Author Topic: sport caving... (Read 2948 times)

caverdude · « **on:** July 14, 2011, 07:02:03 PM »

Hello, Im a sport caver from arkansas area.. Any other cavers on this forum? I really have not been too active in recent years. But was around 1990 to 1993 went caving almost every weekend.

JLMissouri · « **Reply #1 on:** January 23, 2012, 12:57:47 PM »

I have explored a lot of caves in southern Missouri. A lot of the caves are on private property and it seems that people are more sensitive to trespassers now. Missouri has a lot of small caves and some large ones as well.

Mr. Red Beard (UKtheBUNNY) · « **Reply #2 on:** January 24, 2012, 12:34:00 PM »

I've done some caving in the past and thoroughly enjoyed it but I'm no skilled expert by any means.

caverdude · « **Reply #3 on:** January 24, 2012, 03:39:12 PM »

I visited about 150 caves in northern Arkansas. Dropped maybe 50 pits. With all of those you had to ascend the ropes back out. I have been about 2 miles horizontally from a cave entrance underground in a couple of larger Arkansas caves. In depth maybe 800 feet or so. Unless you count how the ridge rises above the cavern, maybe 1500 feet then. I mapped a cave with 1 mile of passage and it wasn't easy because it was a maze (Box work) cave. I helped map a dozen other caves. I did quit a bit of ridge walking looking for caves and found a large one that I have never been back to. In it I saw 2000' of virgin passage. And I'm sure it had a lot more virgin passage. I have bad hips due to an illness in 1994 so hard caving has been out of the question. Light caving though is still on my todo list.

I know how to cave and pack for caving and vertical (rope) work.
I know how to not get lost in them and how to map them.
I know how to find them.

We have problem though today, all caves on national lands are banned until further notice because of the White Nose syndrome that's killing bats. You may still cave on private land if you have land owner permission though. And guess what? Most unknown caves in Arkansas are on private lands. If its logging company land permission probably wouldn't be necessary.
What they don't know won't hurt them.

Mr. Red Beard (UKtheBUNNY) · « **Reply #4 on:** January 24, 2012, 04:47:11 PM »

I would like to get permission from the land owners of Rush an abandoned mining town. It's near the Buffalo river. Check it out there are some sites out there with pictures.

Underground Ozarks entry about Rush
Arkansas Ties Article on Rush
http://viewsfromtheopenroad.blogspot.com/2010/10/rush-arkansas-ghost-town.html

Cedar · « **Reply #5 on:** January 24, 2012, 07:09:27 PM »

I really enjoyed the few times I have gone, but I think my fav is http://mountsthelens.com/ape-caves.html

Cedar

caverdude · « **Reply #6 on:** January 24, 2012, 10:57:51 PM »

Lava tubes would be interesting.. thats one type of cave that I have yet to enter.

TLBones · « **Reply #7 on:** February 13, 2012, 05:31:41 PM »

I did a bit of it in college in upstate NY and on a spring break in WV. I had a blast, but a lot of tight spots I fit through back then would be impossible for me now! We used those old carbide lamps...do cavers still use those things?

caverdude · « **Reply #8 on:** February 14, 2012, 02:12:41 AM »

Quote from: TLBones on February 13, 2012, 05:31:41 PM

I did a bit of it in college in upstate NY and on a spring break in WV. I had a blast, but a lot of tight spots I fit through back then would be impossible for me now! We used those old carbide lamps...do cavers still use those things?

Yes I had a Premier brand lamp. Need to get another one. Petzel makes some. There are sources for buying carbide online. Did you guys know that carbide is made by combining powdered lime with cooked coal (called coke). It is reduced meaning oxygen is removed and you end up with carbide. So carbide is a coal product.

LdMorgan · « **Reply #9 on:** February 21, 2012, 01:09:21 AM »

I've never been in them (except at one entrance) but there is apparently a huge system of limestone caves in and around Marion County, FL that have connected openings 30 miles apart.

It may be a statewide system, since the whole state is really nothing but limestone with a little dirt on top.

When they started building the nuclear power plant at Crystal River, FL, they dug right into a cave system (Surprise!). Instead of relocating the power plant in accordance with pertinent regulations, they filled up the caves with thousands of yards of concrete.

Some of which was detected coming out of the seabed three miles offshore.

When I was very young there was an open well (like as in Wishing Well) right slap in the middle of Central Florida that you could catch salt water fish out of.

There must be a LOT of caves in Florida.

caverdude · « **Reply #10 on:** February 21, 2012, 07:58:43 AM »

Ya caves that require very dangerous cave diving. Not something the average caver is willing to do. Though the movies make you think we all cave dive.

jcarsey · « **Reply #11 on:** March 21, 2012, 09:08:56 PM »

Quote from: Cedar on January 24, 2012, 07:09:27 PM

I really enjoyed the few times I have gone, but I think my fav is http://mountsthelens.com/ape-caves.html

Cedar

I take my daughter here every year at least once. We love it. I've done a few other caves, but only ones without a rappelling entrance. I have lots of gear from rock climbing, but nothing specific to caving.

caverdude · « **Reply #12 on:** March 21, 2012, 11:41:54 PM »

Quote from: jcarsey on March 21, 2012, 09:08:56 PM

I take my daughter here every year at least once. We love it. I've done a few other caves, but only ones without a rappelling entrance. I have lots of gear from rock climbing, but nothing specific to caving.

same vertical gear for caving as rock climbing, though some use rope ladders or cable ladders

Mandevu · « **Reply #13 on:** July 31, 2012, 06:42:15 AM »

