| Breakdown Cave, Fitzpatrick Cave February 2nd |
Jon Beard, Charley Rey, Charley Young, Zach Copeland, Roy Gold, Kasi Johnson and Gabe Rodgers |
Jon Beard, Charley Rey and Charley Young led a biology club from Pittsburg (KS) High School on an educational trip through the Main Room, Lower Level Maze Loop, Hell’s Gate and Brent’s Room of Breakdown Cave (Christian Co). Later, Jon Beard and Charley Young were assisted by Zach Copeland, Roy Gold, Kasi Johnson and Gabe Rodgers (who brought his niece Krystal) in leading a science club from Girard (KS) High School on another field trip through Breakdown Cave but substituting the North Loop for the Lower Level Maze Loop. Afterwards, Jon, Zach, Roy and Charley Young briefly visited nearby Fitzpatrick Cave to check biota and take photos. Five big brown bats, two northern bats and a couple dozen pipistrelles plus about 20 pickerel frogs were seen in Fitzpatrick. Several dozen pips were seen in Breakdown as well as springtails, cave spiders and 12 pickerel frogs. |
| Lowell Cave February 3rd |
Jon Beard, Roy Gold and Bob Taylor | Jon Beard, Roy Gold and Bob Taylor revisited Lowell Cave (Wright Co) for surveying. The goal was to do some mapping in the upper level meanders, but after some scrutiny, Bob decided his old survey notes for that area were satisfactory and decided instead to do some cross sections of the main passage near the entrance. While he did that, Jon and Roy photographed a speleothem area in the upper levels that included some flowstone, spathites, coraloids and helictites. |
| Willis Cave, Walnut Cave, Mud Cave and Hutchinsons Waterfall Cave February 6th |
Zach Copeland and Brian Goeppner | Zach Copeland and Brian Goepher went on a hike and photo trip to Arkansas’ Broadwater Hollow where they visited Willis Cave, Walnut Cave, Mud Cave and Hutchinsons Waterfall Cave. In the latter the waterfall was running hard due to recent rainfall. |
| Alexander Cave February 9th |
Zach Copeland, Brian Goeppner, Ashley Smith, Charley Rey and Ben McCall | Zach Copeland joined Brian Goepher, Ashley Smith, Charley Rey, Ben McCall and others on a trip to Arkansas’ Alexander Cave. Zach reports that the new fixed ladder climb difficult in the constricted section of the entrance drop, but very helpful near the wider bottom area. The group then saw the Wedding Cake Room, and the Lake Room, which Zach found amazing. On the way back from the Lake Room they turned off from the crawl and found a room none of them had yet seen. This was a 80-foot tall dome room with a big lilly pad platform in its middle and flowstone the entire way up. They then went down back the main passage, did the Climb of Death and saw the rest of the passage. It was a great trip. |
| Lowell Cave and Little Smittle Cave February 9th |
Max White, his Sister Tammy, her husband Gary, and Charley Young’s granddaughter Sarah | Max White, his Sister Tammy, her husband Gary, and Charley Young’s granddaughter Sarah went to Wright County’s Lowell and Little Smittle caves. |
| Onondaga Cave February 16th |
Jon Beard, Evan Christiansen, Zach Copeland, Roy Gold and Jack Rosenkoetter |
Jon Beard, Evan Christiansen, Zach Copeland, Roy Gold and Jack Rosenkoetter joined a large group from eastern Missouri in a restoration trip to Onondaga Cave (Crawford Co). Tara Flynn and Ben Miller of the park directed a number of project areas in the cave that included removal of old trail lumber from a buried site, removal of a buried cache of spent light bulbs from another dump site, excavation of a rimstone terrace buried under an old trail gravel pile and the reattachment of three stalagmites. The volunteers were treated to an all-you-can-eat pizza lunch provided by the park as well as a chance to see and photograph the cave's scenery after the day's work was done. |
| Ash Grove Cave February 24th |
Jon Beard, Roy Gold, Ron Kittle and Jack Rosenkoetter |
Jon Beard, Roy Gold, Ron Kittle and Jack Rosenkoetter hosted five employees of JPMorgan-Chase Inc. in a restoration/bio inventory and photography of the downstream section of Ash Grove Cave in Greene County. Due to high water levels, the other sections of the cave were not attempted. Five bats were seen and a approximately two-inch pincer of a possible longpincered crayfish (Orconectes longidigitus) were found amongst the other biota recorded. This would perhaps be the first sighting of the species in the Sac River drainage that flows north to the Osage River (the species is otherwise only known in Missouri in the White River drainage that drains south into Arkansas). Muddy handprints and graffiti were removed, and two bags of mostly washed-in trash were collected. Waterfalls were photographed as well as before/after graffiti shots and two remarkable speleothem areas including a mother lode of cave pearls and rimstone terraces. |
| Breakdown Cave and Fitzpatrick Cave February 29th | Zach Copeland and Brian Goeppner | Zach Copeland and Brian Goepher visited Breakdown and Fitzpatrick caves in Christian County. Zach reports that the ice storm completely destroyed the path to Breakdown’s entrance and left downed trees everywhere. One tree actually fell over that entrance. In Breakdown the water was really up and there was a big pool right at the gate. He also noted chest deep water near the end of the North Loop. The group then visited Fitzpatrick Cave. On the hike to it they found huge fallen trees. The drain in Fitzpatrick was totally sumped and near it they saw “tons” of frogs. |