MudDonna's Caving Escapades

S Cave and "As Well As Can Be Expected" Cave

2011-07-04T20:45:00.003-06:00

click on the Picasa link in the right corner for full sized pictures!

Searching for a Lost Cave on T Peak

2011-06-29T20:44:00.001-06:00

click on the Picasa link in the right corner for full sized pictures!

Utah Canyons

2011-03-28T20:13:00.001-06:00

Digging in the Canyon

2011-03-07T05:20:00.004-07:00

Chaz, Jim, Mike, Mark and I spent this Sunday working on a dig in B cave. Before that, Mike and Mark checked out a few vertical holes nearby. Although they looked intriguing from the trail far below, none were more promising than "possible future digs."

2011-02-15T19:51:00.003-07:00

Fairy Cavers

2011-02-12T16:34:00.000-07:00

Mike, Ken, Tracy, Mark, Derrick and I had an opportunity to survey and photograph a rarely seen section of Glenwood Caverns this weekend. A bit of vertical involved, and a section where we needed to take off our boots and cross a small pool. The highlight was a small pit that ended in another pool. The formations were excellent...huge stalactites in numerous colors and types, a good sized column, flowstone, and more. We hope to return and do some more investigation soon!

Sanctum: The Story Behind the Movie

2011-02-05T20:11:00.005-07:00

If you're interested in the story behind the movie, visit this National Geographic link:
http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/episode/sanctum-the-real-story-6322/Overview?source=redir_sub_sanctum

Sanctum

2011-02-04T16:32:00.003-07:00

SoCoMoGro cavers and friends got together for the opening of "Sanctum". The caving scenes were more believable than usual...even realistic. The main character, the expedition leader, was interesting, but the other players were a bit on the expendable side with uninspiring personalities and dialog. Still, the movie was worth seeing. It's the closest attempt I've seen to duplicate the real dangers and potential terrors and thrills of caving without throwing in prehistoric flesheaters.

Mexico Caving Trip 2010

2011-02-01T19:33:00.000-07:00

New Cave: Loggerholen

2010-12-12T17:05:00.002-07:00

Caver Rescues Duck from Pit

2010-10-30T14:35:00.001-06:00

Ridgewalking H Canyon

New Bat Species: Yoda Bat

2010-10-22T06:07:00.004-06:00

posted by Mark Rabin on onlinecavers.com

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/glanceview/127246/yoda-bat-among-200-new-species.glance

Just had to pass this on...thanks Mark!

Caving in the Cat's Cradle

2010-10-21T19:36:00.002-06:00

Another earlier trip around March or April? A great example of Mikey's Cave Magnetism. He finds a tiny grey spot on a map, not bigger than a fingernail. We drive to it. He checks out a topo and then hikes us directly to the area. He sees a sliver of what I called "just a wall of mud" and decides to check it out. It goes! Two 30 foot circular chambers, the last one obviously a home to some animal. While trudging through thigh-high snow, we had spotted many big cat prints. There were none at the cave's entrance, so we felt relatively safe entering. Of course, Mike had to hide at one point and scare the lunch out of me by screeching like a mountain lion! Anyway, we decided to leave and return later to survey it (which we did, with Patricia).

Caving with the Mountain King

2010-10-21T18:44:00.001-06:00

Catching up on some cave trips...I think this one was in March or April 2010.

Blind Descent

2010-10-21T17:02:00.004-06:00

by James M. Tabor

This book is absolutely fantastic and a must-read for cavers! So exciting, I had to go get it on C.D. so I could consume it more rapidly. Highly recommended!

White Nose Bat Syndrome

2010-10-20T16:01:00.003-06:00

I've added more links to the "Bat" section, particularly those pertaining to White Nose Bat Syndrome. The link below, by Bob Hoke, has many excellent references and a great chronology of the disease's progress here in the U.S.

http://www.caves.org/grotto/dcg/white-nose.html

Cavehunting 10/9/10

2010-10-10T07:44:00.002-06:00

Mike, Janis and I headed up to H today. Found lots of limestone ridges, but only two small caves. One about 20 feet, another around 40. Still, It's a great area and worthy of many return trips.

National Speleological Society 2011 Convention Promotional Video

2010-10-10T06:33:00.002-06:00

Prepare yourself for a fun, informative, but corny video : )

"Ladder" Cave

2010-10-03T16:45:00.003-06:00

Most of us don't think to take a ladder caving. Maybe we should start. Mike and Janis did just that, hauling a 40 foot extention ladder into the canyon and finding a sweet cave, so far 405 feet of surveyed passage! Anyone with the early history of this cave, please speak up. It's obvious from vandalism we weren't the first, but we don't know of any other records of visits. Mike and Janis did break into a new room, nicely decorated and there's a number of dig leads too!

Swimming in Pedro's

2010-04-26T20:46:00.004-06:00

Yes, the friendly little children's cave we all know and love is now a swimming hole. Bring your rubber duckies : )

G and C cavehunting

2010-04-24T20:48:00.002-06:00

4/8/10 Cave Hunting

2010-04-11T10:05:00.000-06:00

pics on the way...

3/20 Caving Trip

2010-03-24T19:00:00.002-06:00

This cave was incredible!! Thankfully, Rick Rhinehart will be writing about it much more beautifully than I can.

The full story of the March expedition to the Shoshone Canyon Conduit Cave
> at Cody, Wyoming will be published in the forthcoming Spring
> 2010 edition of Rocky Mountain Caving, due out in June 2010. Look for it : )

3/13 Cave Trip

2010-03-14T11:44:00.001-06:00

This Weekend's Caving Pics

2010-02-27T19:19:00.003-07:00

no info on this one :(

LC dig

2010-02-06T18:04:00.006-07:00

Loving getting back in the dirt!! Had a fun dig with Mike, John McClaine and Mark Dixon at LC. It's a short but winding trip in and the dig is tight. Take a look at the rock John and Mark are wrestling through a 3x4x8 tube! Mike ran into some rock he wrestled with for hours, but ultimately, decided to head back with a drill. This should get us into going passage pretty quick. Stay tuned for details.

H Cave

2010-01-20T07:01:00.002-07:00

Finally back into some caving/digging projects. Helped Chaz maintenance a tunnel, then did some work on an upper passage. He poked through to a small domed room, maybe 3x4, lightly decorated with flowstone and small stals. Lots of dirt to remove before we can get an idea of its true size, and whether or not it continues.

Mexico 2009

2010-01-20T07:00:00.005-07:00

Some assorted pictures from Mexico, yes, including some caves : )

Halloween Caving

2009-10-31T19:19:00.001-06:00

Caver party! Kevin spent weeks building a scary labyrinth in his basement for the kids...that's about all we could handle cave-wise after the festivities : )

Burning Rat Caving Weekend

2009-08-30T18:03:00.004-06:00

More Original Cave Ballad Lyrics From Rick Rhinehart!

2009-07-31T21:19:00.000-06:00

I thought of yet another caving ballad today on the way to work - a caving version of the famous Joni Mitchell song "Both Sides Now". For the full effect, visit You Tube and sing the new words along to the song (Judy Collins had the big hit in the late 1960s). Please forward this song with the others to Mike!

Rick

Both Sides Now
Words by Joni Mitchell and Richard Rhinehart

Caves and springs and sinkhole plains
And sinking creeks that freely drain
And limestone canyons evrywhere
I've looked at karst that way

But now when I leave the sun
I crawl around with evryone
So many caves I could have done
But love got in my way
I've looked at karst from both sides now
Both underground, and from the clouds
Its' dark illusions I recall
I really don't know karst at all

Digs and climbs and real tight crawls
The crazy caving way you feel
As evry rumored tale comes real
I've looked at caves that way

But now they're just a silent world
A place to go to when you're young
And if you care, don't let them know
Don't give yourself away

I've looked at pits from both sides now
From in and out, and still somehow
Its love's illusions I recall
I really don't know love at all

Tears and cheers and wedding vows
To say I love you right out loud
A canyon home to make us prowd
I've looked at life that way

But now my friends are acting strange
They shake their heads, say I have changed
Well something's lost, but something's gained
In living evry day

I've looked at caves from both sides now
Both big and small and still somehow
It's karst illusions I recall
I really don't know karst at all

Good-Bye, Ryan Gosciejew

2009-07-06T08:36:00.010-06:00

Ryan, you will be deeply missed by thousands of friends and family. Your art, music and contributions to caving will be cherished always. Like Elvis, Marilyn Monroe and John Lennon your stay here on Earth was larger than life. Your smile, laughter and adventerous spirit will always be with us. You were a Rock Star of a Human Being, Ryan. Thanks for sharing your life with us...good-bye for now, Ninja Caver...

Add'l tributes to Ryan:
http://americanrandonee.blogspot.com/2009/07/ryan-gosciejew.html?showComment=1247065420327#c740153277718794788

Summer Caving, etc.

2009-06-14T21:29:00.000-06:00

Summer Vacation 2009

News from Mike in Mexico

2009-04-03T16:55:00.000-06:00

Hey everyone,

I am sending this out to a few of my good friends to let them know what the last expedition to the Sierra Negras was like. Or course the text is all in spanish but the photos speak a language all there own. A few short notes from me as well should round it out. Yes the Chinokie took swimming lessons. Also another Chinookie tale... A chicken laid an egg in it! Luckily I found it before I took a nap. :] As for the caves.... We had a brand new 1000m deep cave (would have been Mexicos 9th).. until it decided to connect into Akamabis at - 1100m or so. Now we have one hell of a through trip.... I was told today that I was on the tele in Mexico City last week rigging SotanoTio Loco or Crazy Uncle Pit. We expended much fear sneaking back and forth without speaking as we got closer to the pit. The shotgun shells in the cave did not help our demeanor. We eventually connected this Cave to Caverna Santito and on the derig trip ran face to face with the man we were told to beware of. He turned out to be a nice guy..go figure.

That expedition is over and the Mexpe expedition is now well underway. We are down to around -600m or so in a cave named Tres Chimeras. An exaple of an chimera could a lions body with wings and a dragons tail. Basically any mythical creature made up of several animals. We went in early the day before yesterday and came out early the next morning. A guy from Mexico city named David Tirado and I were rigging (and scooping bigtime booty) while Bev Shade and Al Wairld (Warilds best caver he he) surveyed hot on out tracks. Well thats all for now, hope all is well with all of you.

PS please do not share the photos without Gustavos permission. It is how he makes his bread and butter. I mean his tortillas. he he

Love Mike

MEXPE 2009

2009-02-05T09:46:00.009-07:00

For those of you who would like to follow the adventures of the MEXPE 2009 expedition, Google "MEXPE" and use Babelfish to translate the webpages from French to English. Mike Frazier from Southern Colorado Mountain Grotto will be participating in March/April.

http://www.mexpe.ca/en/index.html

Places in Colorado where there are Not Caves

2008-09-20T18:40:00.000-06:00

Rat-a-Tat-Tat Party and Caving Weekend

2008-08-24T13:24:00.000-06:00

photos by Mike Frazier

Help Save the Grotto's Ass!

