, and another drop or climbdown can be seen 
beyond that, but it is not freeclimbable and there are no natural anchors.  
Water could be heard below.  The next trip will require yet another rope (the 
third) and a bolt kit to set an anchor.

Team one’s hours: 32.5

 

Team 2  Maya Liu, Jim Kennedy, Adiah Oyefesobi, Muyiwa Oyefesobi

Jim promised to help teach Maya some sketching skills, so this group headed out 
to some small caves that we didn’t yet have survey for.  The group drove past 
the old Caver Camp and parked near Ankle Biter Cave (SAB591).  They also walked 
past Tire Eater Cave (SAB615) before crossing over some nice fissure karst that 
Jim found many years ago.  One spot actually turned out to have a real 
surveyable cave, but barely so.  The enthusiastic group of new cavers took 
turns climbing into the cave, and Maya kept book while the others completed the 
two-shot survey.  May

RE: [Texascavers] December CBSP Project report-Addendum

[Mark . Alman]

 

The Boy Scouts of Troop 366 from Denton worked ~3 hours on removing invasive 
cedar in an area between the Spicewood Springs Trail parking lot and the next 
parking lot going back towards the CBSP office.

 

After lunch, they were then lead by Mark Alman to Dynamite Cave, (which Kevin 
Ferguson, CBSP’s Acting and, hopefully, next Superintendent, was gracious 
enough to show yours truly how to get there) for a fun bit of exploration.

 

I had the Scouts flag the heck out of the trail to the cave, so we’d be able to 
find it next month when ~60 Girl Scouts and a Boy Scout Troop from Brownwood 
will descend on the park the weekend of January 14th.

 

Note: I will need volunteers for this, so if you’re interested, contact me 
offline at texascav...@yahoo.com.

 

We discovered the bones from some small varmint and placed the bones on a 
makeshift altar formed from a dry stalagmite for all of the world to admire and 
enjoy. We then left Dynamite Cave and made our way to Turtle Shell Cave.

 

No varmints were observed, but, the Scouts again flagged the trail so well to 
the cave that I believe Stevie Wonder and Helen Keller would be able to find 
it! They also reflagged the area inside the cave that contains bones and some 
delicate formations on the floor. This was done to insure no one would cross 
this area and destroy the flowstone.

 

We contemplated dropping the pit in Turtle Shell, but, water was flowing very 
well into this area and we opted not to. (Note: No bats observed, but, this is 
the wettest I have ever seen this cave!).

 

Around 4 PM, we parted ways, as the Scouts were wanting to hike to Gorman Falls 
and I had to make a beeline back to Dallas for the DFW Grotto Holiday 
Extravaganza at Natasha Glasgow’s house!

 

 

Thanks!

 

Mark

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From: Jim Kennedy [mailto:jkenn...@batcon.org] 
Sent: Friday, December 16, 2011 10:23 AM
To: CaveTex
Subject: [Texascavers] December CBSP Project report

 

Project date:   9–11 December 2011

Reported by:Jim Kennedy 

Report date:12 December 2011

Person-hours:   275 hours (142.5 work, 133 travel)

Personnel: (23 folks)   Mark Alman, Laurie Culbert, Nate Culbert, Andy Edwards, 
Angela Edwards, Galen Falgout, Lee Jay Graves, Meg Inglis, Jerome Cap 
(incorrectly listed as C. P. Jerome on last month’s trip report), Robert 
Lassen, Jim Kennedy, Maya Liu, Ryan Monjaras, Adiah Oyefesobi, Muyiwa 
Oyefesobi, Kris Peña, William Quast, Riley Ross, Scott Serur, Bryce Smith, 
Heather Túček, Matt Turner, Matt Zaldivar (+11 Boy Scouts and their leaders)

