I first went to Carrizal in December of 1984 with 5 other newbie Aggie Cavers, and was the least experienced of the group. There was a large sign posted out front warning of danger in the cave that was old and faded. I once had a picture of the sign, but it is probably lost. Didn't it say "Histoplasmosis" on it ??
We hiked a mile in from the gate, as we had no idea how to get a key, only to find a family living about 200 yards from the entrance. I went on several more trips to Carrizal for about 10 years after that, and they were all fun and uneventful. I have no idea if any of us got sick, and if we did we thought we had the flu. There was a time in the late 80's, where I had no problem getting a key to the gate, but could not find cavers to go, or I didn't have vacation time, or had some other caving related event to attend that was higher priority. Sidenote: The ladder that was recently used in the Kiwi Sink Dig was purchased in 1995 for checking out some shadows in the ceiling of the passage in Carrizal. After a monumental effort to purchase and deliver the ladder to the entrance by myself, the 3 other members of my team mutined and would not help me carry the ladder the rest of the way into the cave. ( Disclaimer: the ladder is a heavy duty aluminum ladder consisting of two - 20 foot pieces. ) I can remember planning to carry it myself, as they sat around the campfire relaxing with their cerveza mexicana ( Modelo or Tecate ?? ). I think I went back in the cave alone to re-check the shadows once last time, and accepted the reality that I could not safely get the ladder in place without their help. So I joined them around the campfire. I thought about donating the ladder then to the town of Candela, so I wouldn't have to haul it back to Houston, but decided it would be more practical to find a caving use for it somewhere. The ladder was eventually delivered from Houston to Kiwi Sink on the top of my tiny Honda Fit. I paid for the ladder hanging Christmas lights on 2-story houses. That trip was the last time I was in Carrazal, I think. Sometime earlier, around 1993, I was with 2 Houston cavers, Pam Ozkowski ( Spencer Woods wife ) and Ralph Batche ( R.I.P. ), in the cave. There was another trip about that time with caver George Sanders, so ask him about Carrizal. He drove to the entrance in his Geo Metro. After watching that off-road feat, I learned the benefits of a short-wheel base and small vehicle width, for travelling the backroads of the Sierra Madres. David Locklear
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