subject:"\[Texascavers\] Punkin"

[Texascavers] Punkin rigging photos

2017-03-08 Thread Bennett Lee

Does anyone have photos of a rope rigged at the bolts to Punkin, preferably a 
closeup at or near the bolts to see the knot? I'm hoping to use it in a knot 
workshop this Monday.

--Bennett
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Re: [Texascavers] Punkin Cave Photo

2015-09-07 Thread Julia Germany via Texascavers





 

 

Julia G Germany
germa...@aol.com 

 

 

-Original Message-
From: Don Arburn via Texascavers 
To: texascavers 
Sent: Mon, Sep 7, 2015 9:00 pm
Subject: Re: [Texascavers] Punkin Cave Photo


Arburn doesn't know cause he hasn't seen the photo cause he hasn't received the
September issue.


--Don

> On Sep 7, 2015, at 7:31 PM, Carl Kunath via
Texascavers  wrote:
> 
> Arburn doesn't know.
> I
sent a note to Bunnell seeking that information.
> It is a great photo!
> 
>
===Carl Kunath
> 
> -Original Message- From: Mixon Bill via
Texascavers
> Sent: Monday, September 07, 2015 7:09 PM
> To: Cavers Texas
>
Subject: [Texascavers] Punkin Cave Photo
> 
> Anybody know who took that very
nice but uncredited photo of Punkin Cave that is in the September NSS News? --
Mixon
> 
> True bravery is shown by
performing without witnesses what one might be capable of doing before all the
world.
> 
> You may "reply" to the
address this message
> (unless it's a TexasCavers list post)
> came from, but
for long-term use, save:
> Personal: bmi...@alumni.uchicago.edu
> AMCS:
a...@mexicancaves.org or sa...@mexicancaves.org
> 
>
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Re: [Texascavers] Punkin Cave Photo

2015-09-07 Thread Don Arburn via Texascavers

Arburn doesn't know cause he hasn't seen the photo cause he hasn't received the 
September issue.


--Don

> On Sep 7, 2015, at 7:31 PM, Carl Kunath via Texascavers 
>  wrote:
> 
> Arburn doesn't know.
> I sent a note to Bunnell seeking that information.
> It is a great photo!
> 
> ===Carl Kunath
> 
> -Original Message- From: Mixon Bill via Texascavers
> Sent: Monday, September 07, 2015 7:09 PM
> To: Cavers Texas
> Subject: [Texascavers] Punkin Cave Photo
> 
> Anybody know who took that very nice but uncredited photo of Punkin Cave that 
> is in the September NSS News? -- Mixon
> 
> True bravery is shown by performing without witnesses what one might be 
> capable of doing before all the world.
> 
> You may "reply" to the address this message
> (unless it's a TexasCavers list post)
> came from, but for long-term use, save:
> Personal: bmi...@alumni.uchicago.edu
> AMCS: a...@mexicancaves.org or sa...@mexicancaves.org
> 
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Re: [Texascavers] Punkin Cave Photo

2015-09-07 Thread Jim Kennedy via Texascavers

Dave Bunnell. 

Mobile email from my iPhone

> On Sep 7, 2015, at 7:09 PM, Mixon Bill via Texascavers 
>  wrote:
> 
> Anybody know who took that very nice but uncredited photo of Punkin Cave that 
> is in the September NSS News? -- Mixon
> 
> True bravery is shown by performing without witnesses what one might be 
> capable of doing before all the world.
> 
> You may "reply" to the address this message
> (unless it's a TexasCavers list post)
> came from, but for long-term use, save:
> Personal: bmi...@alumni.uchicago.edu
> AMCS: a...@mexicancaves.org or sa...@mexicancaves.org
> 
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Re: [Texascavers] Punkin Cave Photo

2015-09-07 Thread Carl Kunath via Texascavers


Arburn doesn't know.
I sent a note to Bunnell seeking that information.
It is a great photo!

===Carl Kunath

-Original Message- 
From: Mixon Bill via Texascavers

Sent: Monday, September 07, 2015 7:09 PM
To: Cavers Texas
Subject: [Texascavers] Punkin Cave Photo

Anybody know who took that very nice but uncredited photo of Punkin Cave 
that is in the September NSS News? -- Mixon


True bravery is shown by performing without witnesses what one might be 
capable of doing before all the world.


You may "reply" to the address this message
(unless it's a TexasCavers list post)
came from, but for long-term use, save:
Personal: bmi...@alumni.uchicago.edu
AMCS: a...@mexicancaves.org or sa...@mexicancaves.org

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[Texascavers] Punkin Cave Photo

2015-09-07 Thread Mixon Bill via Texascavers

Anybody know who took that very nice but uncredited photo of Punkin Cave that 
is in the September NSS News? -- Mixon

True bravery is shown by performing without witnesses what one might be capable 
of doing before all the world.

You may "reply" to the address this message
(unless it's a TexasCavers list post)
came from, but for long-term use, save:
Personal: bmi...@alumni.uchicago.edu
AMCS: a...@mexicancaves.org or sa...@mexicancaves.org

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Re: [Texascavers] Punkin Cave survey

2015-06-15 Thread gary Dunham via Texascavers

Count me in gary donham
On Jun 15, 2015 2:30 PM, "Crash Kennedy via Texascavers" <
texascavers@texascavers.com> wrote:

> There will be a Punkin survey trip on Saturday, 27 June 2015, followed by
> a TCMA Board meeting at the cabin the next morning.  Please email me
> offlist if you are interested in participating in the survey trip, as there
> is a limit to the number of people on the property.  You MUST be vertically
> competent and have your own gear.  If you have any questions, please call
> me.  Thanks!
>
> Jim "Crash" Kennedy
> 512-663-2287
> cavercr...@gmail.com
>
>
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Re: [Texascavers] Punkin Cave survey

2015-06-15 Thread via Texascavers

Both ellie and I will be there 

Galen Falgout

On Jun 15, 2015, at 2:30 PM, Crash Kennedy via Texascavers 
 wrote:

> There will be a Punkin survey trip on Saturday, 27 June 2015, followed by a 
> TCMA Board meeting at the cabin the next morning.  Please email me offlist if 
> you are interested in participating in the survey trip, as there is a limit 
> to the number of people on the property.  You MUST be vertically competent 
> and have your own gear.  If you have any questions, please call me.  Thanks!
> 
> Jim "Crash" Kennedy
> 512-663-2287
> cavercr...@gmail.com
> 
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[Texascavers] Punkin Cave survey

2015-06-15 Thread Crash Kennedy via Texascavers

There will be a Punkin survey trip on Saturday, 27 June 2015, followed by a
TCMA Board meeting at the cabin the next morning.  Please email me offlist
if you are interested in participating in the survey trip, as there is a
limit to the number of people on the property.  You MUST be vertically
competent and have your own gear.  If you have any questions, please call
me.  Thanks!

Jim "Crash" Kennedy
512-663-2287
cavercr...@gmail.com
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Re: [Texascavers] Punkin Survey openings

2015-03-05 Thread Don Arburn via Texascavers

Punkinheads, if you took fotos this past weekend of bats or critters please 
email copies of them to me. Thanks!

--Don

> On Feb 26, 2015, at 11:06 AM, Crash Kennedy via Texascavers 
>  wrote:
> 
> Sorry for the last-minute notice, but I have a few openings that have come 
> available on this weekend's Punkin survey expedition.  Vertical gear and 
> skills a must.  Contact me off-list by this afternoon if interested.
> 
> Crash
> 
> 512-663-2287
> cavercr...@gmail.com
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[Texascavers] Punkin Survey openings

2015-02-26 Thread Crash Kennedy via Texascavers

Sorry for the last-minute notice, but I have a few openings that have come
available on this weekend's Punkin survey expedition.  Vertical gear and
skills a must.  Contact me off-list by this afternoon if interested.

Crash

512-663-2287
cavercr...@gmail.com
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[Texascavers] Punkin Survey

2015-02-02 Thread Jim Kennedy via Texascavers

There is a Punkin Cave survey trip planned for the last weekend in February 
(returning home March 1).  Contact me offlist for details or to sign up. 

Jim Kennedy
cavercr...@gmail.com

Mobile email from my iPhone
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[Texascavers] Punkin Cave survey report

2014-03-02 Thread Jim Kennedy

This past weekend, 28 February to 2 March 2014, 25 cavers from all over
Texas (and one Canadian!) gathered at the TCMA fieldhouse in Carta Valley,
Texas, for the 21st survey expedition to Punkin Cave.  It was the first
survey trip since December 2012, and we were more than ready!  I had taken
time during the break to go through all the survey notes, and had compiled a
list of 192 leads, so we had a lot to work on.  To sum it up, it was a great
trip.  The weather was fantastic, the company superb, and we got lots
accomplished both on the surface and below.

 

Gill Ediger and Galen Falgout headed out early on Thursday evening to start
working on some juniper-clearing on Friday morning.  I got there about
lunchtime with Lee Jay Graves and Chris Vreeland.  We unpacked all the group
groceries for the weekend and cleaned and organized the cabin (it was still
pretty messy from the group that was there the previous weekend).  Don
Arburn and Ann Scott arrived shortly afterwards, and pitched in with the
cleaning and organizing.  Ann spent about an hour cleaning the disgusting
mess left in the shower and bathroom sink.  Matt Zaldivar arrived about that
time.  Meantime, the rest of the crew migrated over to the little blowhole
along the road to the campsites.  Lee Jay found this years ago, and a recent
resistivity study by George Veni showed it to lead to a sizeable void below.
We all came early to start the dig, armed with numerous implements of
destruction.  And so we began, with Don shooting a time-lapse video until it
got too dark out to see.  The rest of the group eventually straggled in,
mostly around 10 oclock.  The usual b.s. ensued, tents were put up, and
inside bunk space coordinated.  Beers were consumed, tall tales told, and
everyone eventually dropped off to sleep, eager to start the next day and
the caving ahead.

 

In the morning I crawled out of bed around 7 to start breakfast, a cheesy
ham and potato casserole, fruit, yogurt, coffee, and tea.  Eventually
everyone else awoke, survey teams formed, gear got organized, survey leads
and previous notes were gathered, and waivers signed.  We held a brief team
meeting to talk about our objectives, our survey standards, and cave
entrance/exit protocols.  All the surveyors then hiked to the cave, where we
had ropes rigged at all three anchor points.  But we also had a surface
team:  Ediger, Graves, Scott, Arburn, Maya Liu (sidelined with an injured
foot), Sue Schindel, and Keenan Smith (Bryces dad, who was heading over to
Devils River SNA for some fly fishing).  Most of the surface folks were
either going to work on the new dig or another by the Punkin/Deep road, and
agreed to dinner ready for us by 7:30.

 

David Ochel led Matt Zappitello and visiting Canadian Chris Batgirl Omura
back to Superstition Maze to knock off more leads near the connection with
Davey Jones Locker.  They were able to set 12 stations for 31.1m of new
survey, an average of 2.59m per shot.  They also took care of rigging and
derigging the cave, which we all greatly appreciate.  Geary Schindel led his
daughter Aspen and Andrea Croskrey over to the West Maze to work on the
numerous leads there.  The surveyed 34.22m in 12 shots, averaging 2.85m per
shot.  That area is a crazy boneyard, with leads everywhere.

 

I eventually lead my team and Dale Barnards team back through Superstition
to the Woost Woom area, where we were thwarted by hibernating bats.
Altogether we saw three different species, including a half-dozen Townsends
big-eared bats, a hundred or so tri-colored bats, and well over a thousand
cave myotis.  We left that area, still trying to find the tie-in stations to
begin Dales survey.  We eventually found him some leads to survey, and his
team, including Chris Vreeland, R. D. Milhollin, and Matt Zaldivar, set 8
stations for 17.81m (2.23m per shot).  But they were the only team that
didnt leave any unfinished leads where they surveyed.

 

My team changed objectives because of the bats, and headed through Area 51
to a lead we left a year ago.  With the help of Yazmin Avila, Ron
Rutherford, and Galen Falgout, we surveyed 22 stations for 58.62m, averaging
2.66m per shot.  Galen hammered through a particularly gnarly spot, allowing
us to connect back to the Western Maze.  We made a second connection to the
WM survey, and also to the AFT survey that we were trying to find earlier
with Dale.  Oh well.  We exited through the Western Maze thanks to Galens
intimate knowledge of that area, and also left many great leads for the next
trip.

 

Will Quast took Kris Peña, Anna Klis, and Bryce Smith down to the deepest
part of the cave, Fifty Fathoms.  After resurveying a couple of shots near
the Ninth Layer of the Abyss, they extended the survey a few more shots
downward, thereby deepening the cave.  They surveyed 20.49m in seven shots
(2.93m per shot), of which only 13.8m was new footage.  But the cave is now
over 3m deeper!

 

We all got back to the fieldhouse before dark, showe

[DFWgrotto] Fwd: [Texascavers] Punkin Cave survey announcement!