We thought that the predicted cold temperatures, rain, and proximity to the 
Christmas holidays would give us a low turnout this weekend, but we were 
pleasantly surprised by the number of enthusiastic cavers that showed up.  
Friday was bitterly cold, but Saturday was quite pleasant.  Saturday night was 
warmer than Friday, but it rained from about 1 a.m. to 6 a.m., making the exit 
from camp tricky for those folks with passenger cars and street tires.  As for 
the caves, Dog and Butterfly continues to go, with a third pit discovered after 
some rock removal.  Two small caves were mapped by Jim’s team, with another 
karst feature discovered and mapped.  And several teams went out to ridgewalk 
and verify locations of known caves.  Five teams had a very productive and fun 
weekend.

Team 1  Andy Edwards, Kris Peña, William Quast, Heather Túček   

Last month’s Dog and Butterfly Cave (SAB197) team returned to the cave again, 
this time with new Aggie caver Jerome.  While Kris and Heather surveyed the 
first pit and a room named “Olivia’s Chamber,” the boys went to work on the 
rock that was precariously perched on the edge of the second drop.  Some 
hammering finally sent it to the bottom of the pit.  William rigged this drop 
about the same time that the girls finished their survey.  Everyone descended, 
and found that the passage continued through a mud squeeze, where they found a 
third drop!  It’s at least 5m deep, and another drop or climbdown can be seen 
beyond that, but it is not freeclimbable and there are no natural anchors.  
Water could be heard below.  The next trip will require yet another rope (the 
third) and a bolt kit to set an anchor.

Team one’s hours: 32.5

 

Team 2  Maya Liu, Jim Kennedy, Adiah Oyefesobi, Muyiwa Oyefesobi

Jim promised to help teach Maya some sketching skills, so this group headed out 
to some small caves that we didn’t yet have survey for.  The group drove past 
the old Caver Camp and parked near Ankle Biter Cave (SAB591).  They also walked 
past Tire Eater Cave (SAB615) before crossing over some nice fissure karst that 
Jim found many years ago.  One spot actually turned out to have a real 
surveyable cave, but barely so.  The enthusiastic group of new cavers took 
turns climbing into the cave, and Maya kept book while the others completed the 
two-shot survey.  May

RE: [Texascavers] December CBSP Project report-Addendum

[Mark . Alman]

 

The Boy Scouts of Troop 366 from Denton worked ~3 hours on removing invasive 
cedar in an area between the Spicewood Springs Trail parking lot and the next 
parking lot going back towards the CBSP office.

 

After lunch, they were then lead by Mark Alman to Dynamite Cave, (which Kevin 
Ferguson, CBSP’s Acting and, hopefully, next Superintendent, was gracious 
enough to show yours truly how to get there) for a fun bit of exploration.

 

I had the Scouts flag the heck out of the trail to the cave, so we’d be able to 
find it next month when ~60 Girl Scouts and a Boy Scout Troop from Brownwood 
will descend on the park the weekend of January 14th.

 

Note: I will need volunteers for this, so if you’re interested, contact me 
offline at texascav...@yahoo.com.

 

We discovered the bones from some small varmint and placed the bones on a 
makeshift altar formed from a dry stalagmite for all of the world to admire and 
enjoy. We then left Dynamite Cave and made our way to Turtle Shell Cave.

 

No varmints were observed, but, the Scouts again flagged the trail so well to 
the cave that I believe Stevie Wonder and Helen Keller would be able to find 
it! They also reflagged the area inside the cave that contains bones and some 
delicate formations on the floor. This was done to insure no one would cross 
this area and destroy the flowstone.

 

We contemplated dropping the pit in Turtle Shell, but, water was flowing very 
well into this area and we opted not to. (Note: No bats observed, but, this is 
the wettest I have ever seen this cave!).

 

Around 4 PM, we parted ways, as the Scouts were wanting to hike to Gorman Falls 
and I had to make a beeline back to Dallas for the DFW Grotto Holiday 
Extravaganza at Natasha Glasgow’s house!

