I do remember another memorable crawl, this one in Wyoming’s Horsethief Cave. To get to the spacious and decorated areas requires traversing the quarter-mile long Denise’s Crawl. There’s no danger of drowning in this one – it is completely dry. The crawl itself is not particularly difficult – it’s just long and dusty. The excitement comes from stories about cavers encountering rattlesnakes in the passage. I was there once, and I didn’t see any snakes while going in or coming out. However, I was my pucker factor was high during both transits of this infamous crawlway.
Harvey DuChene From: Jim Evatt [mailto:nmca...@comcast.net] Sent: Wednesday, March 12, 2014 9:46 AM To: Andy Komensky; Harvey DuChene; 'Ken Harrington'; 'Michael Lorimer'; 'Steve Peerman' Cc: 'SWR Cavers' Subject: Re: [SWR] A New Thread: Crawlways Lee Skinner, Pete Lindsley, Ronnie Fiesler, Roger Fiesler, Ronnie Hyde and Jim Evatt entered Russell’s Crawl 3-13-65, were trapped by Lee in the 67-Foot Crawl. Since he was last going in and we couldn’t have gotten around him to get out, we begrudgingly dug him out. Dug another 10 feet or so in Homan’s Passage without finding hoped-for borehole. Sigh. Jim From: Andy Komensky <mailto:andru...@sbcglobal.net> Sent: Wednesday, March 12, 2014 8:55 AM To: Harvey DuChene <mailto:hrduch...@gmail.com> ; 'Ken Harrington' <mailto:ken_harring...@hotmail.com> ; 'Michael Lorimer' <mailto:mi...@fastwave.biz> ; 'Steve Peerman' <mailto:gypca...@comcast.net> Cc: 'SWR Cavers' <mailto:s...@caver.net> Subject: Re: [SWR] A New Thread: Crawlways Aye...a blast from years ago...NO.....I cannot recall being on a dig at Strantom....but looking back years ago on a trip report bywhom???dealing with a dig....Thinlking names of Skinner and Rhodes were mentioned. Dealing with a coleman stoive took a breaK AND SUPPOSEDLY HOOKED UP with a groupm going to Lincoln cavers///in the long ru8n the names involved where some where else that weekend.... Maybe??????if Belski would stay home some day he may perhaps chase down that trip report hell maybe Harington might help. Cave hooooooooooo, Andy _____ From: Harvey DuChene <hrduch...@gmail.com> To: 'Ken Harrington' <ken_harring...@hotmail.com>; 'Michael Lorimer' <mi...@fastwave.biz>; 'Steve Peerman' <gypca...@comcast.net> Cc: 'SWR Cavers' <s...@caver.net> Sent: Tuesday, March 11, 2014 1:38 PM Subject: Re: [SWR] A New Thread: Crawlways Sometime around 1966, I was on a trip in Fort Stanton and we were digging at the end of Hell Hole II (I think it was Hell Hole II, anyway). I remember the passage as low and wide with a flat rock floor and a ceiling like a ratchet. The space between floor and ceiling was just large enough for me to fit through, with spots where my chest rubbed on the floor and shoulders rubbed on the ceiling. It was fairly easy crawling INTO the passage because the ceiling gradually sloped downward to a ratchet point, then repeated, and repeated. The trip back out was a different matter, however. At each of those ratchet points, the ceiling sharply dropped about an inch, and it took some effort to work through the spots where the ceiling was lowest. When we finished digging for the day, our group headed out of the cave to make supper. I was last in the queue. I was working my way through a low spot when a small pebble on the rock floor got caught under my sternum, just as I went under one of those inconvenient low ratchets on the ceiling. The pebble was no more that ½ inch in diameter, but it was big enough to trap me beneath floor and ceiling. There was not much purchase on the floor, which was quite flat, had a thin coating of silt and sand, and lacked nubbins to grab so I could pull myself over the pebble. The passage was 8 or 10 feet wide, so I couldn’t reach the walls. I couldn’t push with my toes because of the sand on the floor, and there was nothing on the ceiling to grab. I was stuck, Just like a bug fastened to a piece of cardboard with a pin. I could flop and flail around, but I could not escape the pebble that was under my sternum. So I laid there, figuring (hoping) that someone would notice that I had not shown up for supper and come looking for me. I recall thinking about Floyd Collins and wondering how long it would take for me to lose enough weight to escape. After a while, I heard scraping up ahead, and a few moments later, Doug Rhodes appeared. I explained what had happened and Doug thought it was really funny. He told me to wait there (as if I was going anywhere), and that he would be back in a few minutes. Sure enough, a few minutes later he was back and hauling an army entrenching tool (folding shovel, to the rest of us). Doug moved closer to me so he could hold the shovel by the handle with both hands at arm’s length in front of him. The shovel was at a right angle to the length of both of us. I then grabbed the handle with both hands, and Doug inflated himself while I deflated myself. I pulled on the shovel handle and dragged myself over the offending pebble, which carved a groove down my sternum and left a nasty linear bruise. But I was freed from the trap and left the cave with no more incidents. Harvey DuChene From: swr-boun...@caver.net [mailto:swr-boun...