2014-01-21 Thread Diana Tomchick

From: Jim Kennedy mailto:cavercr...@gmail.com>>
Subject: [Texascavers] Punkin Cave survey announcement!
Date: January 21, 2014 9:36:04 AM CST
To: CaveTex mailto:texascavers@texascavers.com>>

The next weekend for the Punkin Survey is 28 Feb to 2 Mar.  We didn’t get a 
single trip in last year due to a lot of complications, and as a result, Deep 
Cave passed us up!  Contact me off-list if you want to sign up or if you need 
more info.  Matt Zapp already signed up!

Crash
cavercr...@gmail.com<mailto:cavercr...@gmail.com>

UT Southwestern Medical Center
The future of medicine, today.
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[Texascavers] Punkin Cave survey announcement!

2014-01-21 Thread Jim Kennedy

The next weekend for the Punkin Survey is 28 Feb to 2 Mar.  We didn't get a
single trip in last year due to a lot of complications, and as a result,
Deep Cave passed us up!  Contact me off-list if you want to sign up or if
you need more info.  Matt Zapp already signed up!

 

Crash

cavercr...@gmail.com

[Texascavers] Punkin Cave Easter Survey Trip Report

2012-04-24 Thread Saj Zappitello

After tracking down the complete survey notes, here is the anxiously
awaited trip report from the Punkin Cave survey over Easter weekend...

Punkin Cave Survey, Easter Weekend, April 6-8, 2012

Friday: Don Arburn worked on the cabin porch roof and other cabin
improvement projects. Ellie Watson, Jen Foote, Phil Thommes, and
Garrett Jorgensen started the day with a familiarization trip into
Deep Cave. Maya Ye Liu, Matt Zappitello, and Saj Zappitello arrived
on-site early afternoon. Matt rigged both drops into Punkin, and Phil
and Garrett tested the ropes. Turns were taken conquering (or
almost-conquering) the alternate entrance (very tight squeeze) into
Deep Cave. Then Matt, Saj, and Maya embarked on a familiarization trip
into Deep Cave, accompanied by Ellie, Jen, Phil, and Garrett for more
familiarization. Geary Schindel, Sue Schindel, and Jacqui Thomas
arrived on Friday evening. Some folks watched a movie while other
folks were serenaded by tuba practice.

Saturday: Matt was designated trip leader en absentia due to his utter
excitement about caving in general and this trip in particular. He
dutifully organized teams and assigned leads with assistance from
Ellie. Don and Maya journeyed into Davey Jones Locker and re-surveyed
35.95 meters with 13 shots. Ellie and Geary surveyed 29.89 meters with
9 shots in Sleepy Hollow. Saj, Matt, and Jacqui went back to Saj’s
exciting lead in Superstition Maze and surveyed 68.87 meters with 24
shots. Garrett, Phil, and Jen surveyed 32.67 meters with 14 shots in
Sleep Hollow including squeezing through a very tight lead… someone
may have temporarily lost their pants. Sue enjoyed the day top-side as
surface support and camp guard. Considerably more ramen was consumed
than usual on this trip without our fearless leader and chef
extraordinaire, Crash Kennedy.

Sunday: Matt successfully learned how to use the family size coffee
pot. Everyone packed up, cleaned up, and headed home.

A total of 167.38 meters were surveyed over the weekend. According to
Crash’s calculations: this gives Punkin Cave a new total of 4345.34
meters of surveyed passages, making it the 339th longest cave survey
in the US, and still the 10th longest in Texas. Punkin is now only 109
meters from passing See My Shovel Cave again for 9th place, 205 meters
from passing Cave Without a Name for 8th place, and 669 meters from
passing Longhorn Cavern for 7th place. Yeehaw!

~Saj Zappitello

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[Texascavers] Punkin Cave Easter Survey Trip Report

2012-04-24 Thread Saj Zappitello

After tracking down the complete survey notes, here is the anxiously
awaited trip report from the Punkin Cave survey over Easter weekend...

Punkin Cave Survey, Easter Weekend, April 6-8, 2012

Friday: Don Arburn worked on the cabin porch roof and other cabin
improvement projects. Ellie Watson, Jen Foote, Phil Thommes, and
Garrett Jorgensen started the day with a familiarization trip into
Deep Cave. Maya Ye Liu, Matt Zappitello, and Saj Zappitello arrived
on-site early afternoon. Matt rigged both drops into Punkin, and Phil
and Garrett tested the ropes. Turns were taken conquering (or
almost-conquering) the alternate entrance (very tight squeeze) into
Deep Cave. Then Matt, Saj, and Maya embarked on a familiarization trip
into Deep Cave, accompanied by Ellie, Jen, Phil, and Garrett for more
familiarization. Geary Schindel, Sue Schindel, and Jacqui Thomas
arrived on Friday evening. Some folks watched a movie while other
folks were serenaded by tuba practice.

Saturday: Matt was designated trip leader en absentia due to his utter
excitement about caving in general and this trip in particular. He
dutifully organized teams and assigned leads with assistance from
Ellie. Don and Maya journeyed into Davey Jones Locker and re-surveyed
35.95 meters with 13 shots. Ellie and Geary surveyed 29.89 meters with
9 shots in Sleepy Hollow. Saj, Matt, and Jacqui went back to Saj’s
exciting lead in Superstition Maze and surveyed 68.87 meters with 24
shots. Garrett, Phil, and Jen surveyed 32.67 meters with 14 shots in
Sleep Hollow including squeezing through a very tight lead… someone
may have temporarily lost their pants. Sue enjoyed the day top-side as
surface support and camp guard. Considerably more ramen was consumed
than usual on this trip without our fearless leader and chef
extraordinaire, Crash Kennedy.

Sunday: Matt successfully learned how to use the family size coffee
pot. Everyone packed up, cleaned up, and headed home.

A total of 167.38 meters were surveyed over the weekend. According to
Crash’s calculations: this gives Punkin Cave a new total of 4345.34
meters of surveyed passages, making it the 339th longest cave survey
in the US, and still the 10th longest in Texas. Punkin is now only 109
meters from passing See My Shovel Cave again for 9th place, 205 meters
from passing Cave Without a Name for 8th place, and 669 meters from
passing Longhorn Cavern for 7th place. Yeehaw!

~Saj Zappitello

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[Texascavers] Punkin Cave Easter Survey Trip Report

2012-04-24 Thread Saj Zappitello

After tracking down the complete survey notes, here is the anxiously
awaited trip report from the Punkin Cave survey over Easter weekend...

Punkin Cave Survey, Easter Weekend, April 6-8, 2012

Friday: Don Arburn worked on the cabin porch roof and other cabin
improvement projects. Ellie Watson, Jen Foote, Phil Thommes, and
Garrett Jorgensen started the day with a familiarization trip into
Deep Cave. Maya Ye Liu, Matt Zappitello, and Saj Zappitello arrived
on-site early afternoon. Matt rigged both drops into Punkin, and Phil
and Garrett tested the ropes. Turns were taken conquering (or
almost-conquering) the alternate entrance (very tight squeeze) into
Deep Cave. Then Matt, Saj, and Maya embarked on a familiarization trip
into Deep Cave, accompanied by Ellie, Jen, Phil, and Garrett for more
familiarization. Geary Schindel, Sue Schindel, and Jacqui Thomas
arrived on Friday evening. Some folks watched a movie while other
folks were serenaded by tuba practice.

Saturday: Matt was designated trip leader en absentia due to his utter
excitement about caving in general and this trip in particular. He
dutifully organized teams and assigned leads with assistance from
Ellie. Don and Maya journeyed into Davey Jones Locker and re-surveyed
35.95 meters with 13 shots. Ellie and Geary surveyed 29.89 meters with
9 shots in Sleepy Hollow. Saj, Matt, and Jacqui went back to Saj’s
exciting lead in Superstition Maze and surveyed 68.87 meters with 24
shots. Garrett, Phil, and Jen surveyed 32.67 meters with 14 shots in
Sleep Hollow including squeezing through a very tight lead… someone
may have temporarily lost their pants. Sue enjoyed the day top-side as
surface support and camp guard. Considerably more ramen was consumed
than usual on this trip without our fearless leader and chef
extraordinaire, Crash Kennedy.

Sunday: Matt successfully learned how to use the family size coffee
pot. Everyone packed up, cleaned up, and headed home.

A total of 167.38 meters were surveyed over the weekend. According to
Crash’s calculations: this gives Punkin Cave a new total of 4345.34
meters of surveyed passages, making it the 339th longest cave survey
in the US, and still the 10th longest in Texas. Punkin is now only 109
meters from passing See My Shovel Cave again for 9th place, 205 meters
from passing Cave Without a Name for 8th place, and 669 meters from
passing Longhorn Cavern for 7th place. Yeehaw!

~Saj Zappitello

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[Texascavers] Punkin Cave survey

2012-03-27 Thread Jim Kennedy

I still have some openings for the upcoming Punkin Cave survey trip, the 
weekend after the TSA Spring Convention (5-8 April 2012).  We plan to head out 
to Carta Valley on Thursday evening, survey all day Friday (Good Friday), all 
day Saturday, and return home sometime Easter Sunday.  Even if you can't make 
it until Friday night, I could still use the help, although preference would be 
given to folks who could commit to surveying both days.  Sketchers are 
especially welcome.  The cave has a minor vertical component at the very 
beginning, so you must have your own vertical gear and be competent in it's 
use.  If you are interested and available, please contact me offlist.  
Carpooling may be available, as may be bunk space in the cabin.  Thanks!

Jim "Crash" Kennedy
jkenn...@batcon.org
512-663-2287 cell

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[Texascavers] Punkin Cave survey

2012-03-27 Thread Jim Kennedy

I still have some openings for the upcoming Punkin Cave survey trip, the 
weekend after the TSA Spring Convention (5-8 April 2012).  We plan to head out 
to Carta Valley on Thursday evening, survey all day Friday (Good Friday), all 
day Saturday, and return home sometime Easter Sunday.  Even if you can't make 
it until Friday night, I could still use the help, although preference would be 
given to folks who could commit to surveying both days.  Sketchers are 
especially welcome.  The cave has a minor vertical component at the very 
beginning, so you must have your own vertical gear and be competent in it's 
use.  If you are interested and available, please contact me offlist.  
Carpooling may be available, as may be bunk space in the cabin.  Thanks!

Jim "Crash" Kennedy
jkenn...@batcon.org
512-663-2287 cell

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[Texascavers] Punkin Cave survey

2012-03-27 Thread Jim Kennedy

I still have some openings for the upcoming Punkin Cave survey trip, the 
weekend after the TSA Spring Convention (5-8 April 2012).  We plan to head out 
to Carta Valley on Thursday evening, survey all day Friday (Good Friday), all 
day Saturday, and return home sometime Easter Sunday.  Even if you can't make 
it until Friday night, I could still use the help, although preference would be 
given to folks who could commit to surveying both days.  Sketchers are 
especially welcome.  The cave has a minor vertical component at the very 
beginning, so you must have your own vertical gear and be competent in it's 
use.  If you are interested and available, please contact me offlist.  
Carpooling may be available, as may be bunk space in the cabin.  Thanks!

Jim "Crash" Kennedy
jkenn...@batcon.org
512-663-2287 cell

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[Texascavers] Punkin Cave survey trip

2012-02-15 Thread Jim Kennedy

Spaces are available for surveyors on this weekend's trip.  Vertical
gear and minimum experience necessary.  Contact me offlist if
interested.  Sketchers get preference, but all welcome up to the field
house maximum (25 people).  I am buying the groceries for the group
meals tomorrow after work, so let me know ASAP if you want to attend.

Jim
512-663-2287

[Texascavers] Punkin Cave survey trip

2012-02-15 Thread Jim Kennedy

Spaces are available for surveyors on this weekend's trip.  Vertical
gear and minimum experience necessary.  Contact me offlist if
interested.  Sketchers get preference, but all welcome up to the field
house maximum (25 people).  I am buying the groceries for the group
meals tomorrow after work, so let me know ASAP if you want to attend.

Jim
512-663-2287

[Texascavers] Punkin Cave survey trip

2012-02-15 Thread Jim Kennedy

Spaces are available for surveyors on this weekend's trip.  Vertical
gear and minimum experience necessary.  Contact me offlist if
interested.  Sketchers get preference, but all welcome up to the field
house maximum (25 people).  I am buying the groceries for the group
meals tomorrow after work, so let me know ASAP if you want to attend.

Jim
512-663-2287

Re: [Texascavers] Punkin Cave

2011-12-20 Thread Carl Kunath

Punkin CaveWhat is the straight line distance from the entrance datum to the 
most remote part of the cave presently surveyed?
Just curious.
===Carl Kunath




From: Jim Kennedy 
Sent: Monday, December 19, 2011 4:20 PM
To: CaveTex 
Subject: [Texascavers] Punkin Cave

Punkin Cave is now the 369th longest cave in the United States!  Longer than 
Cemetary Pit in Georgia.  Longer than Kartchner Caverns in Arizona.  Longer 
than Hubbards Cave in Tennessee. Longer than Trout Cave in West Virginia.  And 
it will be even longer after the February expedition!