 

 

Thanks!

 

Mark

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From: Jim Kennedy [mailto:jkenn...@batcon.org] 
Sent: Friday, December 16, 2011 10:23 AM
To: CaveTex
Subject: [Texascavers] December CBSP Project report

 

Project date:   9–11 December 2011

Reported by:Jim Kennedy 

Report date:12 December 2011

Person-hours:   275 hours (142.5 work, 133 travel)

Personnel: (23 folks)   Mark Alman, Laurie Culbert, Nate Culbert, Andy Edwards, 
Angela Edwards, Galen Falgout, Lee Jay Graves, Meg Inglis, Jerome Cap 
(incorrectly listed as C. P. Jerome on last month’s trip report), Robert 
Lassen, Jim Kennedy, Maya Liu, Ryan Monjaras, Adiah Oyefesobi, Muyiwa 
Oyefesobi, Kris Peña, William Quast, Riley Ross, Scott Serur, Bryce Smith, 
Heather Túček, Matt Turner, Matt Zaldivar (+11 Boy Scouts and their leaders)

We thought that the predicted cold temperatures, rain, and proximity to the 
Christmas holidays would give us a low turnout this weekend, but we were 
pleasantly surprised by the number of enthusiastic cavers that showed up.  
Friday was bitterly cold, but Saturday was quite pleasant.  Saturday night was 
warmer than Friday, but it rained from about 1 a.m. to 6 a.m., making the exit 
from camp tricky for those folks with passenger cars and street tires.  As for 
the caves, Dog and Butterfly continues to go, with a third pit discovered after 
some rock removal.  Two small caves were mapped by Jim’s team, with another 
karst feature discovered and mapped.  And several teams went out to ridgewalk 
and verify locations of known caves.  Five teams had a very productive and fun 
weekend.

Team 1  Andy Edwards, Kris Peña, William Quast, Heather Túček   

Last month’s Dog and Butterfly Cave (SAB197) team returned to the cave again, 
this time with new Aggie caver Jerome.  While Kris and Heather surveyed the 
first pit and a room named “Olivia’s Chamber,” the boys went to work on the 
rock that was precariously perched on the edge of the second drop.  Some 
hammering finally sent it to the bottom of the pit.  William rigged this drop 
about the same time that the girls finished their survey.  Everyone descended, 
and found that the passage continued through a mud squeeze, where they found a 
third drop!  It’s at least 5m deep, and another drop or climbdown can be seen 
beyond that, but it is not freeclimbable and there are no natural anchors.  
Water could be heard below.  The next trip will require yet another rope (the 
third) and a bolt kit to set an anchor.

Team one’s hours: 32.5

 

Team 2  Maya Liu, Jim Kennedy, Adiah Oyefesobi, Muyiwa Oyefesobi

Jim promised to help teach Maya some sketching skills, so this group headed out 
to some small caves that we didn’t yet have survey for.  The group drove past 
the old Caver Camp and parked near Ankle Biter Cave (SAB591).  They also walked 
past Tire Eater Cave (SAB615) before crossing over some nice fissure karst that 
Jim found many years ago.  One spot actually turned out to have a real 
surveyable cave, but barely so.  The enthusiastic group of new cavers took 
turns climbing into the cave, and Maya kept book while the others completed the 
two-shot survey.  May

[Texascavers] Extremophile Microbe Found in Lava Tube

[Mark Minton]

Scientists in Oregon have found a microbe in a lave tube 
that can live on the mineral olivine in a low-oxygen 
environment: 
. 
The corresponding journal article is available as a free preprint by 
following a link in the story.


Mark Minton

Please reply to mmin...@caver.net
Permanent email address is mmin...@illinoisalumni.org 



-
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To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com
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[Texascavers] Extremophile Microbe Found in Lava Tube

[Mark Minton]

Scientists in Oregon have found a microbe in a lave tube 
that can live on the mineral olivine in a low-oxygen 
environment: 
. 
The corresponding journal article is available as a free preprint by 
following a link in the story.