2008-08-07T10:46:00.002-06:00

As many of you are aware, at last year's Grotto Auction we nearly lost our Ass to the Red Canyon Infiltrators. The final bid for the Ass was placed by Mike Frazier at $113. We are taking pledges this year toward the auction price of our caving donkey friend in order to ensure that he stays where he belongs among Southern Colorado Mountain Grotto folks. In addition to that, be sure you look for good items to donate to the auction in October so we can raise lots of money for the upcoming year!

Car Caving 2

2008-08-03T19:06:00.001-06:00

Cave Hunting 7/26/08

2008-07-26T21:51:00.001-06:00

A New Writer of Cave Ballads

2008-07-24T12:33:00.003-06:00

While I've always known Rick Rhinehart is a prolific and talented writer, I had no idea his abilities extended to song writing as well. I think you'll agree these lyrics are great!

When we were hiking in Mitchell Creek this Sunday, I thought of the
beginning to another caving ballad. The canyon was horrifically
scorched by the 2002 Coal Seam Fire that threatened Glenwood Springs.
Throughout the canyon, there are many dead, burned trees, blackened
cliffs, etc. For some reason, I thought of the old Peggy Lee song,
"Fever," and was inspired to write another caving ballad:

CAVING FEVER
Words by Richard Rhinehart
Based upon Fever by Peggy Lee

Never know how much I love it
Never know how much I care
When I get into that limestone
I get a fever that's so hard to bear
We're going caving in a minute
Caving where it's cold and tight
Caving ... in the mornin'
Caving all through the night

Sun lights up the surface
Carbide lights up the cave
I light up when I see the dark
And I know you're gonna do the same
Caves give me fever when I enter
Fever when I squeeze in tight
Fever ... in the mornin'
Fever all through the night

Everybody's goin' caving
That is somethin' you all know
Caving isn't such a new thing
Caving started long ago

Floyd Collins loved caving
Through the mammoth Crystal Cave
When he squeezed through the tight spot He said, "Sand Cave, you're my
flame"
You give me fever when I explore you
Fever with your virgin halls
Fever I'm excited
Fever yeah I'll showcase you

Herb Conn and his wife Jan
Had a very mad affair
When the Park Service told them
They said, "It's just a cave down there"
Jewel gave them fever with its thousand leads Fever when it got real
tight Fever, they're astonished This cave might never end!

Now you've listened to my story
Here's the point that I have made
Caves were formed to give you fever
Be it Fahrenheit or centigrade
They give you fever when you push them Fever when you find big rooms
Fever till you sizzle What a lovely way to burn What a lovely way to
burn What a lovely way to burn What a lovely way to burn

An Invitation to L Pit

2008-07-20T21:15:00.004-06:00

Dan B. was nice enough to extend an invitation to us to check out a pit he had his eyes on. Mike, Dan C. and myself met him at his campsite and headed in. The first drop was deeper than I expected, about 40 feet or so. At the bottom we landed in a snowdrift and made our way down an angled passage filled with huge breakdown. After worming their way through various leads, the way to the next drop was discovered. Mike and Dan B. rigged the rope on the second drop. It was a bit of a squeeze getting over the lip, but Mike got through and checked out the next room below. Dan B. and Dan C. soon followed. Loose rock was a problem, and there were a good many shouts to be careful. From Mike's hollars of excitement, still more passage was below. The altimeter gave a reading of 136 feet in depth. 300 feet total passage was the final estimate.! More details and updates at your local Grotto meeting : )

p.s. If anyone decides to visit, keep your eyes out for Dan B.'s camera...thanks!

A Lucrative Day of Cave Hunting

2008-07-19T22:10:00.002-06:00

Mike attempted to wake me at 3:30 am this morning to go caving, but I managed to hold firm until 5:00 a.m. It was difficult sleeping anyway with him standing over me, staring, in complete caving gear. Turns out, it was a great decision to get up and tag along. Although there have been plenty of heinous hikes with little to show at the end of the day, this was not one of them. Check out the slide show!

Newsflash! Mike Chainsaws a Caver!

2008-07-17T18:41:00.007-06:00

Mike gets inspired and trys his hand at carving a caver for the NSS Art Salon : )

Try YouTube directly at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xn1OYG8IHOk
if you have trouble viewing the clip.

Caving with Brendan Fraser Tonight

2008-07-15T23:47:00.005-06:00

Well, kind of...MIKE Frazier (cuter, better caver than Brendan) and I checked out the new "Journey to the Center of the Earth in 3D" tonight. You absolutely HAVE to see this one in 3D! It's worth a few extra bucks to have prehistoric flying fish with huge teeth come flying out of the screen and nearly land in your lap. My legs were actually shaking when the dinosaur was chasing the boy! This show is so entertaining you'll forgive the fact that they use way too many light sources from their limited supplies and have a seemingly endless amount of rope on hand. Check it out as soon as you can!

Upcoming National Cave Rescue Commission Training

2008-07-14T08:59:00.002-06:00

Hey everybody...The National Cave Rescue Commission will be holding training in California from 9/27-10/4. If you're in Colorado and would like to car pool, contact Laura S. with the SoCoMoGro.

http://www.caves.org/io/ncrc/

R Caves, Douglas County

2008-07-14T06:30:00.002-06:00

After a little car caving on Sunday, Mike showed me this pleasant hike not too far from home.

New Cave Life Form Discovered by Young Girls

2008-07-11T10:43:00.001-06:00

J Cave

2008-07-06T19:22:00.004-06:00

If you have trouble viewing the above clip, try YouTube directly:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLIFU6MKwxo

Took a 4x4 road to __________area and checked out J____ Cave. It started as a vertical drop into a pit about twenty five feet below. The basically circular room was approximately 30x30 with two passages leading out. Mark, Janis, Mike, Al, Tanya and myself explored various dig possibilities.

The regional buffet was held indoors at the quonset hut (Who the heck posted signs that said KWAANZA hut?!). Thanks to the owners (Maze and brother) for letting us crash on your property for a few days! From the sounds of it, everybody had a great time and I can't wait to hear everyone else's stories too!

S Mountain Cave

2008-07-05T19:23:00.003-06:00

July 4
We drive back to the Lovell camp and pick up passengers Carl, Amy, Nate, Rick and Bart and head up to the gated S____ Mountain Cave in Cody. Some of the group checked out an alternate entrance while the rest of us took the traditional route. The cool interior was a great break from the heat. It took a bit of exploring to find the way on, but then it was down, down, down into surprisingly deep passage...check your Wyoming guidebook for specifics. In all, it was a very user friendly cave...a good combination of crawling, squeezing and climbing. And, except for two spots where I personally whimpered like a baby due to the height and exposure, it could be said to be a good beginner's trip. One big drawback, this was a terribly vandalized cave, the first I've seen where even formations weren't spared from spraypaint.

We eat BBQ in Cody then drive to a desolate location in search of a mysterious resurgance. Expecting mainly ridgewalking and perhaps some digging, I hang back and take my time getting ready while many others head out. Instead, after hiking alone in the dark I found everyone gathered around an awesome pit, with Mike and Al in vertical gear getting ready to drop to the bottom! Imagine a well, with a section broken out of the side and being able to stick your head inside and look both up to the top, and down to the bottom...that pretty much describes the situation. The entire depth was around 80 feet or so. It was a really unique cave and I was kicking myself for showing up, not only without vertical gear, but without so much as a camera! Lesson learned.

"Little People's Dwelling" Cave

2008-07-03T16:43:00.021-06:00

July 2
5:00 pm Wednesday night we headed out of town in the faithful Chinook with Janis, Todd and Lydia on board, we added Mark to the mix in Boulder. On flight meal consisted of cold sausages on buns...hey, it's a budget flight. Later, peanuts were distributed as a snack during the feature film: "The Cave" a highly scientific documentary tracing the lifespan of human beings underground when engaged in life and death struggles with prehistoric flesh-eating creatures. Good 101 info for new cavers.

July 3
4:30 am Thursday our tired crew disembarked in a field in Lovell, Wyoming and crashed for the night.

8:30 am Mike and I abandon our passengers in the field with a single cooler of drinks and snacks and head to Montana to meet with Patricia. She had arranged for us to explore caves on the private property of a relative. Our first excursion is on the hills within sight of the home. A maze of small tunnels, resembling miniature slot canyons, run beneath the land. Poison ivy is everywhere and we have to be careful where we step.

Later in the day, "Big Boy" takes us to a more remote area of his property to point out another cave. It is a beautiful hike and we cross a stream several times during the trip. The entrance to this cave is about 5x5. While Patricia and Mike get their gear on, I get in the water and start heading in. The main passage appears to sump at about 100 feet, which is what had been reported to us. Mike and Patricia arrive, and I am getting ready to belly crawl through cold water to set a survey station. Luckily, Patricia suggests I check out a narrow, low path to the left first. I squeeze back and around a curve and look up to see a passable fissure about 8x2x15 and it still goes! I drop the tape measure and ditch Mike and Patricia, encouraging them to follow my boot tracks :) At the end of the fissure I am again looking at stream passage which splits. To my left is a beautiful clear pool about 9x6x 4 foot deep, with small fishes darting about at the bottom. A good amount of water falling in the distance, so I choose this route first, shouting at Mike that it was still going! Continuing down the passage, Mike took the first chance to pass me by and end my scooping for the day. We discovered a room about 50x30 which continued into another chamber where the ceiling was maybe five inches above the water. With a snorkel and swimming mask and decent waterproof light, this could probably be fairly easily passed through. We checked on the other lead, which was similar...stream passage ending in a room about the same size. Here I was able to squeeze back into a second low room, but the ceiling of third room beyond was too close to the water. In all, we estimate the area we covered was 500-600 feet, much better than the 100 originally reported to us! It was a great day caving and we hope to get back soon to officially survey it and perhaps push through those sumped areas!

If you have trouble viewing the above clips, try YouTube directly:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJWY6h5PL0I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQcb1ReHa5A

Car Caving

2008-06-29T21:33:00.004-06:00

Pretty tame weekend, a bit of "car caving" down in Canyon City, where we scoped out some new limestone areas, and working on maps for H_____ and CB_________. Next week...The Regional in Wyoming/Montana!!

