I agree with some other story-tellers. - I have been through so many tight crawls in so many caves that only one stands out. And that was my first one.
A young, beginning caver, I had been in perhaps 3 wild caves, when Dick Eggleston and I (RPI Outing Club) went to Knox Cave in New York in 1956. The Gunbarrel is infamous to NE cavers, and we knew it was there. And that we simply HAD to pass through it. But the reality was daunting. It is 47 feet long, the northern half averages around 10 inches by 14 inches, and it has a slot in the floor as you start in, making the beginning almost key-hole shaped in cross section. Whatever way you stick your arms in first, that's the way they will stay until you emerge. Most misleadingly, there is the "extension", a short segment preserved before you start, in an isolated ceiling block. I remember looking at the extension and saying to myself: "I can do that." Misleading because the "extension" is larger than the main portion of the Gunbarrel. Which also has a tight spot about half-way through to separate those who can from those who cannot. My reaction when I saw the thing was "You gottta be kidding!", but neither Dick nor I would admit that out loud. Here are some images: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/7j3tjqnuwait54j/m8mkrTK3zx First two are self portraits taken looking through the misleadingly large "extension". Then a B&W of Dick grunting his way back out at the end of our round trip to the "back". Finally, a view of the far end with a caver emerging into the far reaches of the cave. My thanks to Art Palmer for reminding me of the true dimensions of the Gunbarrel, and for providing the final image of a caver emerging successfully from the far end. Now, you realize, you will have to go back through the thing. The good thought is that we did do it once, just to get here! Although I have been very cautious of tight crawlways ever since, none have been as daunting nor filled me with as much horrifying anticipation since. DirtDoc
_______________________________________________ SWR mailing list s...@caver.net http://lists.caver.net/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/swr _______________________________________________ This list is provided free as a courtesy of CAVERNET