Mark Minton

Please reply to mmin...@caver.net
Permanent email address is mmin...@illinoisalumni.org 



-
Visit our website: http://texascavers.com
To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com
For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com

[Texascavers] Extremophile Microbe Found in Lava Tube

[Mark Minton]

Scientists in Oregon have found a microbe in a lave tube 
that can live on the mineral olivine in a low-oxygen 
environment: 
. 
The corresponding journal article is available as a free preprint by 
following a link in the story.


Mark Minton

Please reply to mmin...@caver.net
Permanent email address is mmin...@illinoisalumni.org 



-
Visit our website: http://texascavers.com
To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com
For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com

[Texascavers] Breakthrough creates Hungary's largest cave system

[Lee H. Skinner]

A couple of Hungarian cave articles:

Breakthrough creates Hungary's largest cave system:

http://tinyurl.com/735lm68

and

Hungary's third longest cave discovered:

http://tinyurl.com/79zexl3

Lee Skinner

-
Visit our website: http://texascavers.com
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For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com

[Texascavers] Breakthrough creates Hungary's largest cave system

[Lee H. Skinner]

A couple of Hungarian cave articles:

Breakthrough creates Hungary's largest cave system:

http://tinyurl.com/735lm68

and

Hungary's third longest cave discovered:

http://tinyurl.com/79zexl3

Lee Skinner

-
Visit our website: http://texascavers.com
To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com
For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com

[Texascavers] Breakthrough creates Hungary's largest cave system

[Lee H. Skinner]

A couple of Hungarian cave articles:

Breakthrough creates Hungary's largest cave system:

http://tinyurl.com/735lm68

and

Hungary's third longest cave discovered:

http://tinyurl.com/79zexl3

Lee Skinner

-
Visit our website: http://texascavers.com
To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com
For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com

[Texascavers] December CBSP Project report

[Jim Kennedy]

Project date:   9–11 December 2011
Reported by:Jim Kennedy 
Report date:12 December 2011
Person-hours:   275 hours (142.5 work, 133 travel)
Personnel: (23 folks)   Mark Alman, Laurie Culbert, Nate Culbert, Andy Edwards, 
Angela Edwards, Galen Falgout, Lee Jay Graves, Meg Inglis, Jerome Cap 
(incorrectly listed as C. P. Jerome on last month’s trip report), Robert 
Lassen, Jim Kennedy, Maya Liu, Ryan Monjaras, Adiah Oyefesobi, Muyiwa 
Oyefesobi, Kris Peña, William Quast, Riley Ross, Scott Serur, Bryce Smith, 
Heather Túček, Matt Turner, Matt Zaldivar (+11 Boy Scouts and their leaders)

We thought that the predicted cold temperatures, rain, and proximity to the 
Christmas holidays would give us a low turnout this weekend, but we were 
pleasantly surprised by the number of enthusiastic cavers that showed up.  
Friday was bitterly cold, but Saturday was quite pleasant.  Saturday night was 
warmer than Friday, but it rained from about 1 a.m. to 6 a.m., making the exit 
from camp tricky for those folks with passenger cars and street tires.  As for 
the caves, Dog and Butterfly continues to go, with a third pit discovered after 
some rock removal.  Two small caves were mapped by Jim’s team, with another 
karst feature discovered and mapped.  And several teams went out to ridgewalk 
and verify locations of known caves.  Five teams had a very productive and fun 
weekend.