-- Crash

Re: [Texascavers] Punkin Cave

2011-12-20 Thread Carl Kunath

Punkin CaveWhat is the straight line distance from the entrance datum to the 
most remote part of the cave presently surveyed?
Just curious.
===Carl Kunath




From: Jim Kennedy 
Sent: Monday, December 19, 2011 4:20 PM
To: CaveTex 
Subject: [Texascavers] Punkin Cave

Punkin Cave is now the 369th longest cave in the United States!  Longer than 
Cemetary Pit in Georgia.  Longer than Kartchner Caverns in Arizona.  Longer 
than Hubbards Cave in Tennessee. Longer than Trout Cave in West Virginia.  And 
it will be even longer after the February expedition!


-- Crash

Re: [Texascavers] Punkin Cave

2011-12-20 Thread Carl Kunath

Punkin CaveWhat is the straight line distance from the entrance datum to the 
most remote part of the cave presently surveyed?
Just curious.
===Carl Kunath




From: Jim Kennedy 
Sent: Monday, December 19, 2011 4:20 PM
To: CaveTex 
Subject: [Texascavers] Punkin Cave

Punkin Cave is now the 369th longest cave in the United States!  Longer than 
Cemetary Pit in Georgia.  Longer than Kartchner Caverns in Arizona.  Longer 
than Hubbards Cave in Tennessee. Longer than Trout Cave in West Virginia.  And 
it will be even longer after the February expedition!


-- Crash

[Texascavers] Punkin Cave

2011-12-19 Thread Jim Kennedy

Punkin Cave is now the 369th longest cave in the United States!  Longer
than Cemetary Pit in Georgia.  Longer than Kartchner Caverns in Arizona.
Longer than Hubbards Cave in Tennessee.  Longer than Trout Cave in West
Virginia.  And it will be even longer after the February expedition!

-- Crash

[Texascavers] Punkin Cave

2011-12-19 Thread Jim Kennedy

Punkin Cave is now the 369th longest cave in the United States!  Longer
than Cemetary Pit in Georgia.  Longer than Kartchner Caverns in Arizona.
Longer than Hubbards Cave in Tennessee.  Longer than Trout Cave in West
Virginia.  And it will be even longer after the February expedition!

-- Crash

[Texascavers] Punkin Cave

2011-12-19 Thread Jim Kennedy

Punkin Cave is now the 369th longest cave in the United States!  Longer
than Cemetary Pit in Georgia.  Longer than Kartchner Caverns in Arizona.
Longer than Hubbards Cave in Tennessee.  Longer than Trout Cave in West
Virginia.  And it will be even longer after the February expedition!

-- Crash

Re: [Texascavers] Punkin Cave trip report

2011-12-08 Thread Logan McNatt

Thanks for the trip report, Jim. I think a lot of us on the list would enjoy
reading more trip reports from those who actually go caving.

Logan

On 12/8/2011 4:10 PM, Jim Kennedy wrote:

*Punkin Cave Survey Expedition #17*

*2-4 December 2011*

This past weekend, 2-4 December 2011, saw more than a dozen cavers convene at TCMA's Carta Valley resort, er, fieldhouse to tackle the monster
mazes of the incredible Punkin Cave, the 10^th longest and 28^th deepest cave in Texas. We, as cavers, are extremely fortunate that we own
Punkin and the equally awesome Deep Cave nearby. I strongly urge all cavers to join the TCMA and help support the purchase of additional caves!

Everybody arrived Friday evening, except Ann, who was attending a swanky office party. We cleaned up the cabin from the previous users,
including tossing out three dead mice. Some folks just don't understand about mouse-proofing buildings by doing such things as sealing all
paper products and food packages in tins, jars, and mouse-proof cabinets. Or turning all plates, cups, bowls, pots, and pans upside down when
storing them. Sigh. But at least the sticky traps we set out are doing their job. After the flurry of cleaning and reorganization, we got
the water and heat turned on, set out some snacks, and settled down to watch a couple of movies (/Chronicles of Riddick/and/Talladega Nights/)
on the big screen while the rest of the crew trickled in.

The next morning we ate a hearty group breakfast, organized into three survey teams, and left for the cave. Lee Jay and Galen led Vivian and
Aubrey to the western side of the cave, below (but not connecting to) Hellmouth. Their survey was slow and meticulous, as Aubrey was working
closely with Viv to develop her sketching skills. When I asked Viv later how Aubrey was progressing with her sketching, Viv proudly said
"She's there!" Good to have another qualified sketcher in our ranks! That team only set 11 shots for a total of 21.36m (1.94m per shot),
but the sketches (from both sketchers) are superlative! This survey is heading to a nice big blank spot on the map, and I hope it continues.

The second team heading out to the West Maze had a bit of a delay when one of the party showed up at the cave entrance and forgot their
boots. Matt Turner, who wasn't feeling up to caving that day, offered to make a run back to the fieldhouse for some borrowed footwear. Once
properly equipped, Dale, Arron, Angela, and Andy went back to some leads in the far southwest corner of the cave that were left from a
previous survey. They pushed a lot of passage and got the most length of the day, but, as usual, left lots more leads for future trips. They
made 21 shots for 74.60m, for an average of 3.55m per shot. One shot was almost 9m long! Despite the early delay and all that survey
footage, they still were not the last out of the cave.

That dubious honor went to my team, which included Oscar, Yaz, and Lydia. I blame it all tight nasty stuff we were in this time. In fact,
our first lead had to be enlarged by rock shaving a tight window through which several leads could be seen. Cemented breakdown plagued our
survey, and we spent a lot of time pounding on rocks. Viv's team heard us almost the entire time, but we never saw them until the very end of
the day. We still managed to make 14 shots, including an 8.41m shot. Too bad that was offset by the 0.64 and 0.65m shots! Our total survey
was 43.57m (3.11m per shot). Yaz was the star of the survey, squeezing into subhuman leads that left Oscar and I just shaking our heads, and
totally destroying her pants in the process.

We got back to the cabin to find that everyone had already showered and that dinner was ready. Thanks to Don, who was still recovering from
shoulder surgery, and Ann for that! The mood was festive, the weather surprisingly warm, and the fellowship awesome. We tossed down a
fabulous meal of chicken mole, Mexican rice (courtesy of Yaz and Matt), frijoles, and iced tea, with an appetizer of chips, guacamole, and
homemade salsas from Galen and Yaz. Dessert was flan, and followed with yet another movie, the classic seasonal flick/Scrooged/.

The next day we had to clean up and close the cabin pretty early, since there was a TCMA meeting in San Antonio at 1:00, and we had 5 TCMA
board members on this expedition. Expedition participants wereDon Arburn,Yazmin Avila,Dale Barnard,Oscar Berrones,Andy Edwards,Angela
Edwards,GalenFalgout,Lee Jay Graves,Lydia Hernandez,Aubri Jenson,Jim Kennedy,Vivian Loftin,Ann Scott,Matt Turner, andArron Wertheim. It is
truly a joy to work with such a dedicated, enthusiastic, skilled, and FUN group of people.

Punkin Cave is still the 28^th deepest cave in the state at 62.4m. Our three survey teams only added another 139.53m to the cave's length in
44 shots, for an average of 3.17m per shot, slightly up from average. This statistic is somewhat misleading, as longer

Re: [Texascavers] Punkin Cave trip report

2011-12-08 Thread Logan McNatt

Thanks for the trip report, Jim. I think a lot of us on the list would enjoy
reading more trip reports from those who actually go caving.

Logan

On 12/8/2011 4:10 PM, Jim Kennedy wrote:

*Punkin Cave Survey Expedition #17*

*2-4 December 2011*

Re: [Texascavers] Punkin Cave trip report

2011-12-08 Thread Logan McNatt

Thanks for the trip report, Jim. I think a lot of us on the list would enjoy
reading more trip reports from those who actually go caving.

Logan

On 12/8/2011 4:10 PM, Jim Kennedy wrote:

*Punkin Cave Survey Expedition #17*

*2-4 December 2011*

[Texascavers] Punkin Cave trip report

2011-12-08 Thread Jim Kennedy

Punkin Cave Survey Expedition #17
2-4 December 2011

This past weekend, 2-4 December 2011, saw more than a dozen cavers
convene at TCMA's Carta Valley resort, er, fieldhouse to tackle the
monster mazes of the incredible Punkin Cave, the 10th longest and 28th
deepest cave in Texas.  We, as cavers, are extremely fortunate that we
own Punkin and the equally awesome Deep Cave nearby.  I strongly urge
all cavers to join the TCMA and help support the purchase of additional
caves!

Everybody arrived Friday evening, except Ann, who was attending a swanky
office party.  We cleaned up the cabin from the previous users,
including tossing out three dead mice.  Some folks just don't understand
about mouse-proofing buildings by doing such things as sealing all paper
products and food packages in tins, jars, and mouse-proof cabinets.  Or
turning all plates, cups, bowls, pots, and pans upside down when storing
them.  Sigh.  But at least the sticky traps we set out are doing their
job.  After the flurry of cleaning and reorganization, we got the water
and heat turned on, set out some snacks, and settled down to watch a
couple of movies (Chronicles of Riddick and Talladega Nights) on the big
screen while the rest of the crew trickled in.

The next morning we ate a hearty group breakfast, organized into three
survey teams, and left for the cave.  Lee Jay and Galen led Vivian and
Aubrey to the western side of the cave, below (but not connecting to)
Hellmouth.  Their survey was slow and meticulous, as Aubrey was working
closely with Viv to develop her sketching skills.  When I asked Viv
later how Aubrey was progressing with her sketching, Viv proudly said
"She's there!"   Good to have another qualified sketcher in our ranks!
That team only set 11 shots for a total of 21.36m (1.94m per shot), but
the sketches (from both sketchers) are superlative!  This survey is
heading to a nice big blank spot on the map, and I hope it continues.

The second team heading out to the West Maze had a bit of a delay when
one of the party showed up at the cave entrance and forgot their boots.
Matt Turner, who wasn't feeling up to caving that day, offered to make a
run back to the fieldhouse for some borrowed footwear.  Once properly
equipped, Dale, Arron, Angela, and Andy went back to some leads in the
far southwest corner of the cave that were left from a previous survey.
They pushed a lot of passage and got the most length of the day, but, as
usual, left lots more leads for future trips.  They made 21 shots for
74.60m, for an average of 3.55m per shot.  One shot was almost 9m long!
Despite the early delay and all that survey footage, they still were not
the last out of the cave.

That dubious honor went to my team, which included Oscar, Yaz, and
Lydia.  I blame it all tight nasty stuff we were in this time.  In fact,
our first lead had to be enlarged by rock shaving a tight window through
which several leads could be seen.  Cemented breakdown plagued our
survey, and we spent a lot of time pounding on rocks.  Viv's team heard
us almost the entire time, but we never saw them until the very end of
the day.  We still managed to make 14 shots, including an 8.41m shot.
Too bad that was offset by the 0.64 and 0.65m shots!  Our total survey
was 43.57m (3.11m per shot).  Yaz was the star of the survey, squeezing
into subhuman leads that left Oscar and I just shaking our heads, and
totally destroying her pants in the process.

We got back to the cabin to find that everyone had already showered and
that dinner was ready.  Thanks to Don, who was still recovering from
shoulder surgery, and Ann for that!  The mood was festive, the weather
surprisingly warm, and the fellowship awesome.  We tossed down a
fabulous meal of chicken mole, Mexican rice (courtesy of Yaz and Matt),
frijoles, and iced tea, with an appetizer of chips, guacamole, and
homemade salsas from Galen and Yaz.  Dessert was flan, and followed with
yet another movie, the classic seasonal flick Scrooged.

The next day we had to clean up and close the cabin pretty early, since
there was a TCMA meeting in San Antonio at 1:00, and we had 5 TCMA board
members on this expedition.  Expedition participants were Don Arburn,
Yazmin Avila, Dale Barnard, Oscar Berrones, Andy Edwards, Angela
Edwards, Galen Falgout, Lee Jay Graves, Lydia Hernandez, Aubri Jenson,
Jim Kennedy, Vivian Loftin, Ann Scott, Matt Turner, and Arron Wertheim.
It is truly a joy to work with such a dedicated, enthusiastic, skilled,
and FUN group of people.

Punkin Cave is still the 28th deepest cave in the state at 62.4m.  Our
three survey teams only added another 139.53m to the cave's length in 44
shots, for an average of 3.17m per shot, slightly up from average.  This
statistic is somewhat misleading, as longer shots could certainly be
made, but the incredible complexity of the cave requires us to place
stations at every passage intersection, and there are a HECK of a lot of
intersections!  This trip brings the cave to just over 4 kilome

[Texascavers] Punkin Cave trip report

2011-12-08 Thread Jim Kennedy

Punkin Cave Survey Expedition #17
2-4 December 2011

This past weekend, 2-4 December 2011, saw more than a dozen cavers
convene at TCMA's Carta Valley resort, er, fieldhouse to tackle the
monster mazes of the incredible Punkin Cave, the 10th longest and 28th
deepest cave in Texas.  We, as cavers, are extremely fortunate that we
own Punkin and the equally awesome Deep Cave nearby.  I strongly urge
all cavers to join the TCMA and help support the purchase of additional
caves!

