Emily G., Mark D., Mark L.,
Pete H., Rob H., Martin G., Ken W., and Ava P. were in attendance (either in
the flesh or in the cybersphere). Because folks seem to know one another, Rob
forewent/foregoed the introductions.
Mark D. began the meeting by
describing one member’s imminent protests to a local municipality about his
mosquito problem. Mark D. then told how this problem might be related to the
lack of a drain under his shower and the impenetrable French drain beneath it.
Somehow this led to a Happy Birthday song for Pete Hertl with the gift of a
rubber ducky that shoots a laser from its mouth when it quacks.
Then we worked out the t-shirt
and camping reimbursement issues with Rob. We only spent a few moments admiring
Mark L. in the new T-shirt.
Mark D. then shared his
vision for a beginners cave trip meetup. He plans to hold the information
sharing meeting at Triangle Rock Club and then pick a cave to visit in late
October or early November. He is looking for helping planning this, and Ken
offered to share the slides he uses with scouts.
Doug Leapley is looking for
someone to speak to a scout troop about caving. Ken will contact him unless
someone else would like to.
Rob will fix the web site so
that upcoming meeting dates are better displayed. Mark L. shared the membership list and worked
on getting updated on the membership list.
The next discussion was about
problems with various LED headlamps and dealing with manufacturers when they
break.
The TriTrogs are now looking
for someone to host the 25th Anniversary Party in early December.
The date will be based on the host’s schedule.
Trip reports followed. The
grotto trip marked the first wild cave for 4.5-year old daughter of Mark’s
girlfriend. He related that they got a
little bit lost in the maze in Paxton
Cave. In a key junction Mark chose the wrong way 5 out of 6 tries. Several climbing
attempts didn’t go well for Lisa. She
eventually climbed up with footholds in the webbing. When they explored the room, they found that
there was an easy way to skip the climb just a few feet away.
Salamanders marked Mark’s
trip to Friars Hole Cave. Emily had
a different experience by entering at the Snedegars
Saltpeter Entrance and didn’t see salamanders as she slogged through the
sump.
Pete related the story of the
grotto vertical trip to the Crookshank
Entrance—getting there was an adventure. They wandered for hours before
consulting the topo map. Then they short-rigged the pit, and Mike went down
first. Pete enjoyed the crawl through an
earthworm bed. They crawled along the surface and occasionally got mashed by
the crawling cavers. They got close to the waterfall, and the first pool was
the commitment point. It wasn’t that
bad, but only Pete and Mike made it all the way. They found spring salamanders
and something like the Jefferson salamander.
Martin said that his team got
lost in the Snedegars Saltpeter Maze [ed.
I would’ve described it as thorough exploration of the maze]. The base of the waterfall was a good place to
finish the trip. Martin forgot his camera card, but he would’ve gotten good
pics there. His brother Doug was wide eyed at one point, amusing Martin.
Ken shared a description of
his two survey trips to Saltville Quarry
Cave, surveying in cold water up to his hips. The survey topped out at 1202
feet. Pete mentioned that this is the season for blow out sales on wet suits.
With regard to upcoming
trips, see the list below:
August 28-Sept. 1 – Old
Timers Reunion
September 13 – Carlin and
Dave in Missed Opportunity
September 20 – Bugfest
(contact Pete Hertl if you can help)
September 27 – New River Cave
survey (Ken, Ava, and Pete)
October 10-12 – Fall VAR at
Rich Mtn Battlefield
November 8 – Hancock Cave Bat
Count (Ken)
After a long break, Mark D.
shared a fast forward version of the Amazing Caves video and the Making of
Amazing Caves.
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