Team 1  Andy Edwards, Kris Peña, William Quast, Heather Túček   

Last month’s Dog and Butterfly Cave (SAB197) team returned to the cave again, 
this time with new Aggie caver Jerome.  While Kris and Heather surveyed the 
first pit and a room named “Olivia’s Chamber,” the boys went to work on the 
rock that was precariously perched on the edge of the second drop.  Some 
hammering finally sent it to the bottom of the pit.  William rigged this drop 
about the same time that the girls finished their survey.  Everyone descended, 
and found that the passage continued through a mud squeeze, where they found a 
third drop!  It’s at least 5m deep, and another drop or climbdown can be seen 
beyond that, but it is not freeclimbable and there are no natural anchors.  
Water could be heard below.  The next trip will require yet another rope (the 
third) and a bolt kit to set an anchor.
Team one’s hours: 32.5


Team 2  Maya Liu, Jim Kennedy, Adiah Oyefesobi, Muyiwa Oyefesobi

Jim promised to help teach Maya some sketching skills, so this group headed out 
to some small caves that we didn’t yet have survey for.  The group drove past 
the old Caver Camp and parked near Ankle Biter Cave (SAB591).  They also walked 
past Tire Eater Cave (SAB615) before crossing over some nice fissure karst that 
Jim found many years ago.  One spot actually turned out to have a real 
surveyable cave, but barely so.  The enthusiastic group of new cavers took 
turns climbing into the cave, and Maya kept book while the others completed the 
two-shot survey.  Maya made serviceable plan, profile, and cross-section 
sketches to scale while Jim coached.  It was named Unexciting Cave (no SAB 
number yet), and it certainly lived up to it’s name!  Next they walked towards 
Barrets Cave (SAB388).  On the way they found another pit, which turned out to 
be Scorpion Pit (SAB289), which was mis-plotted by over 200m!  We got better 
coordinates while Maya climbed partway in.  She said that she saw water in 
there, also.  From there, the group went straight to Barrets Cave, where they 
re-mapped it in 3 shots (7.39m).  It had a mouse (Peromyscus sp.), and Cicurina 
spiders.  It was the second sketch that Maya made, and the profile, especially, 
looks good.  The next objective was Corys Cave (SAB385).  But Jim found another 
sink next to it and everyone spent the next two hours digging dirt and moving 
rocks before it was finally opened.  It turned out to be a beautiful circular 
well with a small pool of water at the bottom.  Unfortunately, it was only 3.2m 
deep, and the drain was impassable.  It was surveyed and sketched, and named 
Honeymoon Cave (no SAB number yet) in honor of Adiah and Muyiwa’s recent 
wedding.  Finally, Jim also relocated Beckys Dig, which is NOT a karst feature 
and is being removed from the list of Park caves.  Jim trashed a pair of cave 
pants, and Maya caved in ski mittens, but everybody made it safely back to camp 
before dark.
Team two’s hours: 31.0


Team 3  Angela Edwards, Galen Falgout, Matt Turner, Matt Zaldivar

After gathering a nice pile of firewood in preparation for the evening’s 
campfire (and thankful that the burn ban was just lifted!), the team left for 
Lively Pasture in order to continue work on Marshmallow Cave (SAB733).  The air 
was good this time, but the passage (still unsurveyed) ends at a dig, and no 
tools were available.  Thwarted, they drove further into Lively Pasture.  They 
looked at several dubious digs that were previously recorded before st

[Texascavers] December CBSP Project report

[Jim Kennedy]

Project date:   9–11 December 2011
Reported by:Jim Kennedy 
Report date:12 December 2011
Person-hours:   275 hours (142.5 work, 133 travel)
Personnel: (23 folks)   Mark Alman, Laurie Culbert, Nate Culbert, Andy Edwards, 
Angela Edwards, Galen Falgout, Lee Jay Graves, Meg Inglis, Jerome Cap 
(incorrectly listed as C. P. Jerome on last month’s trip report), Robert 
Lassen, Jim Kennedy, Maya Liu, Ryan Monjaras, Adiah Oyefesobi, Muyiwa 
Oyefesobi, Kris Peña, William Quast, Riley Ross, Scott Serur, Bryce Smith, 
Heather Túček, Matt Turner, Matt Zaldivar (+11 Boy Scouts and their leaders)

