July 2012 Meeting Minutes

(recorded by Ken Walsh while Mark D. is on vacation)

Zeke, Diana, Jacob, Mark L., Carlin, Ava, Rob’s head, Martin, Matt, Michael, Ken, Riley, and Nick were all at the meeting.  Carlin knew everyone, so he skipped the introductions.  Martin shared that the June get-together in Chapel Hill didn’t have many attendees.

Ava announced that she has one medium and one small TriTrog t-shirt left for sale.  If no one is interested in the small size, Linda Waters will squeeze into it.  Remember how she fit into 4-inch cracks in Hancock Cave.

Dues are $7.50 for the remainder of the year and should be paid to Mark Little.  Mark planned to discuss the money from the grotto trip during the break.

Matt talked about his trip to Worleys Cave to test out his new camera.  He made a very long photography trip to the back of the cave but left the CFL inverter closer to the entrance.  His new camera worked very well, and he offered to share photos at the next meeting.

Carlin found Piercys Mill Cave and Piercys Cave to be simple caves.  Everything was huge walking passage, and the rimstone was worth taking pictures of.  He and his group (Rob, Todd Mailbox, and Janney) returned at 2:30 AM from the caves.

Martin shared a trip report about the Annual Grotto Trip to Breathing Cave.  The hike was estimated as 1.65 miles to the cave, and we arrived at the entrance at 12:30.  Martin’s photon cannon broke while in the cave, and he found a jacket and gloves in the cave. 

Ava went with Tanya, Patrick, and Madison to Patton Cave (she knew it sounded like Paxton) at Convention with a very large group.  Some were very slow moving.  Ava found two cave salamanders and huge pools of larval salamanders in this huge borehole.  She also saw lots of pretty stuff but lost her camera the following weekend.  Whoever found it now has many salamander photos.

Ava also related a trip report for the second day of the grotto trip, a short hike and splash at Roaring Run Recreational Area.  We got to play in a lot of waterfalls, but Ericka got stung fifteen times by yellow jackets. 

Rob shared a trip report from Acme Mine.  It was really cool.  He only saw a small part of the caves and looked out the mine entrance down to the lake.  The mine was very windy and the cave has no natural entrances.  It began as a limestone mine cut into a grid, but it intersects the caves.  Carlin later shared a photo of the entrance.

Diana went to Wolf Creek Cave with Ken on a photography trip with Bill Storage, Andrea Futrell, and Doug Medville.  A dry riverbed leads into the cave for a ½ mile, but the cave had a stream running through it.  Diana reported that it was quite nice in the back, and Ken shared a photo taken during the trip.

Ava and Rob visited the commercial Linville Caverns and found it to be a pretty cool cave.  Their tour guide had the heaviest NC accent.  Unfortunately the entire cave was green with moss, and they did not find the secret entrance to Linville Caverns.  Others shared the story about escaped prisoners and how back entrances were discovered.

Carlin then shared a slide show from the grotto trip to Breathing and Paxton Caves.

Carlin also shared a trip report from the Cold Sink Cave survey, noting that the survey is now more than 3000 feet.  The survey is way past the pit now.  Carlin finally has a disto and is itching to use it.  We are not at a mop-up stage in the survey yet.  The last team surveyed 700 feet straight, and it’s still going.  The last trip ended at two connected rooms.  There is a climbing lead, and the main route runs hands-and-kneesy for a ways.  The passage above the main route is like a mine tunnel and should be able to get good passage.  The team stopped because Carlin needed a break when they got to the big room.

Mark L. shared another trip report for Breathing Cave.  When the climbing got tough, his group left the cave after the thunderstorm.  Carlin noted hundreds of frogs in the headlights during the drive back to camp.  And lots of deer.

Upcoming Trips:
Cold Sink Cave survey 7/28
8/4 Ava and Carlin on rope
Copenhaver’s Cave Cleanup Trip 8/11
8/12 Second day
8/30-9/2 Old Timers Reunion
9/21-23 Fall VAR
9/22 Perkins Cave Tour
10/4 TAG Fall Cave In  (GA)
Cold Sink Cave survey in October with Dave

Ken shared a presentation about karst terrains based on the map at http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2008/1154/.