Everybody arrived Friday evening, except Ann, who was attending a swanky
office party.  We cleaned up the cabin from the previous users,
including tossing out three dead mice.  Some folks just don't understand
about mouse-proofing buildings by doing such things as sealing all paper
products and food packages in tins, jars, and mouse-proof cabinets.  Or
turning all plates, cups, bowls, pots, and pans upside down when storing
them.  Sigh.  But at least the sticky traps we set out are doing their
job.  After the flurry of cleaning and reorganization, we got the water
and heat turned on, set out some snacks, and settled down to watch a
couple of movies (Chronicles of Riddick and Talladega Nights) on the big
screen while the rest of the crew trickled in.

The next morning we ate a hearty group breakfast, organized into three
survey teams, and left for the cave.  Lee Jay and Galen led Vivian and
Aubrey to the western side of the cave, below (but not connecting to)
Hellmouth.  Their survey was slow and meticulous, as Aubrey was working
closely with Viv to develop her sketching skills.  When I asked Viv
later how Aubrey was progressing with her sketching, Viv proudly said
"She's there!"   Good to have another qualified sketcher in our ranks!
That team only set 11 shots for a total of 21.36m (1.94m per shot), but
the sketches (from both sketchers) are superlative!  This survey is
heading to a nice big blank spot on the map, and I hope it continues.

The second team heading out to the West Maze had a bit of a delay when
one of the party showed up at the cave entrance and forgot their boots.
Matt Turner, who wasn't feeling up to caving that day, offered to make a
run back to the fieldhouse for some borrowed footwear.  Once properly
equipped, Dale, Arron, Angela, and Andy went back to some leads in the
far southwest corner of the cave that were left from a previous survey.
They pushed a lot of passage and got the most length of the day, but, as
usual, left lots more leads for future trips.  They made 21 shots for
74.60m, for an average of 3.55m per shot.  One shot was almost 9m long!
Despite the early delay and all that survey footage, they still were not
the last out of the cave.

That dubious honor went to my team, which included Oscar, Yaz, and
Lydia.  I blame it all tight nasty stuff we were in this time.  In fact,
our first lead had to be enlarged by rock shaving a tight window through
which several leads could be seen.  Cemented breakdown plagued our
survey, and we spent a lot of time pounding on rocks.  Viv's team heard
us almost the entire time, but we never saw them until the very end of
the day.  We still managed to make 14 shots, including an 8.41m shot.
Too bad that was offset by the 0.64 and 0.65m shots!  Our total survey
was 43.57m (3.11m per shot).  Yaz was the star of the survey, squeezing
into subhuman leads that left Oscar and I just shaking our heads, and
totally destroying her pants in the process.

We got back to the cabin to find that everyone had already showered and
that dinner was ready.  Thanks to Don, who was still recovering from
shoulder surgery, and Ann for that!  The mood was festive, the weather
surprisingly warm, and the fellowship awesome.  We tossed down a
fabulous meal of chicken mole, Mexican rice (courtesy of Yaz and Matt),
frijoles, and iced tea, with an appetizer of chips, guacamole, and
homemade salsas from Galen and Yaz.  Dessert was flan, and followed with
yet another movie, the classic seasonal flick Scrooged.

The next day we had to clean up and close the cabin pretty early, since
there was a TCMA meeting in San Antonio at 1:00, and we had 5 TCMA board
members on this expedition.  Expedition participants were Don Arburn,
Yazmin Avila, Dale Barnard, Oscar Berrones, Andy Edwards, Angela
Edwards, Galen Falgout, Lee Jay Graves, Lydia Hernandez, Aubri Jenson,
Jim Kennedy, Vivian Loftin, Ann Scott, Matt Turner, and Arron Wertheim.
It is truly a joy to work with such a dedicated, enthusiastic, skilled,
and FUN group of people.

Punkin Cave is still the 28th deepest cave in the state at 62.4m.  Our
three survey teams only added another 139.53m to the cave's length in 44
shots, for an average of 3.17m per shot, slightly up from average.  This
statistic is somewhat misleading, as longer shots could certainly be
made, but the incredible complexity of the cave requires us to place
stations at every passage intersection, and there are a HECK of a lot of
intersections!  This trip brings the cave to just over 4 kilome

[Texascavers] Punkin Cave trip report

2011-12-08 Thread Jim Kennedy

Punkin Cave Survey Expedition #17
2-4 December 2011

This past weekend, 2-4 December 2011, saw more than a dozen cavers
convene at TCMA's Carta Valley resort, er, fieldhouse to tackle the
monster mazes of the incredible Punkin Cave, the 10th longest and 28th
deepest cave in Texas.  We, as cavers, are extremely fortunate that we
own Punkin and the equally awesome Deep Cave nearby.  I strongly urge
all cavers to join the TCMA and help support the purchase of additional
caves!

Everybody arrived Friday evening, except Ann, who was attending a swanky
office party.  We cleaned up the cabin from the previous users,
including tossing out three dead mice.  Some folks just don't understand
about mouse-proofing buildings by doing such things as sealing all paper
products and food packages in tins, jars, and mouse-proof cabinets.  Or
turning all plates, cups, bowls, pots, and pans upside down when storing
them.  Sigh.  But at least the sticky traps we set out are doing their
job.  After the flurry of cleaning and reorganization, we got the water
and heat turned on, set out some snacks, and settled down to watch a
couple of movies (Chronicles of Riddick and Talladega Nights) on the big
screen while the rest of the crew trickled in.

The next morning we ate a hearty group breakfast, organized into three
survey teams, and left for the cave.  Lee Jay and Galen led Vivian and
Aubrey to the western side of the cave, below (but not connecting to)
Hellmouth.  Their survey was slow and meticulous, as Aubrey was working
closely with Viv to develop her sketching skills.  When I asked Viv
later how Aubrey was progressing with her sketching, Viv proudly said
"She's there!"   Good to have another qualified sketcher in our ranks!
That team only set 11 shots for a total of 21.36m (1.94m per shot), but
the sketches (from both sketchers) are superlative!  This survey is
heading to a nice big blank spot on the map, and I hope it continues.

The second team heading out to the West Maze had a bit of a delay when
one of the party showed up at the cave entrance and forgot their boots.
Matt Turner, who wasn't feeling up to caving that day, offered to make a
run back to the fieldhouse for some borrowed footwear.  Once properly
equipped, Dale, Arron, Angela, and Andy went back to some leads in the
far southwest corner of the cave that were left from a previous survey.
They pushed a lot of passage and got the most length of the day, but, as
usual, left lots more leads for future trips.  They made 21 shots for
74.60m, for an average of 3.55m per shot.  One shot was almost 9m long!
Despite the early delay and all that survey footage, they still were not
the last out of the cave.

That dubious honor went to my team, which included Oscar, Yaz, and
Lydia.  I blame it all tight nasty stuff we were in this time.  In fact,
our first lead had to be enlarged by rock shaving a tight window through
which several leads could be seen.  Cemented breakdown plagued our
survey, and we spent a lot of time pounding on rocks.  Viv's team heard
us almost the entire time, but we never saw them until the very end of
the day.  We still managed to make 14 shots, including an 8.41m shot.
Too bad that was offset by the 0.64 and 0.65m shots!  Our total survey
was 43.57m (3.11m per shot).  Yaz was the star of the survey, squeezing
into subhuman leads that left Oscar and I just shaking our heads, and
totally destroying her pants in the process.

We got back to the cabin to find that everyone had already showered and
that dinner was ready.  Thanks to Don, who was still recovering from
shoulder surgery, and Ann for that!  The mood was festive, the weather
surprisingly warm, and the fellowship awesome.  We tossed down a
fabulous meal of chicken mole, Mexican rice (courtesy of Yaz and Matt),
frijoles, and iced tea, with an appetizer of chips, guacamole, and
homemade salsas from Galen and Yaz.  Dessert was flan, and followed with
yet another movie, the classic seasonal flick Scrooged.

The next day we had to clean up and close the cabin pretty early, since
there was a TCMA meeting in San Antonio at 1:00, and we had 5 TCMA board
members on this expedition.  Expedition participants were Don Arburn,
Yazmin Avila, Dale Barnard, Oscar Berrones, Andy Edwards, Angela
Edwards, Galen Falgout, Lee Jay Graves, Lydia Hernandez, Aubri Jenson,
Jim Kennedy, Vivian Loftin, Ann Scott, Matt Turner, and Arron Wertheim.
It is truly a joy to work with such a dedicated, enthusiastic, skilled,
and FUN group of people.

Punkin Cave is still the 28th deepest cave in the state at 62.4m.  Our
three survey teams only added another 139.53m to the cave's length in 44
shots, for an average of 3.17m per shot, slightly up from average.  This
statistic is somewhat misleading, as longer shots could certainly be
made, but the incredible complexity of the cave requires us to place
stations at every passage intersection, and there are a HECK of a lot of
intersections!  This trip brings the cave to just over 4 kilome

RE: [Texascavers] Punkin Cave trip report, 18-20 March

2011-03-29 Thread Mark . Alman

Photos, anyone?

 

 

 

Thanks,

 

Mark

 

 

 

 

From: Jim Kennedy [mailto:jkenn...@batcon.org] 
Sent: Thursday, March 24, 2011 12:24 PM
To: CaveTex
Subject: [Texascavers] Punkin Cave trip report, 18-20 March

 

Punkin Cave Survey Expedition #15, 18-20 March 2011

reported by Jim "Crash" Kennedy, expedition leader

[For general background on Punkin Cave and previous survey expeditions, please 
refer to past postings on CaveTex. Feel free to re-distribute or print in 
caving publications with appropriate credit.]

Introduction:  Punkin Cave lies near the tiny community of Carta Valley in 
Edwards County, Texas, and is currently the 14th longest cave in the state.  It 
is rapidly growing due to the dedicated efforts of a fairly small group of 
cavers.  We estimate that at least 1km passages remain unsurveyed, which, when 
eventually completed, will place the cave firmly in the top 10 list of longest 
caves in Texas.  That is not bad for a long-neglected cave previously thought 
to just be a large entrance room and some crawls!  Following is a brief report 
of the most recent trip.

After the wildly successful multi-day survey trip this past winter (28 December 
through 1 January), it was clear to me that the massive 5-6 team survey 
expeditions were no longer as effective as smaller trips with people intimately 
familiar with certain parts of the cave.  I planned this trip for a maximum of 
12 surveyors, but in the end only had 10.  This worked out fine, with three 
teams tackling different areas of the cave, mopping up leads, and surveying 
into virgin passage.  I would still like to plan another multi-day expedition, 
and am currently looking at the Easter weekend.  The March expedition was made 
up of 5 Punkin Cave veterans and 5 cavers new to the project, a nice mix.  We 
saw 3 species of bats hibernating in the cave, tri-colored bats (Perimyotis 
subflavus), cave myotis (Myotis velifer), and Townsends big-eared bat 
(Corynorhinus townsendii).  I estimate probably 400-500 cave myotis, a few 
dozen big-eared bats, and upwards of a thousand or so trikes in the entire cave 
during the winter months.

As everyone was arriving Friday evening, I led a short trip to Deep Cave to the 
Forest of Columns and Helictite Room.  We got there right at dusk, and briefly 
admired the bat emergence before rushing through the cave.  We got to see at 
least one tri-colored bat and a black scorpion up close before exiting.  
Joining me were Yaz Avila, Lydia Hernandez, and Aubri Jenson.  The next morning 
we got up, had a fabulous breakfast, and broke into survey teams.

The first team, TEAM SUPERSTITION, went back to some leads left since 2006 near 
the beginning of Superstition Maze.  Some of these were obvious leads, 
unsurveyed and passed up by many teams over the years heading deeper into the 
cave.  Matt Zappitello, a veteran of many Superstition surveys, ably led the 
team to various leads, interpreting the old survey notes and setting stations.  
David Ochel admirably sketched this complicated section, and Aubri Jenson 
logged time with the Suuntos.  There are still more leads to map in this area, 
and everyone on the team indicated that they want to return some day.  They put 
in an eight-hour day, and made 21 survey shots, gaining an additional 61.11m of 
passage (average of 2.91m per shot).

The second team, TEAM WEST MAZE, headed off to the large and growing section of 
cave on the western side of the Entrance Room.  Team leader Lee Jay Graves has 
been working in this part of the cave for about 4 trips now, and continues to 
discover large rooms and a butt-load of passages.  This time he was assisted by 
Justin Shaw in his first time at keeping survey book in Punkin, and Galen 
Falgout and Angela Edwards scouting and setting stations.  It was the first 
Punkin survey trip for all three.  They placed 23 stations in a remarkable 10 
hour trip, adding 72.38m to the length of the cave.  This is an average of 
3.15m per shot. They extended the survey downwards a lot, to the new fourth 
deepest point in the cave.  There is a heck of lot more to do in this area, and 
everyone is fired up for the next trip.