@caver.net] On Behalf Of Ken Harrington Sent: Tuesday, March 11, 2014 9:37 AM To: Michael Lorimer; Steve Peerman Cc: SWR Cavers Subject: Re: [SWR] A New Thread: Crawlways In 1966 or 1967 four of us set off for a two day dig in Russell's Crawl. Members of the party as I remember were Gary Davis, Ed Glenn, Ed Snyder and myself. We entered the cave on Friday evening and proceeded to the dig face at the end of Russell's Crawl. At that time the Hoeman's Passage had not been started and we were following the air straight ahead in Russell's Crawl. We took turns digging and had been digging for about 24 hours so it was late Saturday night or early Sunday morning when Ed Glenn returned from his stint at the dig face. He proceeded to tell us about the lovely young girl that he had met and how enchanting she was. At that point in time the rest of us determined that he was hallucinating and it was time to get out of there. We exited the cave with no further problems except that Ed was firmly convinced that he had actually met the young lady and that he was not hallucinating. On another dig trip with Ed Snyder, Gary Davis, John King and myself we were digging in Russell's Crawl when we all heard a dog barking. It was strange because at first none of us wanted to admit that he had heard a dog barking. The source of the dog barking was never determined. I believe that the folding shovel with Gary Davis's name on it may have been left there on one of these digging adventures. Ken Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass - It's about dancing in the rain. <http://gfx2.hotmail.com/mail/w4/pr01/ltr/emoticons/smile_regular.gif> _____ Date: Tue, 11 Mar 2014 09:51:38 -0500 From: mi...@fastwave.biz To: gypca...@comcast.net CC: s...@caver.net Subject: Re: [SWR] A New Thread: Crawlways I remember my first trip through the infamous Russell's Crawl. It was in 1971 or there about. The sand siphon is only 6 inches high and it descends at a 15% angle. One has to dig the sand out, push the sand behind you and literally bury yourself as you worm your way in. I was new to caving and didn't like tight crawls. By the time that I was through, I was in a near panic. I wanted out of there. About 10 or 15 from the siphon, I tried to turn around. Too tight. When it opened up after another few feet, I was like Curly of the Three Stooges lying on the floor and trying to walk myself in a circle. "Whew, whew, whew!" I could have gone another 10 feet, where the passage opened up, but noooooooo. Fortunately, the sand siphon is much easier to exit than enter. I went there a couple of years later, but never went much farther than the twin rooms. Steve, you want to do Fool's Crawl? I am sure that we can get some poor fool to push a camera ahead of him or her and we can watch it from the comfort of our respective living rooms. Mike On 3/11/2014 8:39 AM, Steve Peerman wrote: Mike, An interesting topic, and it brings back memories -- but not of Fool's Crawl, because I wasn't on any of those trips. I've never been through Fool's Crawl -- it had to have been someone else. One interesting crawlway memory that I have involves Russell's Crawl, not far from the entrance of Fort Stanton Cave. Russell's Crawl is not muddy like Fool's Crawl, but does have a section where one has to "swim" through the sand that almost fills the crawlway. At any rate, I was in Russell's Crawl during an SWR regional many years ago, when a desperate need to visit the rest room hit me (take a dump; pinch a log; drop a load; i.e., defecate). I did not have a burrito bag with me. I faced the choice of using my pack as a toilet or attempting to make it to the surface to the one-holer that used to be just downhill from the fence gate. A number of issues were on my mind. #1 -- I had to swim through the sand crawl -- not an easy task, even when you don't have something else "pressing". #2, there is a substantial amount of vertical relief between Russell's Crawl and the surface. Exercise generally acts as a stimulant for a bowel movement. #3 -- the main and fence gates would likely be open, considering that this was a regional, but perhaps not. Any unnecessary delays could be messy. #4 -- (my worst fear) the toilet might be occupied. I told my companions about my dilemma, and they did not see using my pack as a toilet as a viable option in the small passage. So I began the journey to the surface. You know how everything seems to take longer when you are in a hurry? The swim through the sand crawl seemed to take forever. Even though it was only maybe 10 or 15 feet long, progress seemed to go by fractions of an inch. Once out of the crawlway, I was on a dead run for the surface. The main gate was fortunately open. I recall passing another group in the entrance sink. I didn't pause for conversation, but said, "you didn't lock the gate did you?" "Ah no, what's the hurry?" Perhaps they saw the desperation in my countenance. I don't know, I didn't wait around to discuss the matter. I flew out the gate and headed down the hill, yelling, "anyone in there?" as I approached. The gods were smiling. It was unoccupied. Relief. I made it. Moral of the story -- always have a burrito bag. Or better yet, visit the bathroom before the caving trip. On Mar 10, 2014, at 7:00 PM, Michael Lorimer wrote: I would like open up a new discussion thread. We have all had many wonderful caving experiences, some of them bordering on the fantastic. I would like to start the ball rolling with crawlways. How about writing something about your best or worst crawlway experience? The good, the bad, the muddiest, the most horrible, the funniest. You name it. Fool’s Crawl, Fort Stanton Cave, New Mexico I first ‘heard’ of Fool’s Crawl when I saw it in 1970 on the standard map that the BLM handed out with its permits. While I was interested, I was too busy digging with Lee Skinner and “super digger” Dennis Engle to check it out. It was around the spring of 1974 that I made my first