10 Caver Commandments

2008-06-24T09:07:00.005-06:00

1. The one true caving helmet is the Petzel helmet, and thou shalt not put any other helmet before it.

2. Thou shalt not bow before the God of Ray-O-Vac, for lo it is a false god and will not get thy butt out.

3. Honor thy grotto, and thy NSS officers so that thy days will be long and fruitful in the lands of karst.

4. Remember the weekend, and keep it open. For it is written, "Five days shalt thou work. Two days shalt thy cave, drink beer and screw off."

5. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbors cave leads, nor his digs, nor his gear.

6. From the throne of thine cavern, thou shalt not stoop to wave at sinners who don't stop to lok for natural tie-offs, for bolting is the handiwork of the Devil.

7. Thou shalt not pass by nor turn away from a caver in distress. Self-rescue is the only rescue.

8. Thou shalt not pose, verily I say unto you, it is easier for a poser to pass his Gold Visa card through the eye of a bollard, than it is to enter the true fellowship of Caver Heaven.

9. When crawling through the cavern of life, thou shalt not snivel, and thou shalt not have to cave alongside those who do.

10. Stash not thine Petzel helmet in the darkness of thine closet, that it may collect dust for want of not being used. Cave with thine brethren, and rejoice in the spirit of the darkness.

(author, possibly Alaric Strauss?)

Survey Trip to H____ Cave

2008-06-23T20:17:00.000-06:00

Notes are on the way...in the meantime, enjoy the pics!

In Memory of Oscar, Faithful Caving Companion

2008-06-20T08:54:00.009-06:00

The caving community has lost a good friend and digger. Oscar, long-time canine companion of Randy M, passed away last night. We will miss him trotting nearby on our long hikes, laden with his little doggie backpack. He stood guard over our gear on the surface, his one white eye and one brown eye scanning the horizon for any sign of intruders, and he greeted us with tail wagging when we returned.

Oscar is perhaps best remembered for the incident at what is now known as "Oscar's Dig." Mike remembers squeezing into a hole with blowing wind to do some further exploration. Oscar soon crawled in behind him and nudged him out of the way. Oscar began digging furiously at the face, moving a lot of dirt in a short time. It was more than two hours later when Oscar finally emerged from the hole, porcupine quills in his nose, but with 100 feet of virgin passage scooped added to his list of accomplishments!

We will miss him. Randy, we share in your grief and send you our love and our hugs.

Taylor Park Exploration: 2001
BY MIKE FRAZIER
In the past year, several new and interesting caves have been found and surveyed in the Taylor Park region of central Colorado. Doug and Hazel Medville, Randy Macan, Paul Mozel and two of Paul’s friends (whose names I can’t recall) and I met one weekend in late June to hike around and look for caves. Our original plan was to meet near Spring Creek, survey a cave, and then try to locate a pit that an outfitter had reported to Dan Sullivan and I on a previous trip. The pit was said to be approximately a one by two foot rectangle that was pretty deep from what he could tell.
The rest of us were running late, and Doug and Hazel had already begun their search. We spotted their truck parked just of the four-wheel drive road. Honking and yelling, we soon got their attention. They had found some mines. Still thinking about the pit, I tossed the 300-foot Blue Water static line around my shoulder and began to hike blindly through the woods up the heavily forested hill. My companions each choose a similar route, spacing ourselves apart in order to increase the chances of finding something. The forest was dense and heavily karstified. It wasn’t long before Randy shouted out, “I’ve got a cave!” Like hungry vultures, we descended on his location. Sure enough, he had found a cave. Randy named it Little Skulls.
Randy and Doug then surveyed Little Skulls Cave. (See Doug’s article elsewhere in this Rocky Mountain Caving) Meanwhile, the rest of us continued our quest. It wasn’t long before we located another cave, and this time it was my turn to shout. Crawling into the entrance chamber, I noticed what appeared to be a large bird crawling under a ledge. Oscar the dog, was hot on my heels, and he too noticed the prey. Heading to the end of the room, he immediately began to dig in an attempt to catch a quick meal. I tried to move him out of the way, and barely succeeded just long enough to determine that there was good airflow.
For the next two plus hours, Oscar the dog dug on this lead. He wasn’t about to have us scoop him. He put every thing he had into it. His tongue was covered with a mixture of dirt and gravel, and his breathing was heavily labored. He would pull dirt out, and than go back in lying on his side panting like crazy. The rest of us sat on the surface eating lunch and laughing about our good luck and about Oscar digging for us. By the way, the bird turned out to be a porcupine and Oscar finally quit digging after he got a nose full of quills. We never did push the cave as far as Oscar did that day, we decided instead to continue our quest for the pit, and perhaps other caves. We found neither on this day. We have since returned and pushed the cave to around 100 feet. It still has a strong wind so we’re not done with this one yet!

The Cave Game

2008-06-17T19:55:00.007-06:00

If you've recently returned from a caving trip, bruised and beaten to a pulp but still ready for more...try the above link for some online caving action! Expedition members are being eaten alive and only you, YOU, can save them...but first you have to gather your lights, vertical gear, scuba equipment, rope and maps from around the base camp and get ready to battle some underground alien butt!

View Your Cave Maps Using Google Earth!

2008-06-17T19:11:00.006-06:00

Check out "Hubert's Caving Blog" at the above link to learn how to view your cave data on Google Earth! Also on this site is CAPS Cave Mapping Software and it's FREE! The picture above gives you an idea of the results. I haven't had a chance to try it yet, would love to hear from anyone else who has!

Underground Poetry by "Radar"

2008-06-15T10:46:00.003-06:00

To See If It Goes

I came to a canyon
Off Manitou way
To get back to darkness
Been ten years my pay
To clay smelling holes
With strange stone surprises
We found some big ones
On our lucky days

We crawl and we dig
And we climb in so high
An odd bunch of cavers
So far from the sky
We squeeze and we squirm
And we drop so low
It’s mad what we do
To see if it goes

They see us in town
Us been caving all day
We’re so covered in dirt
They all edge away
If our mothers could see us
They’d shrink back in shame
But come the next weekend
We’ll all do the same

We found o’re three miles
Since I got to join them
In deep Williams Canyon
Just north of town
With large manic crews
And progress so slow
It’s mad what we do
To see if it goes

In a Nice Cozy Mine

In the blanketing dark
Deep in a cave
Some think I am daring
Some foolishly brave
They imagine constriction
A grim tight confine
But I feel protected
In a nice cozy mine

I’ve shared the wide vistas
In springtime so new
Of high blooming meadows
A wonder to view
The broad alpine landscape
High mountains so fine
But still feel protected
In a nice cozy mine

Sparkling deep voids
Full of crystals so rare
I’m first at the face
For high grade to spare
Dark halls of history
Lead off to mystery
Was all I expected
In a nice cozy mine

Folks that I met
Pards that I had
We shared being rowdy
Shared being sad
Our pie cans well stocked
Together we dined
And I felt accepted
In a nice cozy mine

More verse to come from digger/caver/miner/poet extraordinaire: Jon(Radar)Barker!

Dig and Discovery

2008-06-12T07:53:00.009-06:00

Had the opportunity to help Mike and Patricia with a survey of an ongoing dig tonight. Chaz, Jim, Jon and others have been working hard in ___________cave and their efforts have finally paid off! Take a look at the photo below...a pretty little pool, nicely decorated! Also found by the diggers: a pit, about 8x8x7 (reached only by the smallest cavers). In all, about 100 feet of new passage was surveyed. More details will be released by the diggers at an upcoming grotto meeting when they feel the time is right...stay tuned!

Mike and Ryan Practice Cave Ballads

2008-06-09T18:01:00.010-06:00

Mike and Ryan are pictured here practicing some familiar tunes we all know and love (Flat Tops Tan, Sewerlunking, Rock Dan). My favorite is a new one Mike wrote in the car the same day, "In the Grotto" sung to the tune of Elvis' "In the Ghetto":

On a cold and gray Colorado morn,
Another little baby caver is born,
In the grotto...

And Donald Davis cries...

Because if there's one thing that he don't need
It's another novice caver scoopin' his leads
In the grotto...

Cavers don't you understand
The new kid needs a helpin' hand
Or he's gonna be a cave vandal one day

Take a look at you and me
Is it too dark to see
Or do we just turn our lamps
And look the other way?

And Donald Davis cries...

In the Grotto...

Then one night in desperation
He breaks into a cave
Snaps a flower, steals a 'tite
Cavin' on one source of light
In the grotto...

And Donald Davis cries...

Cavers don't you understand
The new kid needs a helpin' hand
Or he's gonna be a cave vandal one day

Take a look at you and me
Is it too dark to see
Or do we just turn our lamps
And look the other way?

The Caver crowd gathers round
An angry young man
Face down in a pit with a 'tite in his hand
In the grotto...

And Donald Davis cries...

Cavers don't you understand
The new kid needs a helpin' hand
Or he's gonna be a cave vandal one day

Take a look at you and me
Is it too dark to see
Or do we just turn our lamps
And look the other way?

In the grotto...

And Donald Davis cries...

El Sueno

2008-06-06T19:31:00.002-06:00

This video is great! It's too good to leave merely as a link! Watch this fun "Caver's Rock Video" Do you recognize anyone?

Franktown Graveyard

2008-06-04T16:12:00.003-06:00

Continuing my other underground interest...

New Drawing

2008-06-04T15:44:00.007-06:00

Latest drawing (I turn out a whopping 3 a year)...the photograph I based it on was taken by either Bill Stone or Andy Hunter or "the other two people on the expedition."

Memorial Day Weekend Death March and Cave Hunting Extravaganza

2008-06-02T09:11:00.012-06:00

Great weekend with Mikey, Randy and Al. Hiked minimum four miles (correction, Mike says it was closer to ten!) up and down mountains in the (Z peak) area. It was another death march, but with incredible views all around. By the time we reached the limestone, it was late in the day and we had to head back or be caught out in the dark, and possible poor weather. We'll probably try it again, with a more direct route.

Sunday we drove up to the border, near M_______. Mike was following a lead given to him by Dan, who spotted a good sized hole in a cliff while driving the area, but it was on the opposite side of a river. The icy, rapid river did not slow Mike down much and he actually jumped in with a life vest on. The water swept him to the opposite shore quickly, and he crawled out and started checking out the holes in his dripping shorts and sandals. He disappeared for about ten minutes, the rest of us could only wait and hope for a report while imagining various scenarios of how to rescue him if he didn't come back!