The third team, TEAM AREA 51, consisted of trip leader Crash and veterans 
Yazmin Avila and Lydia Hernandez.  They began their survey slowly, mopping up a 
couple of small leads left from the December surveys off of Superstition Maze.  
They connected back to the room near the Woost Woom (now named the Widdle Woom) 
and another room east of that one (now called the West Woom).  Finally stopped 
by too-tight leads and the lack of a hammer, they went back through the Widdle 
Woom to finish another lead left by Jim, Tone Garot, Jen Foote, and Lydia in 
December.  It quickly connected back to previously surveyed portions of 
Superstition Maze.  Poking around this section, they soon found large 
unsurveyed virgin leads.  They took a 45 minute break to retrieve the Disto 
which was accidentally dropp

RE: [Texascavers] Punkin Cave trip report, 18-20 March

2011-03-29 Thread Mark . Alman

Photos, anyone?

 

 

 

Thanks,

 

Mark

 

 

 

 

From: Jim Kennedy [mailto:jkenn...@batcon.org] 
Sent: Thursday, March 24, 2011 12:24 PM
To: CaveTex
Subject: [Texascavers] Punkin Cave trip report, 18-20 March

 

Punkin Cave Survey Expedition #15, 18-20 March 2011

reported by Jim "Crash" Kennedy, expedition leader

[For general background on Punkin Cave and previous survey expeditions, please 
refer to past postings on CaveTex. Feel free to re-distribute or print in 
caving publications with appropriate credit.]

Introduction:  Punkin Cave lies near the tiny community of Carta Valley in 
Edwards County, Texas, and is currently the 14th longest cave in the state.  It 
is rapidly growing due to the dedicated efforts of a fairly small group of 
cavers.  We estimate that at least 1km passages remain unsurveyed, which, when 
eventually completed, will place the cave firmly in the top 10 list of longest 
caves in Texas.  That is not bad for a long-neglected cave previously thought 
to just be a large entrance room and some crawls!  Following is a brief report 
of the most recent trip.

After the wildly successful multi-day survey trip this past winter (28 December 
through 1 January), it was clear to me that the massive 5-6 team survey 
expeditions were no longer as effective as smaller trips with people intimately 
familiar with certain parts of the cave.  I planned this trip for a maximum of 
12 surveyors, but in the end only had 10.  This worked out fine, with three 
teams tackling different areas of the cave, mopping up leads, and surveying 
into virgin passage.  I would still like to plan another multi-day expedition, 
and am currently looking at the Easter weekend.  The March expedition was made 
up of 5 Punkin Cave veterans and 5 cavers new to the project, a nice mix.  We 
saw 3 species of bats hibernating in the cave, tri-colored bats (Perimyotis 
subflavus), cave myotis (Myotis velifer), and Townsends big-eared bat 
(Corynorhinus townsendii).  I estimate probably 400-500 cave myotis, a few 
dozen big-eared bats, and upwards of a thousand or so trikes in the entire cave 
during the winter months.

As everyone was arriving Friday evening, I led a short trip to Deep Cave to the 
Forest of Columns and Helictite Room.  We got there right at dusk, and briefly 
admired the bat emergence before rushing through the cave.  We got to see at 
least one tri-colored bat and a black scorpion up close before exiting.  
Joining me were Yaz Avila, Lydia Hernandez, and Aubri Jenson.  The next morning 
we got up, had a fabulous breakfast, and broke into survey teams.

The first team, TEAM SUPERSTITION, went back to some leads left since 2006 near 
the beginning of Superstition Maze.  Some of these were obvious leads, 
unsurveyed and passed up by many teams over the years heading deeper into the 
cave.  Matt Zappitello, a veteran of many Superstition surveys, ably led the 
team to various leads, interpreting the old survey notes and setting stations.  
David Ochel admirably sketched this complicated section, and Aubri Jenson 
logged time with the Suuntos.  There are still more leads to map in this area, 
and everyone on the team indicated that they want to return some day.  They put 
in an eight-hour day, and made 21 survey shots, gaining an additional 61.11m of 
passage (average of 2.91m per shot).

The second team, TEAM WEST MAZE, headed off to the large and growing section of 
cave on the western side of the Entrance Room.  Team leader Lee Jay Graves has 
been working in this part of the cave for about 4 trips now, and continues to 
discover large rooms and a butt-load of passages.  This time he was assisted by 
Justin Shaw in his first time at keeping survey book in Punkin, and Galen 
Falgout and Angela Edwards scouting and setting stations.  It was the first 
Punkin survey trip for all three.  They placed 23 stations in a remarkable 10 
hour trip, adding 72.38m to the length of the cave.  This is an average of 
3.15m per shot. They extended the survey downwards a lot, to the new fourth 
deepest point in the cave.  There is a heck of lot more to do in this area, and 
everyone is fired up for the next trip.

The third team, TEAM AREA 51, consisted of trip leader Crash and veterans 
Yazmin Avila and Lydia Hernandez.  They began their survey slowly, mopping up a 
couple of small leads left from the December surveys off of Superstition Maze.  
They connected back to the room near the Woost Woom (now named the Widdle Woom) 
and another room east of that one (now called the West Woom).  Finally stopped 
by too-tight leads and the lack of a hammer, they went back through the Widdle 
Woom to finish another lead left by Jim, Tone Garot, Jen Foote, and Lydia in 
December.  It quickly connected back to previously surveyed portions of 
Superstition Maze.  Poking around this section, they soon found large 
unsurveyed virgin leads.  They took a 45 minute break to retrieve the Disto 
which was accidentally dropp

RE: [Texascavers] Punkin Cave trip report, 18-20 March

2011-03-29 Thread Mark . Alman

Photos, anyone?

 

 

 

Thanks,

 

Mark

 

 

 

 

From: Jim Kennedy [mailto:jkenn...@batcon.org] 
Sent: Thursday, March 24, 2011 12:24 PM
To: CaveTex
Subject: [Texascavers] Punkin Cave trip report, 18-20 March

 

Punkin Cave Survey Expedition #15, 18-20 March 2011

reported by Jim "Crash" Kennedy, expedition leader

[For general background on Punkin Cave and previous survey expeditions, please 
refer to past postings on CaveTex. Feel free to re-distribute or print in 
caving publications with appropriate credit.]

Introduction:  Punkin Cave lies near the tiny community of Carta Valley in 
Edwards County, Texas, and is currently the 14th longest cave in the state.  It 
is rapidly growing due to the dedicated efforts of a fairly small group of 
cavers.  We estimate that at least 1km passages remain unsurveyed, which, when 
eventually completed, will place the cave firmly in the top 10 list of longest 
caves in Texas.  That is not bad for a long-neglected cave previously thought 
to just be a large entrance room and some crawls!  Following is a brief report 
of the most recent trip.

After the wildly successful multi-day survey trip this past winter (28 December 
through 1 January), it was clear to me that the massive 5-6 team survey 
expeditions were no longer as effective as smaller trips with people intimately 
familiar with certain parts of the cave.  I planned this trip for a maximum of 
12 surveyors, but in the end only had 10.  This worked out fine, with three 
teams tackling different areas of the cave, mopping up leads, and surveying 
into virgin passage.  I would still like to plan another multi-day expedition, 
and am currently looking at the Easter weekend.  The March expedition was made 
up of 5 Punkin Cave veterans and 5 cavers new to the project, a nice mix.  We 
saw 3 species of bats hibernating in the cave, tri-colored bats (Perimyotis 
subflavus), cave myotis (Myotis velifer), and Townsends big-eared bat 
(Corynorhinus townsendii).  I estimate probably 400-500 cave myotis, a few 
dozen big-eared bats, and upwards of a thousand or so trikes in the entire cave 
during the winter months.

As everyone was arriving Friday evening, I led a short trip to Deep Cave to the 
Forest of Columns and Helictite Room.  We got there right at dusk, and briefly 
admired the bat emergence before rushing through the cave.  We got to see at 
least one tri-colored bat and a black scorpion up close before exiting.  
Joining me were Yaz Avila, Lydia Hernandez, and Aubri Jenson.  The next morning 
we got up, had a fabulous breakfast, and broke into survey teams.

The first team, TEAM SUPERSTITION, went back to some leads left since 2006 near 
the beginning of Superstition Maze.  Some of these were obvious leads, 
unsurveyed and passed up by many teams over the years heading deeper into the 
cave.  Matt Zappitello, a veteran of many Superstition surveys, ably led the 
team to various leads, interpreting the old survey notes and setting stations.  
David Ochel admirably sketched this complicated section, and Aubri Jenson 
logged time with the Suuntos.  There are still more leads to map in this area, 
and everyone on the team indicated that they want to return some day.  They put 
in an eight-hour day, and made 21 survey shots, gaining an additional 61.11m of 
passage (average of 2.91m per shot).

The second team, TEAM WEST MAZE, headed off to the large and growing section of 
cave on the western side of the Entrance Room.  Team leader Lee Jay Graves has 
been working in this part of the cave for about 4 trips now, and continues to 
discover large rooms and a butt-load of passages.  This time he was assisted by 
Justin Shaw in his first time at keeping survey book in Punkin, and Galen 
Falgout and Angela Edwards scouting and setting stations.  It was the first 
Punkin survey trip for all three.  They placed 23 stations in a remarkable 10 
hour trip, adding 72.38m to the length of the cave.  This is an average of 
3.15m per shot. They extended the survey downwards a lot, to the new fourth 
deepest point in the cave.  There is a heck of lot more to do in this area, and 
everyone is fired up for the next trip.

The third team, TEAM AREA 51, consisted of trip leader Crash and veterans 
Yazmin Avila and Lydia Hernandez.  They began their survey slowly, mopping up a 
couple of small leads left from the December surveys off of Superstition Maze.  
They connected back to the room near the Woost Woom (now named the Widdle Woom) 
and another room east of that one (now called the West Woom).  Finally stopped 
by too-tight leads and the lack of a hammer, they went back through the Widdle 
Woom to finish another lead left by Jim, Tone Garot, Jen Foote, and Lydia in 
December.  It quickly connected back to previously surveyed portions of 
Superstition Maze.  Poking around this section, they soon found large 
unsurveyed virgin leads.  They took a 45 minute break to retrieve the Disto 
which was accidentally dropp

[Texascavers] Punkin

2011-03-24 Thread dlocklear01

Does this mean TCMA owns the 9th longest cave in Texas ?

Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

[Texascavers] Punkin

2011-03-24 Thread dlocklear01

Does this mean TCMA owns the 9th longest cave in Texas ?

Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

[Texascavers] Punkin

2011-03-24 Thread dlocklear01

Does this mean TCMA owns the 9th longest cave in Texas ?

Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

[Texascavers] Punkin Cave trip report, 18-20 March

2011-03-24 Thread Jim Kennedy

Punkin Cave Survey Expedition #15, 18-20 March 2011
reported by Jim "Crash" Kennedy, expedition leader
[For general background on Punkin Cave and previous survey expeditions, please 
refer to past postings on CaveTex. Feel free to re-distribute or print in 
caving publications with appropriate credit.]
Introduction:  Punkin Cave lies near the tiny community of Carta Valley in 
Edwards County, Texas, and is currently the 14th longest cave in the state.  It 
is rapidly growing due to the dedicated efforts of a fairly small group of 
cavers.  We estimate that at least 1km passages remain unsurveyed, which, when 
eventually completed, will place the cave firmly in the top 10 list of longest 
caves in Texas.  That is not bad for a long-neglected cave previously thought 
to just be a large entrance room and some crawls!  Following is a brief report 
of the most recent trip.
After the wildly successful multi-day survey trip this past winter (28 December 
through 1 January), it was clear to me that the massive 5-6 team survey 
expeditions were no longer as effective as smaller trips with people intimately 
familiar with certain parts of the cave.  I planned this trip for a maximum of 
12 surveyors, but in the end only had 10.  This worked out fine, with three 
teams tackling different areas of the cave, mopping up leads, and surveying 
into virgin passage.  I would still like to plan another multi-day expedition, 
and am currently looking at the Easter weekend.  The March expedition was made 
up of 5 Punkin Cave veterans and 5 cavers new to the project, a nice mix.  We 
saw 3 species of bats hibernating in the cave, tri-colored bats (Perimyotis 
subflavus), cave myotis (Myotis velifer), and Townsends big-eared bat 
(Corynorhinus townsendii).  I estimate probably 400-500 cave myotis, a few 
dozen big-eared bats, and upwards of a thousand or so trikes in the entire cave 
during the winter months.
As everyone was arriving Friday evening, I led a short trip to Deep Cave to the 
Forest of Columns and Helictite Room.  We got there right at dusk, and briefly 
admired the bat emergence before rushing through the cave.  We got to see at 
least one tri-colored bat and a black scorpion up close before exiting.  
Joining me were Yaz Avila, Lydia Hernandez, and Aubri Jenson.  The next morning 
we got up, had a fabulous breakfast, and broke into survey teams.
The first team, TEAM SUPERSTITION, went back to some leads left since 2006 near 
the beginning of Superstition Maze.  Some of these were obvious leads, 
unsurveyed and passed up by many teams over the years heading deeper into the 
cave.  Matt Zappitello, a veteran of many Superstition surveys, ably led the 
team to various leads, interpreting the old survey notes and setting stations.  
David Ochel admirably sketched this complicated section, and Aubri Jenson 
logged time with the Suuntos.  There are still more leads to map in this area, 
and everyone on the team indicated that they want to return some day.  They put 
in an eight-hour day, and made 21 survey shots, gaining an additional 61.11m of 
passage (average of 2.91m per shot).
The second team, TEAM WEST MAZE, headed off to the large and growing section of 
cave on the western side of the Entrance Room.  Team leader Lee Jay Graves has 
been working in this part of the cave for about 4 trips now, and continues to 
discover large rooms and a butt-load of passages.  This time he was assisted by 
Justin Shaw in his first time at keeping survey book in Punkin, and Galen 
Falgout and Angela Edwards scouting and setting stations.  It was the first 
Punkin survey trip for all three.  They placed 23 stations in a remarkable 10 
hour trip, adding 72.38m to the length of the cave.  This is an average of 
3.15m per shot. They extended the survey downwards a lot, to the new fourth 
deepest point in the cave.  There is a heck of lot more to do in this area, and 
everyone is fired up for the next trip.
The third team, TEAM AREA 51, consisted of trip leader Crash and veterans 
Yazmin Avila and Lydia Hernandez.  They began their survey slowly, mopping up a 
couple of small leads left from the December surveys off of Superstition Maze.  
They connected back to the room near the Woost Woom (now named the Widdle Woom) 
and another room east of that one (now called the West Woom).  Finally stopped 
by too-tight leads and the lack of a hammer, they went back through the Widdle 
Woom to finish another lead left by Jim, Tone Garot, Jen Foote, and Lydia in 
December.  It quickly connected back to previously surveyed portions of 
Superstition Maze.  Poking around this section, they soon found large 
unsurveyed virgin leads.  They took a 45 minute break to retrieve the Disto 
which was accidentally dropped down an impenetrable fissure (enlarged by 
pounding on it with big rocks), then cranked up the MP3 player and started 
reeling out long shots.  The survey took them way out into a complex 
multi-level area of previously unknown cave heading