We thought that the predicted cold temperatures, rain, and proximity to the 
Christmas holidays would give us a low turnout this weekend, but we were 
pleasantly surprised by the number of enthusiastic cavers that showed up.  
Friday was bitterly cold, but Saturday was quite pleasant.  Saturday night was 
warmer than Friday, but it rained from about 1 a.m. to 6 a.m., making the exit 
from camp tricky for those folks with passenger cars and street tires.  As for 
the caves, Dog and Butterfly continues to go, with a third pit discovered after 
some rock removal.  Two small caves were mapped by Jim’s team, with another 
karst feature discovered and mapped.  And several teams went out to ridgewalk 
and verify locations of known caves.  Five teams had a very productive and fun 
weekend.


Team 1  Andy Edwards, Kris Peña, William Quast, Heather Túček   

Last month’s Dog and Butterfly Cave (SAB197) team returned to the cave again, 
this time with new Aggie caver Jerome.  While Kris and Heather surveyed the 
first pit and a room named “Olivia’s Chamber,” the boys went to work on the 
rock that was precariously perched on the edge of the second drop.  Some 
hammering finally sent it to the bottom of the pit.  William rigged this drop 
about the same time that the girls finished their survey.  Everyone descended, 
and found that the passage continued through a mud squeeze, where they found a 
third drop!  It’s at least 5m deep, and another drop or climbdown can be seen 
beyond that, but it is not freeclimbable and there are no natural anchors.  
Water could be heard below.  The next trip will require yet another rope (the 
third) and a bolt kit to set an anchor.
Team one’s hours: 32.5


Team 2  Maya Liu, Jim Kennedy, Adiah Oyefesobi, Muyiwa Oyefesobi

Jim promised to help teach Maya some sketching skills, so this group headed out 
to some small caves that we didn’t yet have survey for.  The group drove past 
the old Caver Camp and parked near Ankle Biter Cave (SAB591).  They also walked 
past Tire Eater Cave (SAB615) before crossing over some nice fissure karst that 
Jim found many years ago.  One spot actually turned out to have a real 
surveyable cave, but barely so.  The enthusiastic group of new cavers took 
turns climbing into the cave, and Maya kept book while the others completed the 
two-shot survey.  Maya made serviceable plan, profile, and cross-section 
sketches to scale while Jim coached.  It was named Unexciting Cave (no SAB 
number yet), and it certainly lived up to it’s name!  Next they walked towards 
Barrets Cave (SAB388).  On the way they found another pit, which turned out to 
be Scorpion Pit (SAB289), which was mis-plotted by over 200m!  We got better 
coordinates while Maya climbed partway in.  She said that she saw water in 
there, also.  From there, the group went straight to Barrets Cave, where they 
re-mapped it in 3 shots (7.39m).  It had a mouse (Peromyscus sp.), and Cicurina 
spiders.  It was the second sketch that Maya made, and the profile, especially, 
looks good.  The next objective was Corys Cave (SAB385).  But Jim found another 
sink next to it and everyone spent the next two hours digging dirt and moving 
rocks before it was finally opened.  It turned out to be a beautiful circular 
well with a small pool of water at the bottom.  Unfortunately, it was only 3.2m 
deep, and the drain was impassable.  It was surveyed and sketched, and named 
Honeymoon Cave (no SAB number yet) in honor of Adiah and Muyiwa’s recent 
wedding.  Finally, Jim also relocated Beckys Dig, which is NOT a karst feature 
and is being removed from the list of Park caves.  Jim trashed a pair of cave 
pants, and Maya caved in ski mittens, but everybody made it safely back to camp 
before dark.
Team two’s hours: 31.0