A short while later Mike came out with a happy report...it goes! More info at the Grotto meeting!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4fpOOJWCvE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Da3Tkem-Do

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyV9RKd9WBI

Caleb in the Canyon

2008-05-19T09:38:00.003-06:00

Trevor... A Natural Rock Star

2008-04-21T08:11:00.003-06:00

Pictures from Poland

2008-04-02T12:31:00.003-06:00

http://www.speleo.pl/strona1-pl.htm
Just in! Pictures from Kasia and Marchin Gala, Polish Cavers who were on the Mexico expedition in January 08. Check out their website...great pictures of everyone! Click the "Tres Amigos" link : )

Mexico/Guatemala/Belize 2007

2008-03-26T22:16:00.002-06:00

Mexico 2008

2008-03-25T13:31:00.004-06:00

Bear-ly Escaped

2008-02-15T09:06:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

Holiday fun. Mike and I didn't want to do the typical Valentine's Day
routine, so I suggested we go hunting for a new dig with the hopes of
naming it "The Saint Valentine's Day Massacre" cave. We headed out
about 7:00 pm and found a few small shelter caves but nothing to write
home about. On the way back to the car, Mike remembered an old dig he
had worked on a few years back. He suggested checking it out and I
agreed. He casually mentioned that a few people had reported seeing
bears there, but he thought they were full of baloney (it was only 50
feet from a well travelled road). Great. I hung back and let him drop
down into the fissure and check things out really good before committing
myself. After a few minutes Mike hollared that that everything was
clear. Once down, I started crawling around a bit and found a low
passage and asked Mike if he had already checked out that lead. "Nope,
see if it goes, o.k.?" So, I got down into a belly crawl and had just
started squeezing my shoulders through a low overhang. Just when I lift
my head up, I see twelve feet in front of me a bear! I had disturbed
it's sleep and it was lifting and turning it's head toward whatever was
waking it up (ME!) In one move, I slid back six feet, pirouetted and
grabbed Mike by the arm and shout/whispered "We are leaving NOW! There
is a BEAR IN HERE!!!" I had no qualms about using Mike as a stepladder
to get the heck out of there (Hey! I offered to help pull him out once I
was on the surface!)

Next year, maybe dinner and a movie : )

MudDonna

Waiting for Tres Amigos (a series of mini adventures, some of which relate to caving)

2008-01-31T22:27:00.001-07:00

It’s Mid-March and I’m only just feeling fully acclimatized to civilian live after five weeks caving in Mexico after Christmas. Having only recently been informed that I am to write an expedition article, I’ve dug out my musty journal. The pages are warped and stuck together from weeks of humidity and rain. I look over the names of towns, mileages, who paid for what in dollars and pesos, trying to refresh my memory…

12/26 4am.

On this crisp Colorado morning Mike Frazier, Patricia Malone, Ryan Gosciejew and myself pile the last of the gear into Mike’s 1978 Chinook camper and slowly back out of the driveway. Katie B, another Southern Colorado Mountain Grotto member, waves and smiles at us. “I miss Katie” said Ryan, a tear rolling down his cheek. “Ryan…she’s right there, you can still see her.” Ryan didn’t comment and disguises his quivering lip by eating Christmas cookies Katie had baked for him.

Mike makes his way to I-25 and heads South. There will be no stopping except for fuel. We live off whatever snacks we can grab at the convenience store counter while the tank is being topped off. Extra potty breaks have to be begged and bribed for. Frazier is on a mission. Twenty hours later, we reach the border of Texas around midnight. Mike, Ryan and I squeeze onto the tiny mattress ("sleeps six" oh, sure!) Long, tall Patricia Malone gets the narrow aisle on the floor with her legs under the bed.

12/27
Border crossing. One of our group has the misfortune of getting an early case of the runs and ruins their pants. The other two have a great laugh at the sight of this sorry soul running into the Mexican immigration building with a roll of paper in one hand and clean underwear in the other. I don't laugh...we'll all suffer the same fate before long.

Endless tolls on the nice paved highway, but it is much faster than the side roads with the constant speed bumps and slowing for stray dogs and nursing pigs.

12/28
We arrive in Hautla and enjoy a hot dinner and a hotel with a shower and get used to talking in Spanish again. I just can't make them understand their own darned language.

12/29-12/30
Patricia and I remain in town. Mike and Ryan go on to Ayautla. We check out the markets and eat fresh avocados, fruit, and fantastic breads in front of the church in the square. A small brass band plays while a wedding party walks out from under the arched doors, followed by the smiling bride and groom. Later we go hiking through the town hills and discover an old and fascinating cemetery to explore.

12/31
We take a taxi and meet the others at the home of our local hosts, Severo and Virjinia, really wonderful, helpful people with great kids, too.

1/1
Mike drives us just outside of town to De Uluapan, a popular river with numerous swimming holes. We hike a pleasant trail thirty to forty-five minutes upstream to the source--a beautiful waterfall flowing out of a large cave entrance over staircased ledges to a pool below. It is located about 140 feet above us, but with careful negotiation, we climb over the moss covered rocks and flowing water easily enough. Once at the top, we walk inside to an underground lake. I sink into the chilly water to cool off and paddle around a bit. Patricia gets in too, and with a few strong strokes she is headed for the center of the dark water. Mike, Ryan and I watch Patricia's headlamp grow smaller and smaller as she swims to the opposite wall of the cave, exploring it's edges perhaps 150 feet away. We lose sight of her light, and when she stops answering our calls, we wait a little nervously. About ten minutes later she reappears, still swimming calmly. Back on land she reports her findings to us. We're all impressed with her solo trip.

We pick our way back down the falls in full view of at least twenty locals who have followed us up. Except for the part where I slip and fall four feet onto my back into a pool of water in front of the audience below, I am a picture of grace and American rock-climbing perfection.

We meet more U.S. cavers Tony, Marion, Ernie, JD and little Simon. They offer us a place to camp at their location up the road any time we need it. Randy Macan arrives separately by taxi just in time to observe Mike giving vertical training in banana trees to a crowd of local boys.

We camp back down at the river. Patricia, Randy and Ryan are in the mood to celebrate the New Year. Mike is in the mood to get some rest. He first tries to leave the Chinook and sleep on the ground outside. The merrymakers follow and continue their laughing and song. Mike's growing annoyance only encourages them more. The last we see of him is his angry siloutte dragging his large orange sleeping bag, outlined by the oncoming headlights of passing trucks. It's a miracle he wasn't run over in the median while he slept.

1/2
School supplies. Mike, along with Severo, Virjinia and expedition members round up the local children and pass out boxes and boxes of donated notebooks, crayons, pencils and more. We have to be careful to watch because they like to sneak back through the line for extras!

Later that night we take Tony and friends up on their invitation and pay them a visit at their location. It was a real pleasure getting to know each one of them.

They've had the good fortune to work out a rental situation on a coffee plantation. Their tents, bags, kitchen and gear are set up in a long, spacious cement building out of the weather. This was especially important tonight because the rain started and came down heavy until early next morning. We could hear the wind and the constant drops on the roof, but we were warm and dry inside.

1/3
We head back to De Uluapan to see how the additional water had affected it--it was roaring! We jump out of the camper and begin filming and photographing the foaming whitewater. Mike convinces a nearby landowner to take us back up to the cave on a safer back trail. We can hardly believe the change when we see it. The easy climb up the falls two days earlier was now buried under several feet of fast-flowing water that gushed from the cave entrance. We had to shout to each other even to be heard!

Safely back inside the camper, we quickly dry off our camera equipment. Ryan becomes increasingly agitated when he can't bring up photos from the memory. I remembered the great pictures he had taken during the past few days and hoped he'd salvage them too. After much toying with the settings, Ryan sank into his seat. The pictures were gone. Ryan is an excellent photographer and I was disappointed at the loss as well. I tried to reassure him by stating there would be plenty more opportunities for photographing caves on this trip. "I don't care about any of those. I lost all of my pictures of Katie." He turned and looked out the window...the water streaming down the glass reflecting the crying in his heart.

1/4
Incoming Poles! Kasia Kendraka (#3) and Kasia Bartz (#4) arrive during the wee hours of the morning by taxi and sleep late.

Marchin and Kasia (#1) Gala and their Baby Zusia arrive by taxi. Mike brings them up to date on his progress getting permission with the local officials so far. They go with him to the town hall. Surely having the lovely smiling child will soften the hearts of even the strictest bureaucrat. It doesn't hurt that Kasia 1 and Marchin are fluent in Spanish. A couple of hours later we see them walking back down the hill toward the house, smiling. We are hopeful for good news at last!

Paul Mozel and Jeff Dieterle roll into town on their heavily loaded motorcycles just as we are finding out we've got permission to head up to the cave.

We have our packs ready in no time. Randy Macan, one of the original discoverers of Tres Amigos and Patricia Mallone, who has been on three previous expeditions discussed with Mike the best route to the cave. Kasia 3 ( present on the 2006 expedition into the "Papa Loco" borehole) and Kasia 4 also joined us. We started up the hill from the town with every confidence we would be camping at Tres Amigos that night. Randy and Ryan were in the lead. The terrain was mainly pasture which gradually grew steeper, rockier and more heavily treed. My pack was the lightest, about 20 pounds. Mike had very considerately kept in mind that I had never hiked far carrying a pack with more than what I needed for caving. Group toilet paper and a sleeping bag were my primary load. Due to this I was able to keep up with Ryan (MP3 player going strong) for a good part of the hike, although I would regret this hasty pace the following day. Randy M. stayed up front too, but the much heavier weight of his pack forced him to stop from time to time. Patricia, K3 and K4 stayed together at a slightly slower, methodical pace which served them well. A couple of hours into the trek, we came to a fork. Randy and Patricia discussed options and decided the upper fork was the correct direction. This trail was quite narrow with low branches and vines catching our packs. We continued on the upper fork for about an hour until we reached a cofee field where the trail seemed to end. Randy and Pat didn’t think this looked familiar at all. After some discussion, it was decided to head back down and try the lower fork. We retraced our steps to the fork in the path. Daylight was going to be a problem soon and we walked down the more overgrown path hopeful that we were at last going in the right direction. When the trail tapered off and ended in a banana field, we had to stop. Only a few shreds of daylight remained and this area was about as flat as we’d seen all day. It made sense to set up camp and try again in the morning. K3 and K4 offered me a spot in their tent which I gratefully accepted. Poor Patricia, I thought at the time. She ended up in the tent with the noisy boys. When I finally hit the sack I squeezed into the tent next to the sleeping Kashas, trying not to wake them. To my horror, I realized I was on a small hill. Worse than that, it perfectly forced my body into a crevise between a large rock and a banana tree root. No matter how I turned or angled myself, gravity forced me into a miserable ball in the corner of the tent--like the last drips of ice cream attempting to escape from the point of a sugar cone. I sat up most the night listening to jungle sounds and the soft contented snoring of Patricia and the boys.