attempt to worm my way through what was rumored to be a rather tight and nasty crawl. Now my memory isn’t good enough to recall those who accompanied me on these trips, but I believe that Steve Peerman was on every trip. As we entered the Sewer Pipe, almost immediately we encountered water. At first, it was only a little soupy mud. Then it became water-filled footprints. As we traveled farther into the Sewer Pipe, we sloshed through 3 inch deep water. The water became deeper as we progressed. Soon we were sliding over slick mounds of clay as the ceiling lowered and the water deepened to a couple of feet. Our little adventure was halted when we came to where the cave siphoned. I crawled to where theceiling met that water and looked to see if I could spot the infamous crawl. Nope. From hindsight, I estimate that we were some ten to twenty feet from the actual Fool’s Crawl. As a side note, there were many little irregular shaped rafts that were some 3 or 4 inches in diameter and composed some sort of calcareous material floating on the water near the siphon. It reminded me of the snowflakes in Snowflake Passage. Later that year or the next year, we tried it again. I must confess that I hate tight crawlways as I am a bit claustrophobic. With that in mind, I ‘researched’ the crawl by talking to veteran cavers. What I heard was basically, “It is tight, but it opens up rather quickly.” Because of my fear of tight spaces, I led. If I can keep moving, if only inch by painful inch then my mind isn’t occupied by thoughts of where I am, which is entombed by millions of tons of unescapable rock. I hate moving forward and seeing a pair of boots blocking my way and having to wait for someone or many someones to slither their way through a tight spot. When I came to the crawlway, the water level was down and only a puddle remained at the tightest and lowest spot of the crawl. The crawlway is roughly 15 inches wide and perhaps a foot tall. I tried to go through with my belly down and my shoulders parallel, but my shoulders were too wide. I wiggled in on my back with my right arm extended over my head, pushing my pack and my carbide light-equipped helmet ahead of me. My left arm hung uselessly down at my side. At the tightest spot, I discovered that the puddle was some 6 inches deep and, with my body displacing most of the water, the level rose. Now I was in a passage with water filling it to about 2 or 3 inches from the ceiling. I remember the water lapping at my face. It was very slippery and I wiggled like an eel to squeeze my body through that tight, water-soaked mud hole. Relief flooded through me when I finally exited from the fool’s part of the crawl. Now the passage had risen to a whole 14 or 15 inches and was about 3 feet wide. The ceiling, walls and floor were coated with wet slippery mud and so was I. It might as well have had ice for all the progress I was making, but make progress I made, a half inch at a time. After about 2 or 3 body lengths of slowly working my way forward, I was able to crawl on hands and knees into Snowflake Passage. I knew that I could and would take the easy exit via the Skyscraper Domes. One of the advantages of being first is that you can listen to the complaints and swearing coming from deep within the passage that you just vacated and greet your muddy friends as they exit. A year later, I tried the crawl again. I had a fresh crop of novice cavers who were willing to try something challenging. This time Fool’s Crawl was dry. Fort Stanton Cave never quite dries out though. Now, instead of being super slippery, the walls, floor, ceiling and I were coated with sticky mud. It was like I was wearing a Velcro suit and the cave was wearing the hooks. As before, I went first as I pushed my pack and helmet ahead of me. I couldn't drag myself forward as the floor acted like glue. I had to lift my body up a half inch, push forward and come down. Repeat. Repeat. I can’t remember how many times I did that simple action. Once I was past the tight spot, I discovered that if I lifted myself a little too high, I stuck to the ceiling. I was also sticking to the floor. Lift, move forward a 1/2 inch. Down. And repeat. Progress was made a slow half inch at a time. By comparison, being a wet muddy fish in that wet muddy crawl was easier (but not by much), than being a caving "tar baby" in a tight passage coated with the sticky equivalent of caver tar. That was the last time I went through Fool’s Crawl. I imagine that the crawl hasn’t changed since Steve and I crawled through it some 30 years ago. If you are inclined to brave the tight stuff and would like to sample a bit of claustrophobia, you might give Fool’s Crawl a try. I am too old and too fat to do it again. Thank goodness. -- Michael D. Lorimer 1826 Mount Joy Dr. San Antonio, TX 78232 575 644-1763 _______________________________________________ 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 Steve Peerman "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines, Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." attributed to Mark Twain, but no record exists of his having written this. -- Michael D. Lorimer 1826 Mount Joy Dr. San Antonio, TX 78232 575 644-1763 _______________________________________________ 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 _______________________________________________ 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 _____ _______________________________________________ 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
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