Team 3  Angela Edwards, Galen Falgout, Matt Turner, Matt Zaldivar

After gathering a nice pile of firewood in preparation for the evening’s 
campfire (and thankful that the burn ban was just lifted!), the team left for 
Lively Pasture in order to continue work on Marshmallow Cave (SAB733).  The air 
was good this time, but the passage (still unsurveyed) ends at a dig, and no 
tools were available.  Thwarted, they drove further into Lively Pasture.  They 
looked at several dubious digs that were previously recorded before st

[Texascavers] December CBSP Project report

[Jim Kennedy]

Project date:   9–11 December 2011
Reported by:Jim Kennedy 
Report date:12 December 2011
Person-hours:   275 hours (142.5 work, 133 travel)
Personnel: (23 folks)   Mark Alman, Laurie Culbert, Nate Culbert, Andy Edwards, 
Angela Edwards, Galen Falgout, Lee Jay Graves, Meg Inglis, Jerome Cap 
(incorrectly listed as C. P. Jerome on last month’s trip report), Robert 
Lassen, Jim Kennedy, Maya Liu, Ryan Monjaras, Adiah Oyefesobi, Muyiwa 
Oyefesobi, Kris Peña, William Quast, Riley Ross, Scott Serur, Bryce Smith, 
Heather Túček, Matt Turner, Matt Zaldivar (+11 Boy Scouts and their leaders)

We thought that the predicted cold temperatures, rain, and proximity to the 
Christmas holidays would give us a low turnout this weekend, but we were 
pleasantly surprised by the number of enthusiastic cavers that showed up.  
Friday was bitterly cold, but Saturday was quite pleasant.  Saturday night was 
warmer than Friday, but it rained from about 1 a.m. to 6 a.m., making the exit 
from camp tricky for those folks with passenger cars and street tires.  As for 
the caves, Dog and Butterfly continues to go, with a third pit discovered after 
some rock removal.  Two small caves were mapped by Jim’s team, with another 
karst feature discovered and mapped.  And several teams went out to ridgewalk 
and verify locations of known caves.  Five teams had a very productive and fun 
weekend.


Team 1  Andy Edwards, Kris Peña, William Quast, Heather Túček   

Last month’s Dog and Butterfly Cave (SAB197) team returned to the cave again, 
this time with new Aggie caver Jerome.  While Kris and Heather surveyed the 
first pit and a room named “Olivia’s Chamber,” the boys went to work on the 
rock that was precariously perched on the edge of the second drop.  Some 
hammering finally sent it to the bottom of the pit.  William rigged this drop 
about the same time that the girls finished their survey.  Everyone descended, 
and found that the passage continued through a mud squeeze, where they found a 
third drop!  It’s at least 5m deep, and another drop or climbdown can be seen 
beyond that, but it is not freeclimbable and there are no natural anchors.  
Water could be heard below.  The next trip will require yet another rope (the 
third) and a bolt kit to set an anchor.
Team one’s hours: 32.5