[Texascavers] Punkin Cave trip report, 18-20 March

2011-03-24 Thread Jim Kennedy

Punkin Cave Survey Expedition #15, 18-20 March 2011
reported by Jim "Crash" Kennedy, expedition leader
[For general background on Punkin Cave and previous survey expeditions, please 
refer to past postings on CaveTex. Feel free to re-distribute or print in 
caving publications with appropriate credit.]
Introduction:  Punkin Cave lies near the tiny community of Carta Valley in 
Edwards County, Texas, and is currently the 14th longest cave in the state.  It 
is rapidly growing due to the dedicated efforts of a fairly small group of 
cavers.  We estimate that at least 1km passages remain unsurveyed, which, when 
eventually completed, will place the cave firmly in the top 10 list of longest 
caves in Texas.  That is not bad for a long-neglected cave previously thought 
to just be a large entrance room and some crawls!  Following is a brief report 
of the most recent trip.
After the wildly successful multi-day survey trip this past winter (28 December 
through 1 January), it was clear to me that the massive 5-6 team survey 
expeditions were no longer as effective as smaller trips with people intimately 
familiar with certain parts of the cave.  I planned this trip for a maximum of 
12 surveyors, but in the end only had 10.  This worked out fine, with three 
teams tackling different areas of the cave, mopping up leads, and surveying 
into virgin passage.  I would still like to plan another multi-day expedition, 
and am currently looking at the Easter weekend.  The March expedition was made 
up of 5 Punkin Cave veterans and 5 cavers new to the project, a nice mix.  We 
saw 3 species of bats hibernating in the cave, tri-colored bats (Perimyotis 
subflavus), cave myotis (Myotis velifer), and Townsends big-eared bat 
(Corynorhinus townsendii).  I estimate probably 400-500 cave myotis, a few 
dozen big-eared bats, and upwards of a thousand or so trikes in the entire cave 
during the winter months.
As everyone was arriving Friday evening, I led a short trip to Deep Cave to the 
Forest of Columns and Helictite Room.  We got there right at dusk, and briefly 
admired the bat emergence before rushing through the cave.  We got to see at 
least one tri-colored bat and a black scorpion up close before exiting.  
Joining me were Yaz Avila, Lydia Hernandez, and Aubri Jenson.  The next morning 
we got up, had a fabulous breakfast, and broke into survey teams.
The first team, TEAM SUPERSTITION, went back to some leads left since 2006 near 
the beginning of Superstition Maze.  Some of these were obvious leads, 
unsurveyed and passed up by many teams over the years heading deeper into the 
cave.  Matt Zappitello, a veteran of many Superstition surveys, ably led the 
team to various leads, interpreting the old survey notes and setting stations.  
David Ochel admirably sketched this complicated section, and Aubri Jenson 
logged time with the Suuntos.  There are still more leads to map in this area, 
and everyone on the team indicated that they want to return some day.  They put 
in an eight-hour day, and made 21 survey shots, gaining an additional 61.11m of 
passage (average of 2.91m per shot).
The second team, TEAM WEST MAZE, headed off to the large and growing section of 
cave on the western side of the Entrance Room.  Team leader Lee Jay Graves has 
been working in this part of the cave for about 4 trips now, and continues to 
discover large rooms and a butt-load of passages.  This time he was assisted by 
Justin Shaw in his first time at keeping survey book in Punkin, and Galen 
Falgout and Angela Edwards scouting and setting stations.  It was the first 
Punkin survey trip for all three.  They placed 23 stations in a remarkable 10 
hour trip, adding 72.38m to the length of the cave.  This is an average of 
3.15m per shot. They extended the survey downwards a lot, to the new fourth 
deepest point in the cave.  There is a heck of lot more to do in this area, and 
everyone is fired up for the next trip.
The third team, TEAM AREA 51, consisted of trip leader Crash and veterans 
Yazmin Avila and Lydia Hernandez.  They began their survey slowly, mopping up a 
couple of small leads left from the December surveys off of Superstition Maze.  
They connected back to the room near the Woost Woom (now named the Widdle Woom) 
and another room east of that one (now called the West Woom).  Finally stopped 
by too-tight leads and the lack of a hammer, they went back through the Widdle 
Woom to finish another lead left by Jim, Tone Garot, Jen Foote, and Lydia in 
December.  It quickly connected back to previously surveyed portions of 
Superstition Maze.  Poking around this section, they soon found large 
unsurveyed virgin leads.  They took a 45 minute break to retrieve the Disto 
which was accidentally dropped down an impenetrable fissure (enlarged by 
pounding on it with big rocks), then cranked up the MP3 player and started 
reeling out long shots.  The survey took them way out into a complex 
multi-level area of previously unknown cave heading

[Texascavers] Punkin Cave Report

2010-06-09 Thread Jim Kennedy

Punkin Cave Survey Expedition #13, 4-6 June 2010
reported by Jim "Crash" Kennedy, expedition leader
[For general background on Punkin Cave and previous survey expeditions, please 
refer to past postings on CaveTex]

Punkin Cave in Edwards County, Texas, continues to get longer through the 
efforts of a team of very dedicated cavers.  This is a brief report of the most 
recent trip.
Due to work obligations and the concurrent trip to Múzquiz, Coahuila, we only 
had 21 people on the roster the week before the trip, and 4 of those dropped 
out by the day before the trip.  Of the 17 left, 2 stayed on the surface all 
day, working on the cabin.  So we split up the remaining cavers into four 
teams, 12 veterans ("Punkinheads") and 3 who have never surveyed in Punkin 
before ("Punkin Sprouts").  Even so, we mopped up many leads, and (as usual) 
left many more for the next time.
The first team, TEAM DUNGEON, led by sketcher Jim Kennedy, headed directly to 
the Pancake Room with team two.  After orienting Team Pancake and pointing them 
to their leads, Jim, Sean Vincent, and newcomers Yazmin Avila and Caleb Mayeux 
continued down to the Dungeon.  There Yaz checked out leads while Jim sketched 
some survey lines from the February trip.  Sean and Caleb moved rocks and 
pounded restrictions to try to get into some enticing leads in the floor, in 
hopes of getting deeper.  This area is a big riser with loads of airflow, and 
hopes are that it leads to much deeper passages.  Alas, we were thwarted by the 
tightness of the passage which could not be enlarged with the tools at hand.  
Still, 35.46m (116.3 feet) was surveyed in 14 shots, for an average of 2.53m 
(7.71 feet) per shot.  An upper loop was also surveyed, and there are still 
unsurveyed leads in that area.  Next time we will return with bigger tools. 
The second team, TEAM PANCAKE, left Crash's team and quickly started on the SMW 
("Sado-masochist Wobble") survey.  Sketcher Saj Zappitello ably led Matt 
Zappitello and Arron Wertheim through this thoroughly confusing part of the 
Medusa Maze.  They completed several loops with the help of a little hammer 
work to get the bigger guys through the tight maze.  44.47m (145.6 feet) were 
surveyed in 11 shots, for an average of 4.04m (13.3 feet) per shot.  This 
survey helped fill in more of the Medusa complex, but there are still leads 
remaining in this crazy area.  
The third team, TEAM WEST MAZE, consisted of sketcher Lee Jay Graves, veterans 
Bonnie Longley and Josh Rubinstein, and Sprout (and excellent lead pusher!) 
Mallory Mayeux.  Josh was able to hammer through a restriction into an enticing 
lead, that quickly opened up into nice passage.  The team extended the WM 
survey another 12 shots, committing another 39.41m (129.3 feet) to the survey 
book, for an average of 3.28m (10.76 feet) per shot.  There are at least 3 
"pits" in the floor of the area where they quit that still need checked, as 
well as a lot of upper level leads passed up in the quest for depth.  Needless 
to say, this area will also get more attention on the next trip.  This was the 
last group out of the cave, and big thanks are owed them for derigging the two 
entrance drops.
Finally, the last team, TEAM ORGY ROOM, started toward a large room found but 
not surveyed on the February trip.  Team leader and Sketcher Geary Schindel 
lead veterans Lydia Hernandez and Joe Ranzau and Sprout Sara Ranzau to the 
start of the survey.  There was a fair bit of confusion, since Lydia was 
originally assigned to Lee Jay's team and had half of their survey gear.  
Eventually the teams got sorted out and survey began, but Geary had to exit the 
cave early because an unhealed rib injury was bothering him too much.  Lydia 
bravely took over sketching duties, recording 11 shots, but unfortunately there 
is no accompanying sketch, so another team will have to go back to that area on 
the next trip.  At any rate, we still got 40.19m (131.86 feet) of new lineplot 
to fill in some gaps on the map, an average of 3.65m (12.0 feet) per shot.
We had a bit of excitement on our way out of the cave, when we came upon Joe 
Ranzau who narrowly escaped death when his chest roller came apart and he 
almost became completely detached from the rope about six feet below the lip of 
the drop.  Luckily, his quick thinking and assistance from Lydia and Sara got 
him up over the top on solid ground.  He is completing a detailed report and 
analysis to send to the American Caving Accidents editor so that others may 
learn from his experience.
I don't normally talk about all the other activities during our survey 
expeditions, instead preferring to focus on the actual survey.  But the social 
aspects of each trip are every bit as important as the caving.  Friday night we 
showed a movie on the big screen to those who arrived early enough.  There were 
the usual group meals, where we push the envelope of gourmet camping food.  
And, of course, the usual sitting around telling jokes,

[Texascavers] Punkin Cave

2010-06-01 Thread Jim Kennedy

Sorry for the short notice, but there may be a slot or two available on
the Punkin Cave survey trip this weekend.  Vertical skills and your own
SRT gear are required.  We will be surveying approximately 6-8 hours in
a cold, windy, guano-filled cave.  If this isn't your cup of tea, don't
bother responding.  If it is on your bucket list, then reply off-list to
me directly.

Jim "Crash" Kennedy
Punkin Cave Survey Coordinator

RE: [Texascavers] Punkin trip full

2010-01-27 Thread Mark . Alman

I have a burning desire:


FOR TRIP REPORTS!


Please be sure to write something up and take a LOT of photos.

I'll be sure to use them in the next TC. (The 1st quarter issue is full
and almost ready for the printer).

Have a safe and productive trip!


Carry on. That is all.


Mark





-Original Message-
From: Jim Kennedy [mailto:jkenn...@batcon.org] 
Sent: Wednesday, January 27, 2010 11:30 AM
To: CaveTex
Subject: [Texascavers] Punkin trip full

The remaining slots went quickly, but if you have a burning desire to  
join us on this trip, I can put you on a waiting list and let you know  
if someone drops out.  Contact offlist please.



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[Texascavers] Punkin trip full

2010-01-27 Thread Jim Kennedy

The remaining slots went quickly, but if you have a burning desire to  
join us on this trip, I can put you on a waiting list and let you know  
if someone drops out.  Contact offlist please.




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[Texascavers] Punkin Cave

2010-01-26 Thread Jim Kennedy

There may still be a slot or two open for the next Punkin Cave survey
trip, 5-7 February.  Email me off-list by this Friday if you are
interested. Serious inquiries only.  Must be vertically competent and
willing to survey about 8 hours in a major bat cave.