The following morning we got an early start and headed back up hill to find out where we went wrong. At the fork, Kasha 3, Kasha 4, Ryan and I dropped our packs and waited. Randy and Patricia took the trail back towards town in hopes of discovering a path they recognized. The Polish girls killed some time photographing themselves peeking out from behind four-foot leaves. Very cute. Randy and Patrica come back without any good news. The rest of us return to the coffee field and split in different directions, looking for any lead. It felt good to be free of the packs. I head up to a shadowy area in the trees which I hope opened onto some kind of path. It really didn't amount to much, but the karst was great so who cared. There was no way in hell I was going to find the way to Tres Amigos in the middle of a jungle, in a foreign country with only level 101 map and orienteering skills so I poked my nose into every crack and crevise looking for my own damned cave. I even mused about what to call it: "Mucho Hambre," "Friggin' Caliente," "No Mas Agua," "Donde Esta Yo," "Perdido En Mejico," and so on.

I made note of anything remotely edible looking and nibbled on raw coffee beans. Some of the trees had hard avocado-looking fruits and I had my eyes on them as well. Who knows, I might have to bust them open with a stone and scoop out the pulp in order to survive...it was a little past lunchtime. I couldn't hear or see anyone in the group any longer and I sat on a rock, staring and wondering who, years from now, would be the first to discover my body. Maybe no one would find me at all. Only my tattered and faded Patagonia label and half a Clif bar wrapper peeking out from under the layers of rotting vegetable matter would hint I'd been on this planet at all.

A number of calls and whistles reached me from down below and I ran to join the rest of the group, who were going back to Patricia and Randy's location. We had no idea where we were. Temporarily defeated, we started back to town, hoping to run into other expedition members heading up. About a half hour down, we ran into the guides who were returning from taking the rest of the group up to Tres Amigos. We tried to learn the correct path to the cave, but none of us were fluent enough in Spanish to be absolutely sure we had the right directions. We were on our twelvth hour on this ill-fated hike. Randy spoke fluent Pesos and pulled out a large stack of them for the guides to see. He told them they could have the cash if they led us to the cave themselves. Jasper, the leader, and a long time friend to early expedition members, was more than happy to do this. He would get the same amount of money for walking half the distance and he wouldn't have to carry a load this time. It was a good day for Jasper.

He takes us straight back to the coffee field where the trail ended, making it our third visit here. Instead of heading uphill, he disappears into the jungle below, hugging a hidden trail along a cliff face and taking us through the most difficult part of the hike so far. We are feeling the burn but it is great to know we are going to be at Tres Amigos today if we just keep putting one foot in front of the other. Patricia takes a bad fall when a low branch catches her pack and throws her off balance. Before she can recover, she is flipped around by the weight of her pack and sent rolling down hill. Had this happened at any point along the cliff areas, she could have fallen to her death. Fortunately, she isn't badly hurt and she gets back on her feet and continues on.

Another guide, Phillippe, walks behind me and occasionally offers a hand. At one point he cuts a walking stick and gives it to me. I smile and try hard to use it, but it is more awkward than it is worth and I prefer to have both hands free. I thank him and apologize before setting it aside. We reach a large tree lying across the path and it is crawling with ants. I pass my pack ahead like the others and run up the trail as fast as I can, but it isn't fast enough. I can feel dozens of biting ants moving up my pantlegs, knawing at my flesh as they go. Not giving a hoot who is watching, I whip down my pants and start slapping at the little horrors. Phillipe is doubtless still retelling the tale of the crazy gringa, clad only in panties, hiking boots and ants, screaming, hopping and cursing up the trail to Tres Amigos.

Upward, upward, upward, we continue to climb when we hear Mike's sweet shouts high up above us in base camp. The entire trip for them had taken only four hours...ours was fourteen. We were the first to leave and the last to arrive. Some days go that way.

After some time to decompress, we join in setting up camp. Patricia is quickly and expertly setting up her tent in her favorite spot. Kasia 3 and 4 do the same. The ground needs leveled in places, the kitchen needs to be unpacked and organized. Mike already set up the latrine, complete with flag...up for "occupied", down for "available". We hear Paul and Jeff yelling down at us from some remote location above. Their guide had ditched them part way up the trail and they were struggling to get into camp themselves. Although they could hear and see us, finding an actual trail was another matter entirely. It would be another hour before we would see them.

I don't recall what dinner was that night, but it was likely a conconction of any of the following ingredients: pasta, tomato sauce, tuna, 22 pounds of dehydrated vegetables, rice, and cheese when we were lucky. On the breakfast side of things: oatmeal, raisins, pancakes, peanut butter and dried milk. Regarding the veggies: not being a huge meat eater I special ordered them with the intention of packaging many individual meals in ziplocks for myself for use in camp and cave. Mike was so impressed with the quality of the food and the durable, light weight and reusable containers, he insisted we use it for group food. This would have been a stellar idea had the other expedition members been vegetarians. Instead, after a relentless diet of dried carrots, green beans, spinach and peas for two weeks, I am quite sure I heard numerous grumblings and whisperings of lynching the cook toward the end of our stay.

Making friends with the water hole: whenever I am tempted now to complain about doing dishes in the sink at home, I remind myself of the twice daily regimen of fetching water from the pit about 150 feet uphill from camp. Some could free climb down, but due to a sharp undercut at the top and the wet conditions, a handline was in place which I happily made use of. After carefully negotiating all the foot and handholds to reach the bottom, a second person from above would lower empty water containers. On the opposite side of the pit a collection system had been set up under a trickle of water. By standing on tiptoe on a narrow ledge and leaning through an opening in the rocks, it was possible to immerse the bottles one by one into a tub and collect enough water for everyone for a half day if it was carefully rationed.

1/6/08
Daniel Laos arrives early in the morning with guides carrying more equipment for the cave.
Mike, Marchin and Kasia 3 head into Tres Amigos first in order to set up the underground camp.

A few of us are a bit out of practice and want to brush up on our vertical skills on the first three drops of Tres Amigos. The entrance is massive and it is hard not to be distracted by it's size and depth while picking my way down the muddy slope to clip in. I feel better when I hear the reassuring "click" of my beaner and I start to load my rack. Paul, Randy, Daniel and Ryan are ahead of me. I watch and learn from their maneuvers. Patricia follows behind, giving helpful instructions from her previous trips here.

It's about twenty feet to the first rebelay: short cowstail into the hanger, long cowstail into the loop, then unload, reload the rack. Unclip from the hanger, test the rack, unclip from the loop, then down the second pitch to a fairly flat room, with plenty of natural light still shining down from above. Streams of water trickle down in a corner and I unclip and follow the others down a rocky hill where the pulverized bones of an unfortunate deer-like animal lay. I lean my head back and stare upwards 100 feet, imagining the terrifying fall of this poor creature and make a mental note to watch my step when I get back to base camp. We flick our headlamps on and half walk, half crawl through a narrow passage to the next point. The hanger is attached above to a rock extending three or four feet over a fifty or sixty foot drop , with a redirect a short distance below. Paul boldly hops onto the ledge and plants his feet on each side of the passage, reaching up to clip in. He might as well have been performing the same action standing on a curb with a six inch fall, such was his confidence. Ryan was next and he carefully examined the ropes, rigging and quality of the hardware before deciding he was willing to test them with his life. While he descended, I stared at the hanger only a few feet away. Leaning over the precipise to clip in was mildly intimidating and I was annoyed at the butterflies in my stomach. I leaned out over empty space and grabbed at the rope. Where Paul had stood with his cocky couldn't-care-less attitude, I half crouched, pulling the rope as close to me as I could wrestle it while loading my rack. Leaning back, testing, I tied off my rack and then reached out and unclipped from the hanger. Now I only needed to worry about the swing factor as I made my way to the edge and allowed my weight, the rope and gravity to pull me out into space. A bump or two later combined with some unnecessary rotations and I was back on track, moving past the redirect and enjoying a pleasant descent down to join the others waiting in the chamber below. The next drop was longer, but the rebelay wasn't as tricky. A pool 60 feet below could be avoided by pushing off the walls and letting out rope at just the right moment in order to land on drier ground. We all meet at the bottom of the third drop. Patricia, Randy, Paul and Daniel discuss the cave and ropework so far and provide information on what could be expected further ahead.

Everything goes smoothly enough and we head back to camp for a hot spaghetti dinner and look over the maps to the rest of the cave in anticipation of our trip. Patricia and I practice some Polish with Kasia 4, and she works on her English. Poles learn British English and Americans are difficult for them to understand, but we manage to get our points across.

Jeff Dieterle works faithfully through the night in order to establish a fire. Finding wood dry enough to burn out here in the moist jungle is difficult and his patience amazes me. Several times the tiny little flames began to show hope, but quickly went out again. Just watching the process was frustrating, but his efforts pay off and we have an excellent fire for the evening. Furniture was required so there was much rolling about and uprooting of comfortable rocks to sit on. Ryan, always prepared with the latest gadgets and camping gear available, has his MP3 player turned up for our enjoyment with thousands of songs to choose from.

1/7/08
Paul and Jeff decide to return to town and we all give them pesos and supply lists. Randy, Patricia and Kasia 4 prepare for their turn into Tres Amigos and then they too, disappear into the abyss. It’s really quiet with only Daniel, Ryan and myself this morning. I go on a quest for some sunlight and spend a few hours winding through endless green stuff trying to find a warm, dry spot to sit . I return to camp and only then does Daniel warns me that "Mal Mujer" (Wicked Woman), a painfully poisinous plant in this area, also likes the sunlight. Within forty feet of camp, he locates a perfect specimen, uproots it with his machete, and brings it to me. Aside from the fine red hairs growing along the stalk and underside of the leaves, it looks like every other danged plant growing above, below, and around us in this jungle.

Late afternoon, Daniel gathers firewood. Ryan drums on various handmade jungle instruments. Daniel stops his work and participates by blowing a few notes on an empty Mezcal bottle.

After dark Paul and Jeff return with supplies and there is much rejoicing. They tell us of their taco fest in the village, a welcome treat until they made the mistake of asking what kind of meat they were eating. When the elderly cook continued to point at her head and smile they realized they’d been chowing hungrily on brains. “Cabeza” I get it now. The guys continue to exchange stories around the fire when I feel a creature scurry across my wrist and stop on my index finger. By the size, weight, feel and strong grip of it’s crunchy little legs , I know I am dealing with a scorpion. Screaming, I fling it straight toward the fire. Within seconds we all have our head lamps snapped back on and are checking our clothes, boots and seating arrangements for any more of the little buggers. On that note, I retire to my tent for the night, leaving the guys a little less secure around the fire.

1/8
Slow Day. Washed and rinsed my shoulder length hair in less than a half gallon of water, and used the rinse water to shave my legs, a feat I am a bit proud of. Jeff and I head back to the pit to fill the water containers. He free climbs it easily, and I don't mind staying up top at all.

