texascavers Digest 25 Mar 2011 14:38:14 -0000 Issue 1273
texascavers Digest 25 Mar 2011 14:38:14 - Issue 1273 Topics (messages 17427 through 17436): Found on Craigslist: 1966 Dodge Power Wagon 4x4, 1 ton Dully - $2500 (Lakeway,78734) 17427 by: Dale Barnard Punkin Cave trip report, 18-20 March 17428 by: Jim Kennedy correction and Big Announcement! 17429 by: Jim Kennedy 17430 by: germanyj.aol.com Punkin 17431 by: dlocklear01.gmail.com Re: [SWR] Lincoln national forest cave tech position 17432 by: Diana Tomchick Texas Site Confirms Pre-Clovis Settlement of the Americas 17433 by: Diana Tomchick Re: NSS Headquarters Commission 17434 by: Preston Forsythe Re: NSS Headquarters opinions 17435 by: Preston Forsythe T Minus One Week! - Saturday, April 2nd at Fort Clark Springs, Brackettville, TX 17436 by: Mark.Alman.L-3com.com Administrivia: To subscribe to the digest, e-mail: To unsubscribe from the digest, e-mail: To post to the list, e-mail: -- --- Begin Message --- http://austin.craigslist.org/cto/2282831618.html --- End Message --- --- Begin Message --- 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
texascavers Digest 25 Mar 2011 14:38:14 -0000 Issue 1273
texascavers Digest 25 Mar 2011 14:38:14 - Issue 1273 Topics (messages 17427 through 17436): Found on Craigslist: 1966 Dodge Power Wagon 4x4, 1 ton Dully - $2500 (Lakeway,78734) 17427 by: Dale Barnard Punkin Cave trip report, 18-20 March 17428 by: Jim Kennedy correction and Big Announcement! 17429 by: Jim Kennedy 17430 by: germanyj.aol.com Punkin 17431 by: dlocklear01.gmail.com Re: [SWR] Lincoln national forest cave tech position 17432 by: Diana Tomchick Texas Site Confirms Pre-Clovis Settlement of the Americas 17433 by: Diana Tomchick Re: NSS Headquarters Commission 17434 by: Preston Forsythe Re: NSS Headquarters opinions 17435 by: Preston Forsythe T Minus One Week! - Saturday, April 2nd at Fort Clark Springs, Brackettville, TX 17436 by: Mark.Alman.L-3com.com Administrivia: To subscribe to the digest, e-mail: To unsubscribe from the digest, e-mail: To post to the list, e-mail: -- --- Begin Message --- http://austin.craigslist.org/cto/2282831618.html --- End Message --- --- Begin Message --- 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
texascavers Digest 25 Mar 2011 14:38:14 -0000 Issue 1273
texascavers Digest 25 Mar 2011 14:38:14 - Issue 1273 Topics (messages 17427 through 17436): Found on Craigslist: 1966 Dodge Power Wagon 4x4, 1 ton Dully - $2500 (Lakeway,78734) 17427 by: Dale Barnard Punkin Cave trip report, 18-20 March 17428 by: Jim Kennedy correction and Big Announcement! 17429 by: Jim Kennedy 17430 by: germanyj.aol.com Punkin 17431 by: dlocklear01.gmail.com Re: [SWR] Lincoln national forest cave tech position 17432 by: Diana Tomchick Texas Site Confirms Pre-Clovis Settlement of the Americas 17433 by: Diana Tomchick Re: NSS Headquarters Commission 17434 by: Preston Forsythe Re: NSS Headquarters opinions 17435 by: Preston Forsythe T Minus One Week! - Saturday, April 2nd at Fort Clark Springs, Brackettville, TX 17436 by: Mark.Alman.L-3com.com Administrivia: To subscribe to the digest, e-mail: To unsubscribe from the digest, e-mail: To post to the list, e-mail: -- --- Begin Message --- http://austin.craigslist.org/cto/2282831618.html --- End Message --- --- Begin Message --- 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