 

-- Crash

jkenn...@batcon.org

[Texascavers] Punkin Cave Expedition Report

2009-11-12 Thread Jim Kennedy

Punkin Cave Survey Trip #11, 6-8 November 2009
reported by Jim "Crash" Kennedy, expedition leader

Punkin Cave is a fascinating long cave located deep in the heart of Carta 
Valley, in rural Edwards County, Texas.  It, along with nearby Deep Cave (also 
a major cave with ongoing survey) are owned by the Texas Cave Management 
Association, and managed for their considerable scientific value.  Limited 
recreational trips are permitted in non-sensitive areas of each cave.  Both 
caves are excellent examples of hypogenic cave formation, and in addition, 
Punkin Cave is a major bat cave.  Since 2005 I have tried to run 2-3 survey 
trips there a year outside of the bat season.  This is a summary of the most 
recent trip.

After postponing the usual June trip due to a little event called ICS, we were 
all anxious to get back to the cave to pursue leads left from the April 
expedition.  The usual call out to previous Punkin survey veterans 
("Punkinheads") produced about 12 positive replies.  A post to CaveTex produced 
a few more.  The expedition was on!

We arrived at TCMA's Carta Valley fieldhouse on Friday.  Those of us smart 
enough to take off from work Friday got there before dark.  Those not so lucky 
trickled in the rest of the night, with the latest arrivals showing up around 
midnight.  An evening movie and snacks entertained us early arrivals while 
waiting for the others.  The cabin easily sleeps over a dozen, but only 5 of us 
stayed indoors.  Others slept on the spacious new back porch or in tents 
nearby.  

The next morning, Arron Wertheim and I whipped up a delicious batch of pumpkin 
pancakes and sausages to give everyone fuel for the day's surveying.  We broke 
into four teams, and people rapidly got their gear together.  The first team 
left for the cave by 9:30, with the other teams right behind.

At the cave I quickly rigged both the main entrance (~45', or 14m) and the 
small entrance (~30', or 10m).  Having both entrances rigged helps keep the 
ropework from being a big bottleneck for so many people.  No one seemed to have 
any problems with the rappel, and we were soon gathered again in the entrance 
room, leaving our vertical gear behind until the trip out.

The first team, TEAM FLACO, left to pursue some tight leads trending downward 
on the east side of the entrance room.  Joe Datri, Lacey Heath, Sean Lewis, 
Heather Túček, and Andy Zenker set 22 stations and surveyed 39.63m (130.0 
feet), for an average of 1.8m (5.9 feet) per shot.  Their survey continues down 
into a black spot on the map, and may possibly eve connect to Superstition Maze 
with more work.

The second team, TEAM PANCREATITIS, returned to the extensive west maze off the 
entrance room.  Led by an ailing Lee Jay Graves, who bravely soldiered on 
despite his discomfort, the team set 17 additional stations and surveyed 44.89m 
(147.3 feet), for an average of 2.6m (8.7 feet) per shot.  Assisting Lee Jay 
were veterans Bonnie Longley and Chris Vreeland, and new Punkin surveyor 
("Punkin Sprout") Josh Rubinstein.  This is a really hot area of the cave, with 
loads of good leads everywhere.  The current survey also trends down into a 
very large blank spot on the map.

The third team, TEAM GORDO, consisted of Don Arburn, Allan Cobb, Joe Ranzau, 
and Ann Scott, who became the designated lead pusher and checker.  They started 
out mopping up some mid- to upper-level leads in the Medusa Maze section, and 
ended up making multiple loop closures with previous surveys and Team Four's 
survey that day.  This was very important to us to "finish" off that section 
and flesh out more of the map in that complex area.  This team surveyed 75.29m 
(247.0 feet) in 21 shots, for an average of 3.6m (11.8 feet) per shot.

The last team, TEAM PANCAKE, also started off cleaning up leads in the Medusa 
Maze, but ended up in someplace altogether different and exciting.  Gary 
Franklin, Tone Garot, Jim Kennedy, Linda Palit, and Arron Wertheim made a 
whopping 31 shots totaling 96.14m (315.4 feet), averaging 3.1m (10.2 feet) per 
shot.  Arron climbed a fissure to an obscure lead and discovered the Pumpkin 
Pancake Room, a nice find with 6 leads.  Several were connected into previous 
surveys in the ER (Entrance Room) and MS (Nightmare on Maze Street) sections.  
Another was tied into Team Three's survey, and one went deep.  Jim found an 
obscure pit hidden by some rocks which he removed.  Tone took over rock removal 
duty while Jim returned to the rest of the team to finish sketching.  The pit 
is free-climbable and goes an estimated 27m (90 feet) or so before hitting 
loosely-cemented breakdown.  It is very reminiscent of Fifty Fathoms, and 
awaits a name from the future surveyors.

In summary, four survey teams in Punkin Cave put in another 91 shots of survey 
and added another 255.95m (839.77 feet) of passage to the length of the cave.  
The new length of the cave is now 2513.1m.  It just moved up to the #19 spot on 
the Texas Long Cave list, dis

RE: [Texascavers] Punkin in the news

2009-11-02 Thread Louise Power

Well, as usual, I didn't read down far enough to get the id/password. Sorry.

From: power_lou...@hotmail.com
To: texascavers@texascavers.com
CC: espe...@aol.com
List-Post: texascavers@texascavers.com
Date: Mon, 2 Nov 2009 10:21:44 -0800
Subject: RE: [Texascavers] Punkin in the news

Apparently if you're not a member of the Nittany Grotto, you can't get in to 
read their newsletters.

From: ronra...@austin.rr.com
To: Texascavers@texascavers.com
CC: espe...@aol.com
List-Post: texascavers@texascavers.com
Date: Sun, 1 Nov 2009 10:05:51 -0600
Subject: [Texascavers] Punkin in the news

Cavers,

There is an article about caving Punkin and Deep in the last issue of the 
Nittany Grotto News, Vol. 55 No. 2. The article can be accessed via the 
internet by going to www.caves.org/grotto/nittany and following the links. Use 
the following user name and password: “guest” and “exchange”

The color photos are nice and the cave report informative. You wall also find 
other articles about the ICS and a photo of Jack Stellmack for you old-timers. 
You may also be amazed at the list of members who include 3 Texicans.

The Texas Speleological Survey has copies of back issues of this newsletter 
plus a hundred more if you care to visit the office in Austin. 

Ron

RE: [Texascavers] Punkin in the news

2009-11-02 Thread Louise Power

Apparently if you're not a member of the Nittany Grotto, you can't get in to 
read their newsletters.

From: ronra...@austin.rr.com
To: Texascavers@texascavers.com
CC: espe...@aol.com
List-Post: texascavers@texascavers.com
Date: Sun, 1 Nov 2009 10:05:51 -0600
Subject: [Texascavers] Punkin in the news

Cavers,

There is an article about caving Punkin and Deep in the last issue of the 
Nittany Grotto News, Vol. 55 No. 2. The article can be accessed via the 
internet by going to www.caves.org/grotto/nittany and following the links. Use 
the following user name and password: “guest” and “exchange”

The color photos are nice and the cave report informative. You wall also find 
other articles about the ICS and a photo of Jack Stellmack for you old-timers. 
You may also be amazed at the list of members who include 3 Texicans.

The Texas Speleological Survey has copies of back issues of this newsletter 
plus a hundred more if you care to visit the office in Austin. 

Ron

[Allcavers] Fwd: [Texascavers] Punkin Cave survey expedition

2009-11-02 Thread Diana Tomchick

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Jim Kennedy" 
Date: November 2, 2009 9:40:02 AM CST
To: "CaveTex" 
Cc: "Leslie Bell" 
Subject: [Texascavers] Punkin Cave survey expedition

Cavers,

There are a few slots still open on this weekend's trip to Punkin Cave
in Carta Valley, Texas.  You must be vertically competent and have  
your

own gear, and you must be willing and able to survey.  You must also
make sure your gear is either new (i.e. never used outside of a Texas
cave) or decontaminated in accordance to USFWS protocols to avoid the
inadvertent spread of White Nose Syndrome, a mysterious affliction  
that

is killing millions of bats in the eastern United States.  We want to
delay its entry into Texas as long as possible.

Email me by the end of the day on WEDNESDAY, 4 November, if you want  
to

be included.  A big group email will be going out on Thursday to all
confirmed participants.

Jim "Crash" Kennedy
Punkin Cave Survey Coordinator

Confidentiality Note: This email and any attachment to it are
confidential and protected by law and intended for the use of the
individual(s) or entity named on the email. If the reader of this
message is not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that  
any

dissemination or distribution of this communication is prohibited. If
you have received this communication in error, please notify the  
sender
via return email and delete it completely from your email system. If  
you

have printed a copy of the email, please destroy it immediately. Thank
you

<>
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* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Diana R. Tomchick
Associate Professor
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Department of Biochemistry
5323 Harry Hines Blvd.
Rm. ND10.214B   
Dallas, TX 75390-8816, U.S.A.   
Email: diana.tomch...@utsouthwestern.edu
214-645-6383 (phone)
214-645-6353 (fax)

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[Texascavers] Punkin Cave survey expedition

2009-11-02 Thread Jim Kennedy

Cavers,

There are a few slots still open on this weekend's trip to Punkin Cave
in Carta Valley, Texas.  You must be vertically competent and have your
own gear, and you must be willing and able to survey.  You must also
make sure your gear is either new (i.e. never used outside of a Texas
cave) or decontaminated in accordance to USFWS protocols to avoid the
inadvertent spread of White Nose Syndrome, a mysterious affliction that
is killing millions of bats in the eastern United States.  We want to
delay its entry into Texas as long as possible.

Email me by the end of the day on WEDNESDAY, 4 November, if you want to
be included.  A big group email will be going out on Thursday to all
confirmed participants.

Jim "Crash" Kennedy
Punkin Cave Survey Coordinator

Confidentiality Note: This email and any attachment to it are
confidential and protected by law and intended for the use of the
individual(s) or entity named on the email. If the reader of this
message is not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any
dissemination or distribution of this communication is prohibited. If
you have received this communication in error, please notify the sender
via return email and delete it completely from your email system. If you
have printed a copy of the email, please destroy it immediately. Thank
you


<>-
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Re: [Texascavers] Punkin in the news

2009-11-01 Thread Don Arburn

I, too, discovered an article on D&P in Bexar Tracks by the Bexar  
Audubon Society yesterday on the table at my Mom's house. It was  
excerpted from a letter by Geary Schindel.


On Nov 1, 2009, at 10:05 AM, Ron Ralph wrote:


Cavers,

There is an article about caving Punkin and Deep in the last issue  
of the Nittany Grotto News, Vol. 55 No. 2. The article can be  
accessed via the internet by going to www.caves.org/grotto/nittany  
and following the links. Use the following user name and password:  
“guest” and “exchange”


The color photos are nice and the cave report informative. You wall  
also find other articles about the ICS and a photo of Jack Stellmack  
for you old-timers. You may also be amazed at the list of members  
who include 3 Texicans.


The Texas Speleological Survey has copies of back issues of this  
newsletter plus a hundred more if you care to visit the office in  
Austin.


Ron

[Texascavers] Punkin in the news

2009-11-01 Thread Ron Ralph

Cavers,

 

There is an article about caving Punkin and Deep in the last issue of the
Nittany Grotto News, Vol. 55 No. 2. The article can be accessed via the
internet by going to www.caves.org/grotto/nittany and following the links.
Use the following user name and password: "guest" and "exchange"

 

The color photos are nice and the cave report informative. You wall also
find other articles about the ICS and a photo of Jack Stellmack for you
old-timers. You may also be amazed at the list of members who include 3
Texicans.

 

The Texas Speleological Survey has copies of back issues of this newsletter
plus a hundred more if you care to visit the office in Austin. 

 

Ron

RE: [Texascavers] Punkin Pics

2009-02-06 Thread Ron Ralph

Chris,
Loved you photos of Punkin and hope that you and others will remember the
Texas Speleological Survey and send/bring us your cave photos for curation
at the office. We will be meeting next Wednesday for a work session and you
can transfer them off your flash drive at that time. We will need to talk
about credits, signed gift form and shot details. If you cannot make it, go
to our website and send a cave visit form to:
http://www.utexas.edu/tmm/sponsored_sites/tss/tssdatareportform.htm

Ron

-Original Message-
From: Chris Vreeland [mailto:cvreel...@austin.rr.com] 
Sent: Wednesday, February 04, 2009 9:59 PM
To: texascavers list
Subject: [Texascavers] Punkin Pics

Some snapshots from the Davey Jones survey area of Punkin Cave,  
starring Bonnie Longley, Pete Lindsley & Lee Jay Graves. Finally!

http://flickr.com/photos/cvreeland/sets/72157613375018172/

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[Texascavers] Punkin Pics

2009-02-04 Thread Chris Vreeland

Some snapshots from the Davey Jones survey area of Punkin Cave,  
starring Bonnie Longley, Pete Lindsley & Lee Jay Graves. Finally!


http://flickr.com/photos/cvreeland/sets/72157613375018172/

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[Texascavers] Punkin Cave trip report addition/correction

2008-12-04 Thread Jim Kennedy

I was writing the trip report by going through the actual survey notes,
and TOTALLY forgot that we had another team in the cave!  My apologies
to them, I didn't intend to slight them.  Please add the following team
to the report, and change Team Deep Cave to Team six (instead of five).