Team 2  Maya Liu, Jim Kennedy, Adiah Oyefesobi, Muyiwa Oyefesobi

Jim promised to help teach Maya some sketching skills, so this group headed out 
to some small caves that we didn’t yet have survey for.  The group drove past 
the old Caver Camp and parked near Ankle Biter Cave (SAB591).  They also walked 
past Tire Eater Cave (SAB615) before crossing over some nice fissure karst that 
Jim found many years ago.  One spot actually turned out to have a real 
surveyable cave, but barely so.  The enthusiastic group of new cavers took 
turns climbing into the cave, and Maya kept book while the others completed the 
two-shot survey.  Maya made serviceable plan, profile, and cross-section 
sketches to scale while Jim coached.  It was named Unexciting Cave (no SAB 
number yet), and it certainly lived up to it’s name!  Next they walked towards 
Barrets Cave (SAB388).  On the way they found another pit, which turned out to 
be Scorpion Pit (SAB289), which was mis-plotted by over 200m!  We got better 
coordinates while Maya climbed partway in.  She said that she saw water in 
there, also.  From there, the group went straight to Barrets Cave, where they 
re-mapped it in 3 shots (7.39m).  It had a mouse (Peromyscus sp.), and Cicurina 
spiders.  It was the second sketch that Maya made, and the profile, especially, 
looks good.  The next objective was Corys Cave (SAB385).  But Jim found another 
sink next to it and everyone spent the next two hours digging dirt and moving 
rocks before it was finally opened.  It turned out to be a beautiful circular 
well with a small pool of water at the bottom.  Unfortunately, it was only 3.2m 
deep, and the drain was impassable.  It was surveyed and sketched, and named 
Honeymoon Cave (no SAB number yet) in honor of Adiah and Muyiwa’s recent 
wedding.  Finally, Jim also relocated Beckys Dig, which is NOT a karst feature 
and is being removed from the list of Park caves.  Jim trashed a pair of cave 
pants, and Maya caved in ski mittens, but everybody made it safely back to camp 
before dark.
Team two’s hours: 31.0


Team 3  Angela Edwards, Galen Falgout, Matt Turner, Matt Zaldivar

After gathering a nice pile of firewood in preparation for the evening’s 
campfire (and thankful that the burn ban was just lifted!), the team left for 
Lively Pasture in order to continue work on Marshmallow Cave (SAB733).  The air 
was good this time, but the passage (still unsurveyed) ends at a dig, and no 
tools were available.  Thwarted, they drove further into Lively Pasture.  They 
looked at several dubious digs that were previously recorded before st

[Texascavers] a gallery of cave pix

[Mixon Bill]

Called to my attention by Gustavo Vela:

http://www.shonephotography.com/gallery/underworld/

--Mixon

For an easy holiday this year, just give everybody the finger.

You may "reply" to the address this message
came from, but for long-term use, save:
Personal: bmi...@alumni.uchicago.edu
AMCS: edi...@amcs-pubs.org or sa...@amcs-pubs.org


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[Texascavers] a gallery of cave pix

[Mixon Bill]

Called to my attention by Gustavo Vela:

http://www.shonephotography.com/gallery/underworld/

--Mixon

For an easy holiday this year, just give everybody the finger.

You may "reply" to the address this message
came from, but for long-term use, save:
Personal: bmi...@alumni.uchicago.edu
AMCS: edi...@amcs-pubs.org or sa...@amcs-pubs.org


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Visit our website: http://texascavers.com
To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com
For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com

[Texascavers] a gallery of cave pix

[Mixon Bill]

Called to my attention by Gustavo Vela:

http://www.shonephotography.com/gallery/underworld/

--Mixon

For an easy holiday this year, just give everybody the finger.

You may "reply" to the address this message
came from, but for long-term use, save:
Personal: bmi...@alumni.uchicago.edu
AMCS: edi...@amcs-pubs.org or sa...@amcs-pubs.org


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Visit our website: http://texascavers.com
To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com
For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com

[Texascavers] Tennessee Caves Reopening from WNS closures in 2012

[J. LaRue Thomas]

Interesting link from theCascade Grotto remailer regarding reopening of 
Tennessee caves:



http://www.scci.org/News/ReopeningCavesMay2012.html




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Visit our website: http://texascavers.com
To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com
For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com

[Texascavers] Tennessee Caves Reopening from WNS closures in 2012

[J. LaRue Thomas]

Interesting link from theCascade Grotto remailer regarding reopening of 
Tennessee caves:



http://www.scci.org/News/ReopeningCavesMay2012.html




-
Visit our website: http://texascavers.com
To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com
For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com

[Texascavers] Tennessee Caves Reopening from WNS closures in 2012

[J. LaRue Thomas]

Interesting link from theCascade Grotto remailer regarding reopening of 
Tennessee caves:



http://www.scci.org/News/ReopeningCavesMay2012.html




-
Visit our website: http://texascavers.com
To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com
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