Later, while gathering wood on the hill near our tents, Daniel shouts down to me that there is a pit 15 feet behind me. I take a closer look and toss down a chunk of wood. Daniel estimates it is at least 20 feet down. A bit later I find a decent rock to toss in and we hear it roll a good deal further. He wants to check it out. (insert MadRat Daniel pic) Daniel is the perfect size and tenacity, combined with acrobatic strength and agility, for checking out the tight leads. The hole continued on for another fifty feet. He and Paul bring rope and vertical gear up the hill and cover another 150- 200 feet without reaching bottom. Further exploration would have to wait until more rope was available. That nice little passage was in what looked like a rat hole within sight of the camp! It’s simultaneously exciting and frustrating contemplating all the leads that are hiding all around us. Which ones tie into Tres Amigos directly below?

1/9
A big snorting creature outside my tent wakes me up today. If it wasn’t for the fact that I could hear a significant amount of brush, branches and rocks being displaced under it’s weight, I would have assumed it was one of the guys snoring. My first thought is what can I use for protection if it charges, tusks glinting. My second thought is: if I can find a rock big enough, maybe I can make bacon for breakfast this morning! I hide under the blankets until the snorting animal heads downhill. I make rice with raisins for everyone. It isn’t as popular as the bacon would have been, and I kick myself for my lack of courage and hunting/gathering skills.

The fog is rolling in again. Instead of sitting around I head off in search of caves, armed with coffee cup and headlamp.

An hour later I am still under the thick jungle canopy in the shade. By the bright green glow coming through the leaves, I know the sun still exists, but not down here, not today. I keep climbing. The karst is incredible and I scramble from rock to rock looking for that next pit or lead. Once in awhile I call out, waiting for an answer from camp, but eventually the return calls stop. After another hour of heading straight up hill under and over rotting trees, heavy vines, and dense foilage, I see a deep shadow. Just one more trick on my eyes? No! It's a pit! The opening is about 40x20 feet, with a small drop of about 12 feet to the first ledge. Off to the side is a fissure that drops about 40 feet…it looks very do-able as a free climb. Beyond the reach of my headlamp it curves away promising even more passage. I holler as loud as I can hoping to get a response from camp, but no one calls back. Lying on my stomach in the dirt, I drop one rock after another, straining to hear how far it rolls. The hole is calling me, inviting me to chimney down that first passage and see what lays beyond. No one knows where I am. If something goes wrong, the likelyhood of being found is close to zero. I head back to camp, disappointed, but memorize every rock, plant and tree that will help me locate the pit again (and I do). As it turns out, my wee little cave was not earth-shaking news to the other expedition members who had been in the depths of Tres Amigos. Pits are everywhere around here. I found three more during following solo explorations. Still, I took dozens of mostly unnecessary photos of it from every possible angle. I named it “Brontosaurus Pit” because of the long, curving, neck-like shape of a tree which grew right over it.

Mike and Kasia 3 return, smiling, but exhausted from the trek out. I offer to haul his gear bag up the slope, but can barely lift it off the ground. How on earth did he manage to wrestle so much weight through the cave?! I drag it back up to camp. They have a hot supper of spaghetti and dehydrated vegetables. Everyone helps where they can with their vertical gear, hanging up wet clothes and getting them comfortable in anticipation of hearing news from the cave.

We’re waiting for Randy, Patricia and K4 to come out. They arrive at night, also tired, but with many stories of great caving below.

1/10
Another hike looking for pits.

Due to drier than normal conditions our water hole is not producing much. Patricia and I pull the tubs and tarps out of the smaller cave. I get on vertical gear and make the first drop into Tres Amigos and set up a new collection point under small but more reliable streams of water. Patricia helps haul out the extremely heavy water barrel from above.

Ryan , Daniel, Paul and Jeff started into Tres Amigos this morning, or possibly last night. It’s a blur.

1/11
Rice and raisin cereal, coffee. Randy takes off alone toward town after breakfast, he has a bus and a plane to catch. Mike isn’t feeling well, hasn’t been terribly energetic since coming out of the cave. He sleeps a lot. I’m looking at nearly another week before my turn into Tres Amigos, so I might as well be comfortable out here in the jungle. The vertical gear goes on. Gathering up all of Mike’s muddy gear, our laundry, and empty water containers, I rappell down to the new water hole. I spend the next three hours under a small icy waterfall simultaneously showering, and washing and rinsing laundry. Imagine trying to clean your muddiest gear under a flow not much stronger than a standard home shower and you’ll understand. A single angry bat makes his displeasure at my presence known by flapping about the cave from time to time.

A hot meal of spaghetti and dehydrated spinach and powdered cheese waits for me when I get back, compliments of Kasia 4. It is one of my favorite meals during our stay. Both the Kasias break out a package of Polish jam-filled cookies and pass them around with tea. It’s so good I am unable to speak from shock and gratitude.

Kasia 3, Kasia 4 and I take turns at trying to keep a fire going. The conditions have been more wet and it’s not easy, but eventually we succeed. We have a lot of trash to burn and bury. We make double use of the fire by stringing a clothes line over it and hanging out wet gear.

Mike tries his hand at dinner with four females in camp. He is set on making tuna casserole. His reasoning: "We have some leftover mayonaisse. Mayonaisse is white. Cream sauce is white. Perhaps if I add hot water to mayonaisse, I can have a nice cream sauce for the noodles and tuna. A little lime, milk and jalapenos thrown in will add some zest"…and so on. When Mike is finished with his masterpiece, he beams proudly like a little boy finishing his first family dinner in Home Economics class. Although I had made a pact with myself to eat everything available like a trooper, for the first time, I hesitated. Deep in the pot of mayonnaise soup, lifeless noodles and fish clung to the sides as though trying to escape their watery condiment hell. I turned away from Mike's smiling face, toward the jungle, and wrestled with my inner demons: “Does loyalty have to be willing to face DEATH? Should one be truthful if it causes a loved one pain? Just where IS the fine line between love for others and love for self drawn?” Patricia and the Kasias have already (with caution) sampled the concoction. 1, 2, 3 hours passed and they are still walking and talking with no apparent reactions. I try it. I live to tell the tale…

The Latrine.

I dread this place. In the wee hours of the morning I slip and slide up a muddy hill behind our tent onto a rocky ledge. Two of the rocks are strategically placed so that if one plants a foot on each side and sits, one may expel waste quite easily down the convenient slot. While attending to this delicate balancing act, one can enjoy the view down the five foot drop: TP, crickets, earwigs, buzzing insects and the rusted, unearthed garbage from ancient expeditions. At such times, I hear the far away question: “Say, where’d you get those injuries…rockfall in Tres Amigos?” And my sad answer, “No, actually, I fell face first into the crapper when my pants locked up around my knees. The gash in my head is from a tuna can from the 2004 expedition and the wasp stings on my butt are well, from wasps.” It could happen.

1/12
The fog is rolling in fast and thick. We have pancakes. Patricia, Kasia 3 and Kasia 4 pack gear and get ready to leave. They all find something for Mike, who is still sick. Tea, asprins, painkillers, flu medicine are given generously. We send a note with them to give to Kasia 1 back in town: please send a guide with supplies. I make another trip down for water before they leave. It’s awkward carrying a full keg of water back up the rope and their help is welcome. Soon after pulling up the pack of bottles and keg, they head down hill with their own heavy loads. The fog is as bad as any day we've seen it and it is after noon, so we worry about them losing the trail. I bury trash and cover up the latrines.

It’s just Mike and Me and the birds now. We discover a pack of Polish cookies that the Kasias had left behind for us and we are as thrilled as kids finding presents under a Christmas tree! We make hot tea, eat our dessert, play 20 questions and a dot game for a few hours, then take a long nap.

1/13
A guide shows up early a.m. with his son, carrying supplies. We are still crashed in the tent. Mike jumps out in his sandles and underwear and digs in his wallet for the appropriate amount of pesos. He carrys on a happy conversation in his broken Spanish, convinces them to carry unneeded clothing and gear back into town for extra money and they take off. Supplies! I jump out of the tent in my sandles. Strawberry Jam! Tortillas! Cheese, Sugar! Coffee and more, so much more! We eat and smile, eat and smile…

Marchin comes out of the cave an hour or two later to a pancake breakfast and all the lovely new snacks. He and Mike look over his notes, data and photos which are accurate and spectacular. Marchin was in the cave for eleven days! He is methodical, highly competent, and professional at everything he does from maintaining his equipment, to organizing data to rigging the cave. He is the only one who looks like he could still run a marathon after climbing out of Tres Amigos.

Ryan and Daniel come out about four hours later. Pancakes all around. (insert picture of Ryan holding Katie's pic underground)

Paul and Jeff arrive about two hours after them. Pancakes all around.

The rain that has so far been light, starts. It doesn’t stop for the rest of the expedition. We spend the remainder of the night adjusting tarps, digging trenches, bailing water. With everybody left back in camp, tents are at a shortage. Marchin sleeps under tarps without complaint. I don’t ever recall hearing any of the Poles complain or murmer once. Even after all of his professional caving gear was lost at the airport and he had to make do with borrowed and often inferior equipment, he carried on with the mission.

1/14
Rainwater coffee, rainwater pancakes, rainwater soup, rainwater water. Various campers take turns trying to dry out and light the stove.

Marchin and Daniel head back to town early. Ryan, Paul and Jeff Dieterle leave a few hours later with 200 pesos and a small supply list. We’ll wait now for Marchin’s wife, Kasia 1 to return, and she, Mike and I will head into Tres Amigos for the final trip in.

We spend all day in the tent listening to rain and playing the dot game. Suddenly there is a huge cracking sound on the hill above camp! It sounds like one of the massive trees above us, or perhaps a muddy cliff face, is tearing away from the surface and sliding down hill straight toward our tent! It is so loud and so close and so big it doesn’t even make sense to get out of the tent. Mike and I just hold each other, bracing for what we were sure was going to be a mass of rock, trees or both crushing us. After several terrifying moments, the noise stopped and we both rushed out of the tent. We looked in every direction above us and saw nothing unusual. We considered hiking up hill to investigate, but really, the likelyhood of finding even a significant object out of place was close to impossible in the mass of jungle surrounding us. We go back into the tent out of the rain. Our racing heartbeats slowly return to normal.

More dot games. I pull out my notebook of Beatles tunes in Spanish and we take turns singing the bad translations to each other.

I wonder what I look like after being in the jungle with limited use of showers and Maybelline. I didn’t pack a mirror (extra weight) so I take a picture of myself with the digital camera. I quickly erase it.

An annoying insect I have been slapping at for hours turns out to be a precious little frog…the tiniest frog I’ve ever seen and believe you me, I’ve seen a few frogs in my time. Mike sets it free outside our tent.

20 questions. Nap.