I did a little caving back in the 90s in New Jersey and loved it! I am living on a flat, coastal plain now-- nary a hill, let alone any karst, in sight. We're relocating to New Hampshire soon, and I am hoping to get back into it.

scaryjc · « **Reply #14 on:** September 25, 2012, 09:01:05 PM »

I used to belong to the Boston Mountain Grotto out of Fayetteville, Ar until a couple of years ago when it just cost too much to drive an hour each way for an hour or so meeting. It was awesome, helped map the longest cave in Arkansas, mapped a few more, got some sweet virgin passage in a cave called Wonderland. We had rappelling classes, rope climbing, and did a near 300' rappel at Hemmed in Hollow by the Buffalo river. Its near the tallest waterfall in the midwest. I too have not been caving in a long time, but I do spend 40 hours a week underground.

caverdude · « **Reply #15 on:** September 26, 2012, 02:13:22 AM »

scaryjc: Excellent, I have caved with some BMG members myself years ago. Never attended any of their meetings however. They are in the middle of some great caving country.

SusanG · « **Reply #16 on:** September 26, 2012, 11:11:31 AM »

I used to go caving in Texas and Mexico, in the late 80s and early 90s. Did some vertical work and a lot of crawling. I'm not very athletic, though, and no matter how hard I tried and how much I worked out, I still couldn't move through a cave like those who were naturals. Being somewhat afraid of heights didn't help.

I think my peak experience was rapelling into the Devil's Sinkhole in west Texas - scary as heck backing off of the narrow lip in a big hole in the limestone, but then being awed by the beauty of the bell-shaped pit with green plants growing along the sides. My favorite part of caving, though, was probably camping out on private ranches in Texas and in back country Mexico. I got to experience some truly wild and beautiful country that not many people get to see.

When I acquired other interests and quit caving every weekend, I gradually stopped finding out about trips and lost touch with the caver community. I kind of miss it, especially the back country camping, but I've got too much else going on and too many years have passed to try to get back into it. My ears still perk up when I hear others talking about caves, though, and I had to respond to this topic.

caverdude · « **Reply #17 on:** September 26, 2012, 12:08:35 PM »

I was more into cave mapping. I got out of caving mostly because of an illness where medical steroids damaged my hips. I can still do light caving and surveying but other circumstances in career changes and such had me moving around and using up all my funds. Sadly I have not been caving in years. I went caving once or twice since 1995. Before that it was almost every weekend from 1990 to 1993, I slowed a bit in 1994.

I do have an open source project that is moving quit slow working on some cave mapping software using Java programming language. http://www.sf.net/p/javacavemaps its in the calculator module in the repository. Currently if you can find the app and manage to run it, it is a calculator that when given the azimuth, distance and vertical angle it will give you change in horizontal, change in vertical and change in east-west, change in north-south.

florida boy · « **Reply #18 on:** September 27, 2012, 01:58:41 PM »

Does cave diving count? I used to be a lot more into it but haven't had the time recently. I've never done dry caving but would love to give it a try one of these days.

caverdude · « **Reply #19 on:** September 27, 2012, 09:15:31 PM »

Quote from: florida boy on September 27, 2012, 01:58:41 PM

Does cave diving count? I used to be a lot more into it but haven't had the time recently. I've never done dry caving but would love to give it a try one of these days.

It counts, I can't imagine cave diving without doing a bit of dry caving. In Arkansas anyway you usually have to pack in the diving equipment for no telling how far, 1000's of feet before you can dive anyway.

I guess every body loved the movie "Sanctum". Though I'd be expecting my buddies to rescue me not do some mercy killing lol.

florida boy · « **Reply #20 on:** October 05, 2012, 02:25:30 PM »

Quote from: caverdude on September 27, 2012, 09:15:31 PM

It counts, I can't imagine cave diving without doing a bit of dry caving. In Arkansas anyway you usually have to pack in the diving equipment for no telling how far, 1000's of feet before you can dive anyway.

I guess every body loved the movie "Sanctum". Though I'd be expecting my buddies to rescue me not do some mercy killing lol.

I Florida you usually just tie the boat off or back the truck up next to the spring and hop in. Sometimes you have to hike through the woods but it's usually not that far.

Sanctum was ok. The company I work for actually supplied some of the dive gear for it, and I knew one of the divers that was involved in the actual incident the movie was "based" off of.

amtank · « **Reply #21 on:** November 26, 2012, 12:02:25 AM »

Great site thanks for the link. Too bad the site is dead though.

I just lost 2 hours of my life.....

flippydidit · « **Reply #22 on:** November 26, 2012, 03:45:00 AM »

Quote from: LdMorgan on February 21, 2012, 01:09:21 AM

I've never been in them (except at one entrance) but there is apparently a huge system of limestone caves in and around Marion County, FL that have connected openings 30 miles apart.

It may be a statewide system, since the whole state is really nothing but limestone with a little dirt on top.

When they started building the nuclear power plant at Crystal River, FL, they dug right into a cave system (Surprise!). Instead of relocating the power plant in accordance with pertinent regulations, they filled up the caves with thousands of yards of concrete.

Some of which was detected coming out of the seabed three miles offshore.

When I was very young there was an open well (like as in Wishing Well) right slap in the middle of Central Florida that you could catch salt water fish out of.

There must be a LOT of caves in Florida.

LdMorgan,

Are you still in Marion County? We're in Sumter County. I'd love to find some local cave networks!

caverdude · « **Reply #23 on:** November 26, 2012, 10:21:02 AM »

Quote from: amtank on November 26, 2012, 12:02:25 AM

Great site thanks for the link. Too bad the site is dead though.

I just lost 2 hours of my life.....

site is dead? what are you talking about?

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Author Topic: sport caving... (Read 2948 times)