-- Jim
-

Team five:  "Team Photography"

Allan Cobb led Ann Scott and Alex Benavente on a photo-documentation
tour of Punkin Cave.  Specifically, they were photographing the unique
geologic features of the cave to help illustrate its hypogenic origins.
Rims and vents, lift tubes, air-flow corrosion, wall crusts, and more
were photographed, starting in the southern section of the cave around
the Mortuary Room and through the connection passages to the Entrance
Room.  A presentation is being planned for the ICS next summer.  Much
more photo documentation remains.


Confidentiality Note: This email and any attachment to it are
confidential and protected by law and intended for the use of the
individual(s) or entity named on the email. If the reader of this
message is not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any
dissemination or distribution of this communication is prohibited. If
you have received this communication in error, please notify the sender
via return email and delete it completely from your email system. If you
have printed a copy of the email, please destroy it immediately. Thank
you

RE: [Texascavers] Punkin Cave survey trip results

2008-04-01 Thread mark . alman


If anyone has any pix from this trip, please send them my way for
possible inclusion in the next TEXAS CAVER.


Thanks in advance!


Mark Alman
Editor - The TC




-Original Message-
From: Jim Kennedy [mailto:jkenn...@batcon.org] 
Sent: Tuesday, April 01, 2008 10:07 AM
To: Texascavers@texascavers.com
Cc: Butch Fralia; Jerry Atkinson
Subject: [Texascavers] Punkin Cave survey trip results

This past weekend saw another very successful survey trip to TCMA's
Punkin Cave, in Edwards County, Texas.  17 people participated out of
the 18 who signed up,  We had 4 teams in the cave.

Wes Schumacher led Team Superstition back to the Superstition Maze, a
complex area with house-sized breakdown where he has already put in 3
other surveys.  Joining him were Sandi Calhoun, Matt Zappitello, and Saj
Pierson, all Punkin (and Superstition) survey veterans.  Their team
surveyed 53.64 meters of passage in 16 shots, an average of 3.35m/shot.
They also succeeded in connecting to the nearby Davy Jones Locker
section twice (see below).

Lee Jay Graves, another Punkin survey veteran, stepped up to the task of
sketching on this trip, leading a team back to Davy Jones Locker,
another complex area roughly paralleling Superstition Maze.  The first
survey trip there was during the November survey trip.  This time he was
ably assisted by Don Arburn and Devra Heyer (veterans) and new
Punkinhead Arron Wertheim, who did just great.  Team DJL put in 13 shots
for 48.92 meters in this confusing section (3.76m/shot), tying in to
Superstition Maze twice.

Geary Schindel, TCMA Carta Valley Property Manager, finally managed to
get on one of our survey trips to Punkin Cave.  A seasoned sketcher, he
led Calvin Alexander, Jacqui Thomas, Grace Borengasser, and Joe Datri
(all on their first survey trip to Punkin) to a new northwestern maze
first explored by Mike Sisson and Stephen Bryant during the November
survey trip.  This large, extensive maze is now named Medusa.  Team
Medusa I surveyed 77.43 meters in 15 shots.  That is an average of
5.16m/shot, an indication of the large passage sizes in which they
surveyed.  Joe and Grace also filmed some of the survey and pre-and
post-trip activities.  They are working on a caver documentary, but this
is also the first video footage of the cave itself, and we are greatly
appreciative of Joe dragging the big camera bag around with him.

Jim Kennedy, Punkin Cave Survey Coordinator, also led a tem to Medusa.
Consisting of veteran Gary Franklin and assisted by new Punkinheads Liza
Colucci and Corrine Wong, Team Medusa II surveyed an incredible 27 shots
for a total of 86.31 meters.  Theirs was the smallest average distance
per shot, only 3.20m.  A large loop was closed, and, of course, many,
many leads remain for future trips.

The total survey for the weekend was 266.3 meters (erroneously reported
earlier as 299.5 meters).  This gives Punkin Cave a total of 2194 meters
of passage, moving up to the #20 spot on the Texas Long Cave List!  This
is in 481 shots, an average of 4.56m per shot.  Heck, in another 355
meters we will be longer than Deep Cave!  [Disclaimer:  neither cave is
any where close to being finished.]  No change was made in the cave's
depth, which remains at 63.3m (#28 on the Texas Deep Cave List).

Much work was also done on the property, with the expanded cabin parking
area being cleared and leveled, much bulldozed brush from the wildfire
being cleared and burned, and a large percentage of the remaining lumber
cleaned of nails and stacked for the cabin extension.  Good food was
enjoyed by everyone, and Saturday night Margaritas and Movies were once
again a big hit.  The next trip will be in late May or early June, and
any available slots will be once again announced on CaveTex.

-- Crash

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[Texascavers] Punkin Cave survey trip results

2008-04-01 Thread Jim Kennedy

This past weekend saw another very successful survey trip to TCMA's
Punkin Cave, in Edwards County, Texas.  17 people participated out of
the 18 who signed up,  We had 4 teams in the cave.

Wes Schumacher led Team Superstition back to the Superstition Maze, a
complex area with house-sized breakdown where he has already put in 3
other surveys.  Joining him were Sandi Calhoun, Matt Zappitello, and Saj
Pierson, all Punkin (and Superstition) survey veterans.  Their team
surveyed 53.64 meters of passage in 16 shots, an average of 3.35m/shot.
They also succeeded in connecting to the nearby Davy Jones Locker
section twice (see below).

Lee Jay Graves, another Punkin survey veteran, stepped up to the task of
sketching on this trip, leading a team back to Davy Jones Locker,
another complex area roughly paralleling Superstition Maze.  The first
survey trip there was during the November survey trip.  This time he was
ably assisted by Don Arburn and Devra Heyer (veterans) and new
Punkinhead Arron Wertheim, who did just great.  Team DJL put in 13 shots
for 48.92 meters in this confusing section (3.76m/shot), tying in to
Superstition Maze twice.

Geary Schindel, TCMA Carta Valley Property Manager, finally managed to
get on one of our survey trips to Punkin Cave.  A seasoned sketcher, he
led Calvin Alexander, Jacqui Thomas, Grace Borengasser, and Joe Datri
(all on their first survey trip to Punkin) to a new northwestern maze
first explored by Mike Sisson and Stephen Bryant during the November
survey trip.  This large, extensive maze is now named Medusa.  Team
Medusa I surveyed 77.43 meters in 15 shots.  That is an average of
5.16m/shot, an indication of the large passage sizes in which they
surveyed.  Joe and Grace also filmed some of the survey and pre-and
post-trip activities.  They are working on a caver documentary, but this
is also the first video footage of the cave itself, and we are greatly
appreciative of Joe dragging the big camera bag around with him.

Jim Kennedy, Punkin Cave Survey Coordinator, also led a tem to Medusa.
Consisting of veteran Gary Franklin and assisted by new Punkinheads Liza
Colucci and Corrine Wong, Team Medusa II surveyed an incredible 27 shots
for a total of 86.31 meters.  Theirs was the smallest average distance
per shot, only 3.20m.  A large loop was closed, and, of course, many,
many leads remain for future trips.

The total survey for the weekend was 266.3 meters (erroneously reported
earlier as 299.5 meters).  This gives Punkin Cave a total of 2194 meters
of passage, moving up to the #20 spot on the Texas Long Cave List!  This
is in 481 shots, an average of 4.56m per shot.  Heck, in another 355
meters we will be longer than Deep Cave!  [Disclaimer:  neither cave is
any where close to being finished.]  No change was made in the cave's
depth, which remains at 63.3m (#28 on the Texas Deep Cave List).

Much work was also done on the property, with the expanded cabin parking
area being cleared and leveled, much bulldozed brush from the wildfire
being cleared and burned, and a large percentage of the remaining lumber
cleaned of nails and stacked for the cabin extension.  Good food was
enjoyed by everyone, and Saturday night Margaritas and Movies were once
again a big hit.  The next trip will be in late May or early June, and
any available slots will be once again announced on CaveTex.

-- Crash

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[Texascavers] Punkin & Deep Cabin Work April 18 -20

2008-03-25 Thread Linda Palit

April has lots of caving opportunities this year.  On the third weekend of
April, 18 -20 we will be working on the cabin back porch at Deep and Punkin
Cave Preserve.  We have volunteer welders with equipment coming from the DFW
area, but we need scaffolding.  We will make it if we have to, but if
anybody has scaffolding they are willing to loan for a weekend, please
notify Geary Schindel  ge...@tcmacaves.org or  Jon Cradit j...@tcamcaves.org.
We would really appreciate it.  If you want to come out and help, and visit
the caves, that should be possible, also.  Just let Geary and Jon know.  

 

Many thanks for your support of these caves, and of TCMA.

Linda

[Texascavers] Punkin Cave Survey report, 1-3 June 2007

2007-06-08 Thread Jim Kennedy

Twenty-one cavers from the Austin, Houston, San Antonio, and Dallas
areas descended upon the wilds of Carta Valley to once again do battle
with the monster known as Punkin Cave.  10 were returning veterans,
bearing the physical and emotional scars from previous surveys into the
bowels of the cave.  The others were Punkin virgins, soon to be
initiated to the guano-filled delights that keep bringing us back.  By
the end of the weekend we could lay claim to another 300 meters of
hard-fought survey, and some increased photodocumentation.

The first group consisting of trip leader Jim Kennedy, Mike Sisson, and
Lee Jay Graves arrived at the TCMA fieldhouse around 3:30 Friday
afternoon, unloaded their vehicle, and opened the cabin.  They then went
to the cave to check out the bee situation (a non-issue) and rig the two
entrances.  They soon returned to the cabin and welcomed the other
participants who were slowly trickling in.  A couple of beers and some
burgers and Elgin Garlic Sausage cooked on the grill topped off a
satisfying evening under the full moon catching up with old friends.

The next morning saw a mass breakfast directed by Pete the Elder, with
everybody tanking up for the long day ahead.  Releases were signed, and
a group meeting was held to go over the cabin and property rules and to
assign everyone to teams and survey objectives.  After the usual gearing
up process, everyone headed to the cave to await their turns on the two
rappel lines.  

Wes and Team Superstition headed back to the end of the Superstition
Maze, and gathered another 62.59 meters of survey in 20 shots, finishing
off some leads.  However, there is still much to do in this area.  

Jim lead the usual band and a couple of new additions back to Sleepy
Hollow, guiding Pete's and John's teams there to begin their surveys.
Jim's intention was to survey out from Sleepy Hollow and connect back to
Fifty Fathoms, but ended up spending the whole time in a confusing
breakdown maze with lots of loops.  Eventually the team got the heck out
of there and surveyed some more stuff between the old ER survey and the
beginning of the MS (Nightmare on Maze Street) survey, making some more
connections and finishing off some leads left from the November and
March trips.  In 30 shots the team gained 90.58 meters, before bagging
the survey to tour Fifty Fathoms.

Pete lead a mix of veterans and newcomers (including Re-Pete) through
the upper reaches of Sleepy Hollow, sketching this complex area and
surveying some of the many leads.  There were several tie-ins to
existing survey, creating more loops but allowing us to check our survey
accuracy (which so far has been consistently good).  This team racked up
68.76 meters of survey in 17 stations.

John and his team started on the west side of Sleepy Hollow, and soon
found themselves surveying through a tight crack (the Nipple Remover) to
some underlying maze, and eventually finding a back route into Fifty
Fathoms, first seen from below in March.  The team met up with Jim's
team as they shot the last few stations into Fifty Fathoms, and followed
Jim back out the originally-surveyed route to avoid the dreaded Nipple
Remover.  Total for this team:  74.51 meters and 23 shots.

Altogether, the four teams produced another 269.44 meters of survey
(972.6 feet), bringing the total to date for Punkin Cave to 1378 meters.
Some of this is splay shots and redundant survey, but even when we
exclude those shots, Punkin will get bumped up from the 45th spot on the
Texas Long Cave List to the 34th or maybe even the 33rd spot!  It still
remains the 29th deepest, as we were unable to extend the depth of the
cave on this trip.

Austin caver Ben Kim was a one-man photography team on this expedition,
shooting lots of great stills and some of his amazing panoramas,
particularly in the entrance room.  These are true spherical panoramas
that we can use for presentations.  Tone has already put a couple of
these up on the UT Grotto website
(http://www.utgrotto.org/projects/punkin.asp), but be warned, they are
fairly large files.  Tone has also posted the latest plan and profile
lineplots, including last weekend's surveys.  I suspect he will also
post this trip report as well.

Saturday evening was another feast by Pete Lindsley and crew, after
which we retired to the roaring campfire to blow off some steam, tell
stories, drink adult beverages, smoke cigars, and so on.  We even had a
"drive-in" movie on the back porch before retiring for the night!

Finally, on Sunday, a group of us headed out to do some much-needed road
work, while a larger group headed off to Deep Cave, guided by Don
Arburn.  The Forest of Columns, Bear Scratch Room, Lunch Room, and
Miller Time were visited, and a small cluster of a couple hundred Cave
Myotis (Myotis velifer) were noted in the Forest of Columns.
Afterwards, everyone picked off ticks accumulated at the entrance.  All
pitched in with cleaning up the cabin (especially Hue) and grounds
before mothballing

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