Hey, y’all.
Before my feeble memory forgets and the weekend gets here, I just thought I’d post a report from what we accomplished this past weekend at the Longhorn Caverns SP Project: Participants: Alan Downey – Project 1 David Franks – Project 1 Kyle Leonard – Project 2 Scott Grimes – Project 2 Nicole Yzaguirre – Project 2 Rachel Saker – Project 2 Joshua Smith – Project 2 Valerie Bowen – Project 2 Leslie Bell – Project 1 Christopher Francke – Project 1 Gerald Geletzke – Project 1 Jerome ? – Project 2 Maya Liu – Project 2 Rahul Bhandari – Project 2 Mark Alman – Project 2 Total volunteer hours: 182 hours, including 92 hours drive time. Project One: The Search for New Passage Lumbago Alley Area Dig Team Report from Christopher E. Francke: At first inspection, the dig passage looked about 25+ feet long, with rocky sediment, and filled the 2.5 foot high passage to about 2 feet. Basically a 6 inch gap, from sediment layer to ceiling. We, first cleared the outside entrance of the passage, in order to level the area so a digger's body would not be at a down sloping angle while digging. The next few hours, all diggers removed the sediment, rocks and debris. At the conclusion of the dig, the passage was opened to about 16 feet, where there was about 2 feet long of "tubular" passage remaining, before the passage opens to a "room" about 4+ feet wider, the ceiling raising to about 3+. This "room" had a depth, from the end point of the dig, about 6 feet, and appeared to veer to the right of the passage. It is apparent that the floor sediment of the room begins to slope near the walls and water is settled in those areas. It may be likely that the passage will become more watery at this point. There was no water settling in the passage during the dig, although if one dug deep enough, the sediment became more wet and muddy and less rocky. I'm excited to go back, knowing that we are about 2ft (say 1hr) away from getting in to the little "room" ahead. Thank you, Mark for the opportunity to help the folks at Longhorn Caverns. Project Two: Lovers Lane Trail and Drain Rebuilding Team Report from Mark Alman Let me first compliment the Project 2 folks, made up mainly of young cavers from the A.S.S. (Aggie Grotto) as consistently being one of the hardest working and most pleasant to be around group of cavers I have ever encountered. We got a LOT done this past weekend! Using fill material removed from the heavily silted and compacted floor near the dam below the Pigs Trough area of Lovers Lane, we have managed to replace all of the material that was washed out during heavy flooding that exposed the large drainage pipe. This area is now filled back in and all sign of the drainage pipe has been eliminated. Next project weekend, we will begin hauling in gravel and rock to give the area a more “natural” appearance and, hopefully, minimize erosion during the next big rain. The trail there is also now very smooth and has been taken down to the original trail and stone. Much easier to walk, now! After a short and enjoyable lunch in the LCSP cafeteria (yeah, we really rough it) we tackled removing anywhere from 4 to 8 inches of the silted in and dried material that covered the original trail just down from the drainage pipe area. The “youngsters” managed to remove a section 2 to 3 feet wide and approximately 12 to 15 feet long of compacted mud and top soil that revealed the original trail through this area. A very efficient bucket brigade system moved several large buckets of material that were deposited just behind a stone wall ~50’ away to help reinforce it against future flooding. Their amazing work increased the head room through this area immensely, making it easier for visitors to pass through without bashing their heads. We still have ~12 to 15’ of trail to complete before exposing the original trail. And then, on to a plethora of other Lovers Lane projects. We finished up this project around 3 PM and Gerry escorted 11 of the crew on a through trip to the Crownover exit. Two of the Aggie cavers ran in to Burnet for supplies and, after securing the Crownover key from LCSP staff, I met the mud-encrusted intrepid travelers around 5:30 at the LC Back door and transported them all back to camp in the back of my truck. During their trek, a nice nap was enjoyed by yours truly near the Crownover gate. After cleaning up, some stayed in camp, while 8 of us went in to Marble Falls for a delightful dinner and the highly recommended Peanut Butter Pie at the always satisfying Bluebonnet Café. Alan, Rahul, Maya, Christopher, and Leslie said their goodbyes and headed home after dining, while Gerry, Josh, and I headed back to LCSP. After seeking shelter from the cold and rain on the second floor of the Observation Tower, hilarity and banter and repartee ensued before heading to bed around 11 and Gerry heading back to Waco. A VERY chilly cold front and rain blew in around 2 AM Sunday and all headed home rather quickly after getting up Sunday. All in all, an extremely fun and productive project weekend! January status is unknown at this point, due to availability of project leaders and prior commitments. Stay tuned! If y’all are ever interested in helping out with this ongoing project, please do so. We guarantee a fun and enjoyable weekend with a lot of caving, service to the TPWD, and a ton of good ol’ caver camaraderie! Look for more info on CaveTex and the TSA calendar and a HUGE article on various Longhorn shenanigans in the next TEXAS CAVER. Thanks to all of the folks who have helped out this year on the Longhorn project, especially Gerry Geletzke, and hope to see more of you next year. Have a safe and happy Christmas and a fruitful 2012! Mark Alman