1/15
The rain lightens…for two hours. We briefly air out the sleeping bags on the lines and prop the tent off the ground to get a little circulation underneath it. I gather up brush wherever I can find it and lay it under the main tarp in front of the kitchen area which is now a boot-sucking swamp. We take turns trying to fix a Thermarest sleeping pad with a patch kit and finally succeed. I make oatmeal and we sit on rocks with our breakfast listening to flies and bees buzz through our wet, smelly camp.

Mike fixes his boot with a sewing awl.

Mike spends an hour fashioning numchucks out of bamboo-like reeds, then demonstrates his mastery of them. I film him.

I take more pictures of the fog.

Serious boredom sets in.

Where is everybody? They said they’re coming back today…are they going to ditch us up here?

Mike works on his cave notes.

I make way too much tomato/rice/dehydrated vegetable soup.

I sit in the tent and count my Pesos and Dollars and wonder if I’ll have enough to make it home.

Spaghetti with tuna and real cheese for dinner.

20 questions and the dot game.

I have a nightmare that a tree is about to fall on our tent. Mike tells me to shut up and go to sleep.

1/16
A bit of sun…yay. I re-tape my helmet in anticipation of an immenent departure.

Mike pounds on rocks with a hammer, trying to make them a little flatter and more comfortable to sit on.

Will anyone come today? We listen to bees, flies and birds and then more rain.

Ryan, Daniel and Marchin return just before supper. Kasia 1 is unable to make the trip up because their little girl was ill and she remains in the village. She was an important factor in gaining permission for us to enter the cave, so it is especially disappointing that she would not be able to go into Tres Amigos herself. They ask if I want to wait until tomorrow. "No, I've been waiting for this for nearly two weeks!" Marchin heads in before us and then Mike and I head into Tres Amigos at last! Our descent goes quickly and smoothly, but on the longer drops I remind myself it would be a lot more work on the way up. Although the cave is much larger than any I’ve been in, I would still say it is user friendly. The few tighter crawls are remenicent of "Crawlorado" caving I am used to. We make the trip in five hours. The final passage before reaching our destination was one of the more troublesome. It was a tight muddy fissure which required ascending gear which was difficult to use in those conditions. When I climbed out of the hole around the corner from base camp, Marchin is waiting punctually with dinner nearly ready. I look around and try to get my bearings...where am I going to change, sleep, etc. It feels good to peel off the wet clothes and get into the warm camp clothes which have been worn in shifts by various expedition members since day one. There is no more rain, just sweet underground silence and peace. We have hot orange drink and Ramen noodles with dehydrated vegetables, which is very welcome after the trip down. Randy had left a small string of battery operated Christmas lights strung about camp and I watched them blinking back and forth before falling into a comfortable sleep.

Marchin is up early and prepares tea and oatmeal for us. The wet clothes go back on and then we set off to survey Section C (? C1-C34?) Marchin and Mike know the cave intimately and their combined caving experience adds up to being older than me, so you could say I had to hussle to keep up. The formations were amazing and everywhere. Soda straws eight feet high, pearls, gypsum flowers bigger than my shoulder, huge columns and more. Even the formations that had naturally broken off and were lying in piles everywhere were more spectacular than most I’d ever seen.

We spent several hours surveying passage C from 1-34. It ended in a fork, each with a window overlooking a massive abyss below. We were psyched! Tomorrow Mike and Marchin would bring rope and drop into the pit.

Back at camp we have a dinner of noodles, veggies and real cheese and salmon! Marchin suggests we do some more surveying in another section of the cave (?) and we agree it’s still early enough to get some work done. After another few hours of surveying, we decide to wrap things up. Mike asks me to check a tight lead just below our final survey station. It is a squeeze, and I take my helmet off and push it in front of me for much of it. Although it is tight, I can still see many potential passages and I poke my head into all of them until I see a large room ahead! Virgin passage? I crawl hurriedly toward the opening and discover…a multitude of footprints! Darn! Many others had stopped at this tight hole on the other side as well. Oh well, at least we determined a connection between the two chambers. After Mike, Marchin and I surveyed this cramped passage we headed back for some hot tea and sleep.

1/18
Up for tea and breakfast and a two hour hike back to Section C with the rope. Marchin sets to work setting bolts and dropping the pit. Mike and I turn off our headlamps, listening to the ringing of the rock hammer, and rest in the dark, waiting, excitedly, for good news from below. After some time we hear Marchin walking about and his loud laughter echoing around us. "We’ve been here! We already surveyed this! " I repelled down and took a long look. It certainly looked familiar, but this place was less than half an hour from camp! How could this spot be the spectacular undiscovered abyss we had looked down on just yesterday? It was disappointing but at the same time it was useful information to help complete the map.

Marchin leads us to another pit which he also drops. It leads to a massive room, so large there was some debate on how to calculate it’s size. I spend a great deal of time scrambling over huge breakdown, setting survey points. It’s a workout. Marchin inspects the room carefully but does not find any additional passage leading out, despite the sound of water all around us.

We head back to camp. (?) On the way, Mike and Marchin stop to pull up rope from the original drop. Mike suggests I get an earlier start and gives me instructions to stop at a point about 1500 feet away if I am not sure about the directions. I reach the spot he designates and am absolutely, positively sure that I need to veer to the right. Everything about it is familiar…it should be, we surveyed that entire passage the day before. Mike says never to admit you’re lost, so let’s just say I was re-checking all the survey points from yesterday. Feeling just a little bit cocky at my quick progress toward camp, I speeded up. Maybe I’d even surprise them by having dinner ready when they got there. After about 45 minutes of hiking along toward ( ) I ran across a disturbing sign: the survey station marking D passage (?). I was 19 survey points in the wrong direction. Dang. 180 degrees and then re-tracing my steps just to get back to the point Mike told me to wait at if I wasn’t sure of my directions. o.k. let’s be methodical about this. I arrived at ( ) and took a long look around. There was another passage leading out of this area and I checked that for about half an hour until I saw (__) survey point. Wrong again. Back to square one. Start looking for the less obvious stuff. I finally see it. A dip, a shadow, that was the way back to camp. The survey points are making sense now, and I know I’m headed in the right direction for now. I won’t be the first back to camp, and I sure as hell won’t be making dinner, maybe breakfast if I keep on track.

Walking alone down (hundreds of feet) of borehole passage was peaceful and pleasant. Without two macho cavers to keep up with, I could stop and carefully examine the delicate formations above, below and all around me at my leisure. I pass CB, CA, C…a couple of hours later, I see a point which I know had a rope on it for a short climb. Footprints planted on the wall are located further up. Still, there’s no rope. I am just starting to look around for a way to free-climb the area when Mike’s familiar hoot reaches my ears.

Marchin had pulled the rope up, thinking I was ahead of them. Mike tossed it down for me and we finished the hike back to camp more or less together.

1/19
Mike is up at 5 am, packing up our cave camp. We put sleeping bags and pads into plastic liners, store the kitchen gear and get our packs ready. Marchin leaves ahead of us and we follow about half an hour behind. Mike sets a pace that will get us out in a reasonable time. The closer we get to the entrance the more water we hear and suspect it has been raining heavily outside. The light trickles of water we descended in are now cold steady streams pouring down on us from above, a treat while on rope. Although it makes the going more difficult, it is also an incentive to keep moving. We make it out in eight hours, but not before we stop and shower under a waterfall. There won't be a fire waiting for us with all this rain, but at least we have clean gear.

We drag ourselves up the steep twisting path to camp in the downpour. Ryan and Daniel are waiting, shivering under the tarp. They hand us plates of hot spaghetti and give us a quick "welcome home". If it hadn't been so wet, the two of them would have left clouds of dust in their wake. They ran, slid, stumbled, and struggled down the muddy jungle trail toward civilization carrying their enormous packs, away from the miserable, soggy camp.

Still hungry and a bit at a loss of what to do with my time now that the expedition was nearly to a close, I made a dessert of rice and sugar from what supplies were left . Marchin dug trenches and bailed water where it was needed. Mike was in the tent, adding layers of packs, tarps and anything he could find that could raise our sleeping bags further off the ground. A small pond where a tent had formally stood grew to within a few feet of our tent. I named it "Lake Ryan" in honor of it's former occupant and set about to build a dam between it and us. I pushed up my soggy sleeves and began prying up rocks, sticks and vines from the mud, layering them in a low wall about our shelter and trying not to think about any snakes that might be hiding in the brush. Our efforts seem to work. The next morning only our feet and legs are wet and we sleep fairly well considering.

1/20
The rain lets up and we get up early to take advantage of it. We pack up camp. Ropes, tarps, sleeping bags, pads, kitchen, gear and supplies must all be stored in safe containers in a cache, or packed down the hill. Marchin had hoped to take some photographs inside Tres Amigos today, but the humidity has unfortunately affected his expensive camera equipment. He gathers his pack and leaves a few minutes ahead of us toward town.

Our packs are ready now and very heavy and awkward. Every step down the slippery hillside must be negotiated carefully. Getting to the bottom of the hill through the mud, rock and vines is very difficult and dangerous. The trip back is miserable and muddy. My favorite part is stumbling into a rotting banana tree and falling through it. That's right. My arms disappeared into the disgusting pale brown-green mass of decaying vegetable matter and came out on the other side. Getting out of that gelatinous goo was no easy matter with a twenty-five pound pack on my back determined to push my whole body through. Imagine wrestling with a putrified head of celery the size of a maple tree and you'll have some idea of the ordeal. There's not enough rain now to wash the slime off, and the thin coat of stench dries on me quite nicely, adding to my vacationing pleasure.

Up hill and down for hours. I can feel the straps of the pack scraping the skin off my shoulders, like I've seen it on many of the other expedition members on this trip. Although stopping and resting sounds good, the difficulty of getting the gear off and on again is so time-consuming and awkward we keep going. Sometimes I bend over so the weight is positioned across my full back and it gives me a chance to get a decent breath and shift the pain to new and better locations momentarily.

Mike and I grimly endure the four hour hike back in silence, with only occasional grumbling. About a half hour outside of town, he suggests I stop at a well and clean up because I look like hell! He missed my World Wide Wrestling match with Satan's Salad. Because he is the stronger, faster hiker he also missed me fifteen minutes behind him face down in the dirt on repeated occasions, my hair being caught up, twisted and dredlocked with every branch I ducked under, frequent (and I believe, intentional) strangulation attempts by conveniently placed vines and my body and face in general being subjected to a hideous vortex of earth, water, wind and fire ants. I asked him if he wanted me to put on my pumps and a skirt as well, after washing my face and combing my hair. He wisely ignored my attempt at a scrap.

