TSA Longhorn Caverns State Park Project Report - Saturday, May 5th, 2012
Volunteers:
Lyndon and Barbara Tiu
Casey Tucker
Jackie Lambert
Gerry Geletzke
Natasha Glasgow
Austin McRee
David McRee
Mallory Mayeux
Brian Freyling
Yours truly, Mark Alman
Total Volunteer hours: 50 hours, plus 67 hours total drive time.
With finals week going on, we had a much lower turnout this month from the UT
and Aggie crowds, but a good time and much work was accomplished, anyway.
Mosquitoes were gone and the weather was warm, but, great weather, anyway.
It also marked the valiant return of a long time project co-leader,
Lyndon Tiu, and his lovely newlywed bride, Barbara. It was good seeing them
there.
We also had a few newbies along this weekend. Casey Tucker and Jackie Lambert
travelled all the way from Lake LBJ (15 minutes) to help out. We also were
joined by David McRee, the dad of Mallory's significant other, Austin McRee,
from Houston.
A great bunch to have out this weekend!
Longhorn Lumbago Alley Dig
Nothing done down here this weekend, although, we did walk back there to show
folks what has been accomplished and what the 6" of rain back in March did to
the passageway that Gerry, Leslie Bell, Christopher Francke, Bob Marshall, and
Company had so diligently dug out.
The lower passage that was opened up was about 75% filled back in by loose
gravel from the enormous dirt pile wall that was created. Thankfully, the upper
passageway that runs parallel to the silted in passage is still open and
beckons for further digging and exploration.
Lovers Lane Revisited
As we discovered last month and I reported, the trail that we had dug out near
the Pigs Trough and by the stone wall has anywhere from 1 to 3" of mud
re-deposited from the March rains.
We saw the holes in the wall and the washed out fill behind the wall where all
of the mud on the trails had come from. All of us pitched in with shovels and
buckets to remove the semi-dry mud, while Brian Freyling mixed up several
buckets of cement and filled in the trail side of the wall, while I worked on
lugging and cementing the dirt side of the wall.
Thankfully, there was a LOT of clay and I used this to create a 3" to 6" thick
barrier of clay to better seal the cement and the rocks to keep future water
and mud where it belongs.
We then filled in the washed out area with fill from the trail.
It looks sealed very well, but, the next heavy rain will be the true test.
After getting a LOT of work done, we all descended on the Longhorn SP café
where Amy and her Crew cooked us up a batch of hamburgers, hot dogs, and
chicken worms! The day was hot, we were tired, and the A/C in the Visitors
center was wonderful!
Crownover? No. Basement? Yes!
We were joined on this trip by Sam and Katy, new, friendly folks we had met at
lunch who had just completed the wild cave tour with some Boy Scouts that
morning. They seemed very interested in our volunteer efforts there and eagerly
jumped at the chance to go caving again with us, after I told them that I had
extra helmets and equipment.
Very nice couple and it sounds as if they'll be joining the Greater Houston
Grotto at their next meeting, as well as helping out in the fall on the project.
As we found last month, there now is a new owner of the land that contains the
Crownover back entrance gate and easement and TPWD is working on access
protocols for visiting the property. In the meantime, we have been asked to
stay off of the property until this is resolved and to not venture past the
Turnaround Point in the cave, where the Catfish Lakes welcome you to the rest
of the cave.
Discouraged, but still wanting to "play" after all of our "work", Amy said that
it would be OK for us to explore the Basement area of Longhorn Caverns, as all
of their wild tours were conducted that morning.
Natasha and I and 20+ others had done this trip during TCR in October and,
thankfully, she was more familiar with the route than I. After squeezing past
Fat Man's Misery and The Saddlehorn (a real challenge for the males out there,
if you know what I mean!), we dropped down through several squeezes into the
Basement and, probably, the lowest point in Longhorn.
There was quite a bit of mud and a lot of water in the passage. Much wetter
than October, when it was dry as a bone. Our merry gang had fun exploring this
area, which most had never been to, and even enjoyed visiting a large room and
tunnel, which turned out to be the wrong way. One could tell very easily, as
the air seemed to get really funky.
Backtracking and pushing on, we popped out in the Frozen Niagara area, just
down the trail from the Indian Council Room. The trail continues on from here,
and after a short break, we pushed on.
We actually waded through thigh deep water, more mud, and some other tight
areas so, all in all, it was like a mini Crownover trip! We popped out in the
vicinity of the Lumbago Alley dig, took a short respite, and headed to the
surface around 5 PM to get cleaned up and get cooking some fajitas!
Guacamole, Fajitas, Libations, and a Whole Lotta Lightning!
Saturday evenings after a work project is my favorite part of the whole trip!
After cleaning up at the deluxe accommodations in the picnic area (spigot and a
hose), Lyndon and Barbara got their stoves out to cook peppers and onions,
while Casey got busy making rice and Brian cooked well over five pounds of
fajitas I had brought on my grill.
Natasha made a big ol' batch of guac and we put our feet up, drank a cerveza or
three, and filled our bellies with some delicious Mexican food.
We passed around various adult beverages, in celebration of Cinco de Mayo, and
talked late into the night about trips, kids, and politics. Lyndon, Barbara,
and Gerry headed home and Sam and Katy, who joined us later that night headed
back to their B & B before the storms arrived.
We ascended to the top of the Observation Tower to observe a most excellent
light show from the line of thunderstorms heading our way from the west. It was
a very impressive display of nature's power, until we concluded that a high
point on a hill was probably not the best place to be in a thunderstorm!
Not wanting to sleep in the tents immediately during the storm, some of the
folks spent the night on the second floor of the tower, while I spent the night
high and dry in the back of my truck.
Everyone survived OK and the area received quite a bit of much needed rain. We
all headed home Sunday AM.
Epilogue
We discussed summer activities and whether to continue on next month and the
consensus was to put the project on hiatus until October. With some other tasks
in the cave remaining and others still being worked out during the bidding
process, as well as the colleges being out and losing a large source of
volunteers, not to mention the HEAT, taking the summer off seems to be a wise
move.
Temporarily losing access to the Crownover property was also a mitigating
factor.
Hopefully, by the time the fall rolls around and the project starts back up in
October, we will have something worked out with the new owner.
In the meantime, thanks to ALL of the myriad of volunteers who have helped out
with the project in 2011 and 2012 and hope to see all of you, as well as some
new faces, in the fall of 2012 and the spring of 2013!
We are now entering the 5th year of the projects and the folks at Longhorn,
TPWD, and I really appreciate you and couldn't do it without you!
Have a great and safe summer and we'll see you in the fall!
Thanks!
Mark