Daniel and Ryan greeted us only a few minutes later. They had purchased cookies and sodas for us, but had consumed them out of boredom during their wait at the trailhead. They made up for it by carrying our packs the remainder of the distance into town and buying a round of cervezas, bless them both : )

Back at Virjinia's and Severo's home, Mike treats everyone to tacos for dinner. Ryan, Jeff, Paul and Daniel party hard like cavers will do at the end of a long trip. We all crash for the night.

The next morning I wash out my gear in the small cement block shed next to the water barrels. I give 100 pesos to a local woman to clean the rest of our clothes. We learn there is some difficulty with local officials and we hang around to see what the problem is. Apparently, a small number of officials are concerned we are looting the caves. We volunteer for them to inspect any and all of our packs, which they do. Mike and Kasha 1 do their best to cooperate with them and explain that we are only explorers and not interested in artifacts. As a whole, we are well received by the townspeople, but there is a small minority that is more suspicious with foreigners.

1/22
Mike volunteers to explore and map two small caves on local landowners properties. It takes only a few hours, but they are interested and happy with the results of his efforts. We pack up and ready to leave. There are many tearful good-byes. A number of people wave and stop the easily-recognized 1978 Chinook on the way out of town. They say we are welcome in their homes any time. We look forward to returning!

Mike, Ryan, Daniel, Marchin, Kasia 1, Baby and myself drive to Alaman to try to rent a plane for aerial photographs. The only one available is a rather shabby model which doesn't look like it could get off the ground.

1/23
We hit Veracruz and enjoy the beach at night. The following morning we return and find fantastic amounts of seashells and sand dollars before heading off to the bus stations. Good-bye to Marchin, Kasia 1 and Zuzia at the first stop. Good-bye to Daniel at the second.

1/24
Las Poses-Ryan, Mike and I stop at this unusual artsy garden full of bizarre statuary, stairways, pools and waterfalls for a quick tour.

Cueva Abierto--this public cave is more massive than I anticipated. It is badly defaced, but still worth seeing. Mike remembers it before the stairways and handrails were installed.

1/25
While crawling through rush hour traffic in Monterrey, we get a speeding ticket from a local cop. Mike is furious. The cop lets a local woman go with a warning, but takes Mike's driver's license and refused to give it back until he showed up to court. We spend the next several hours in a Mexican government building trying to explain our situation in broken Spanish to anyone who might be able to help. I took my Spanish English dictionary in with me to help with the more difficult words, but it served a higher and more useful purpose when I remembered that public restrooms don't stock toilet paper. Probably out of frustration, the Mexican government workers escort us into what appeared to be the top dog's office. We sat in comfortable chairs making small conversation until the boss of the police officer showed up. Mike stated he would pay the ticket if he was at fault, but he wasn't and respectfully refused to pay. He wanted his license back. The whole situation was time consuming and silly, and the big man tore up the ticket so we'd leave his office. We did, happily.

Laredo, Texas! We meet with Tony, Marion, Ernie, JD, Simon and Don and exchange stories and photographs of each other's caving adventures at one of their favorite local restaurants.

1/26
A quick stop at the home of Bill Steele to drop off rescue equipment. More stories and another excellent restaurant...

Mike and I crash in the back of the Chinook. Ryan, six pack of Red Bulls at his side and plugged into his MP3 player, drives like a demon from Texas non-stop to Colorado, possibly matching the speed of sound. Katie is waiting patiently for him when he skids into the same driveway where we last waved good-bye to her a month ago..

Hurricane: December 16,2007

2007-12-19T11:35:00.003-07:00

Hurricane

Here's a slide show of my most recent cave trip. If I look a bit chilly, it's because I'm freezing my buns off! This is my second attempt at one of the longest known granite caves in the world...over 2500 feet long and more than 500 feet deep. The first time I slipped and fell into the underground river about 1/3 of the way in...the same place a lot of cavers have taken a dunk! Due to the extreme cold, we had to leave immediately so I didn't get hypothermia. By the time I exited the cave, I was essentially just dragging my weight because I couldn't feel my legs! Hey! I made it this time though, in the dead of winter...an 8 1/2 hour trip alternately squeezing through tight holes, ropework, walking hip deep in freezing river water and even jumping through a waterfall at one point to reach the opposite side! Lots of fun, but I'm feeling like a train hit me now! Mike, Carl and Amy were great to cave with and I learned a lot from them. Still, I'm looking forward to the hot climate of Mexico in a couple of weeks!

Cave Escape Game

2007-12-15T20:31:00.001-07:00

Cave Escape game

Online caving for days when you're too sick to get out of bed...

Cave Mapping

2007-09-11T16:35:00.008-06:00

Sweetwater Indian Cave: This was the first map I got to help on. It was very cool trying the survey instruments. Still have a lot to learn, though! Here are a couple of pictures of Indian Pictographs in the cave. Much of it has been vandalized, which is too bad :(

R________ Cave

2007-09-11T14:35:00.001-06:00

R___ cave from this weekend:09082007. Absolutely beautiful, a great cave with some vertical, some crawling, some squeezes and nicely decorated. Well worth the long hike!

September 2007 Cave Trip

Hawaii Lava Tubes

2007-03-13T08:33:00.002-06:00

Granite Cave

2007-03-08T15:46:00.006-07:00

This was a really cool granite cave in Southern Colorado. It tends to be a popular party location for the local teenagers so it's a bit trashed out in places, but still worth a visit!

B_________ Cave

2007-03-05T09:43:00.001-07:00

Went to "B" Cave last night. This was my third time through and the pictures came out much better : )

03/04/2007

Rose Hill

2007-02-20T09:48:00.003-07:00

You could easily drive by and miss this cemetary, overgrown with weeds and obscured by a warehouse. It is, unfortunately, vandalized in many places, but interesting to walk through all the same. Check it out next time you're in the Denver area.

The Orient Mine and Bat Tour

2007-01-29T13:32:00.004-07:00

http://www.olt.org/programs/bats/bats.htm

The Orient Mine was my first opportunity to try out some vertical gear, and it wasn't a smashing success. I was wearing pigtails and one of them got rolled up in my rack and kept me hanging about twenty feet above the floor. Between Mike and Patricia, they were able to carefully lower me, thus saving my hair from having to be sacrificed. Never made the mistake again, so I learned. The rest of the time we explored the mine and cave. It was interesting and beautiful, but sad too. It was hard to see the destruction the mining operation had inflicted on what must have been beautiful formations at one time. We checked out some potential digs as well, but only found a path that circled us back to where we had been earlier. I've heard there is an excellent bat tour given in season, so you might want to check it out. Interested volunteers can even become tour guides there and get room and board and the nearby hot springs!

Centerville Graveyard

2007-01-26T08:55:00.004-07:00

This was a beautiful graveyard near Buena Vista, CO. Be sure to wear thick boots if you visit...it's a cactus minefield...!

Cave Hunting in Colorado

2007-01-17T16:30:00.002-07:00

The weekend of January 13th included two days of what I lovingly call Winter Death Marches. According to one of our band of hikers, the temperature started at 3 degrees when we started out about 9 a.m. Despite the cold, I was actually sweating while hiking through snow which was frequently knee-deep. Downhill was much more fun. Despite the risks of getting nailed by a branch or rock while sliding down long stretches of snow, I appreciated having gravity do the majority of the work. Plenty of potential digs. Spent a lot of time in a hole about 20 feet in length, with a diamater of about 2 feet at best. The exciting thing about it was we could see perhaps another 30 feet in and are anxious to see what lays beyond. The major drawback of this particular route is the huge amout of finely powdered rat shit we must breathe in order to dig there. Anyone who spent any length of time there, even with protection over the mouth and nose, came out coughing up black. I've been coughing for four days now and have developed a fever. Hope it's not some rodent-related ailment! Lots of fun...looking forward to getting back there soon!

(p.s. that cough mentioned above lasted over six months...be careful what you're inhaling when you dig!)

Some Cave Related Artwork...

2007-01-08T14:55:00.005-07:00

The first drawing (the Waterslide) was based on a photograph by Art Palmer.

River Rafting or First Terrifying Weekend With Mikey

2007-01-08T14:22:00.002-07:00

Whitewater rafting in _______ Canyon. Memorial Day Weekend, 2006. Now this is about as close to experiencing near-death feelings as I've come to. My first day on the water my dear friend decided I could handle the rapids with just the two of us. He was an excellent teacher and guide, which helped a lot. We were told later by local kayakers that there were points we were nearly perpendicular to the water (with my view either being complete sky...or a boiling river just waiting to swallow me up! It wasn't exactly re-assuring to watch whole rafts full of people being dumped left and right. Perhaps witnessing their predicament helped because I rowed like hell! My friend said I was even paddleing in air at times! Yes, I was. If moving a few molecules of air behind me would get me out of those rapids, it was worth the trouble!

Cave Rescue 2006

2007-01-08T11:07:00.005-07:00

http://caverrick.net/Colorado%20Cave%20Rescue%202006%20Photo%20Album/Saturday%20-%20In%20The%20%20Classroom/index.html
I found the above link on the 2006 rescue. Thanks Caver Rick! Below are a few of my own:

Lazy Day Rafting (and checking out holes in cliffs)

2007-01-08T11:02:00.002-07:00

Whitewater rafting near _______, approximately August, 2006. This trip was MUCH more mellow than my first time out on the river. Still, there were some spots you had to pay attention on : )

B______ Cave

2007-01-08T10:55:00.001-07:00

A few pics from _________ cave, approximately August, 06

Ridgewalking Again

2007-01-05T16:40:00.001-07:00

Ridgewalking at _________ approximately June, 2006

Ridgewalking

2007-01-05T16:30:00.001-07:00

Ridgewalking at ________ approximately July 2006.

Cave Formations in G_______

2007-01-05T16:24:00.001-07:00

A few pics from a caving trip this summer:

Ice Cave and Bandera Volcano

2007-01-05T16:16:00.001-07:00

photos by J. Bittel

This was a pleasant place to get out and stretch one's legs after many hours of driving in the hot New Mexico sun. The employees were very nice and the hike to the cave and volcano was scenic. The "prehistoric ice" was, well, a little on the side of cheesy tourist attraction, but still fun : )

My First Ft. Stanton Dig-Photos by Kristin Levy

2007-01-04T13:57:00.004-07:00

Ft. Stanton Dig-Kristin Levy Photos

Donahueligan's Dig

2007-01-03T08:49:00.005-07:00

When I was still an impressionable baby caver, this lot convinced me to spend my weekends digging and digging and digging...it was actually a lot of fun. I thought I was caving at the time. Now I know better. I was digging : )

There are many more people who worked on this dig. If you'd like your picture added here, please send it! Or, if you don't want your pic here, that works too. These were all taken by assorted photographers over the months.

My First Cave

2007-01-03T08:38:00.002-07:00