| Round Spring Cavern, Bluff Cave June 6th |
Jack Rosenkoetter, Jon Beard, Roy Gold and Bob Taylor | MSM’s Joe Williams took measurements, photographs and created a preliminary sketch for the proposed new gate at Round Spring Cavern (Shannon Co). After lunch, the five, along with newly arrived Jack Rosenkoetter, did some restoration in Bluff Cave (also June 6th— Jon Beard, Roy Gold and Bob Taylor of SPG plus Scott House and Shannon Co). At the end of the day, they had rejoined six stalagmites using epoxy adhesive, but saved two other matches for next time. |
| Mammoth Cave June 6th |
Zach Copeland and Brian Goeppner | June 6th—Zach Copeland and Brian Goeppner began a 7-day karst class at Mammoth Cave National Park, KY, given by Dr. Stan Sides. On the first day, they and other students visited various parts of Mammoth Cave by way of its Historic and Violet City entrances. |
| Big Spring Anastomosis Cave, Bear Cave June 7th |
Jon Beard, Roy Gold and Bob Taylor | Jon Beard, Roy Gold and Bob Taylor drove to Big Spring and removed scratchedin graffiti inside and outside the entrances to Big Spring Anastomosis Cave (Carter Co). This is new graffiti made since the cleanup last year. Photography of the spring was also in order. They then removed a few cans along with other trash from this small cave. After lunch, fellow SPG member Lloyd Morrison joined the three in a trash pick-up and photography of Bear Cave (Texas Co). Most of the trash consisted of old pieces of boards and other wood previous visitors carried into the cave to use as climbing aids, etc. |
Diamond Cave, |
Zach Copeland and Brian Goeppner | Zach and Brian continued their Mammoth Cave-area karst class in Proctor Cave, afterwards visiting Diamond Cave, a nicely decorated cave owned by Dr. Sides. They then explored the entrance area of Sand Cave, the long-closed cave where Floyd Collins was trapped and died in 1925. |
| Ganter Cave June 8th |
Zach Copeland and Brian Goeppner | Brian and Zach hiked two miles to Ganter Cave (KY), a couple mile long cave with large passages, lots of breakdown, and a fault line cutting through the Dinosaur Dome. |
| Mammoth Cave June 9th |
Zach Copeland and Brian Goeppner | Zach and Brian returned to Mammoth Cave (KY) by way of the Carmichael entrance, to Cleveland Avenue, Snowball Dining Room (lunch!) and other areas, eventually including Cascade Hall where CRF cavers made the Flint-Mammoth connection in 1972. |
| Great Onyx,
Floyd Collins Crystal Cave June 10th |
Zach Copeland and Brian Goeppner | Zach and Brian continued their Kentucky karst class by going to Great Onyx Cave, visiting the old commercial section and pit. After lunch outside they headed for Floyd Collins Crystal Cave, viewing its old commercial trail as well as checking out Scotchman’s Trap and a portion of the way to Floyd’s Lost Passage. |
| Dream Cave June 11th |
Lloyd Morrison, Charley Young and Jon Beard |
Lloyd Morrison, Charley Young and Jon Beard made a multi-purpose trip to Dream Cave (Ozark Co), a 6,023-foot cave co-managed by SPG and the MCKC for the Ozark Regional Land Trust. The official purpose of the trip was to check on the cave gate and enhance marked trails, but the main reason turned out to be photography of the cave’s dripstone, flowstone and a large trunk passage. Especially interesting are the cave’s profuse and incredible stromatolites, exhibited mostly in the Meatgrinder Passage, a 350-foot section of wall-to-wall two to four-foot tall and wide "conga drum" stromatolites. They also noted dozens of small bats (Perimyotis subflavus), a dozen adult grotto salamanders, and salamander larva. |
Mammoth Cave |
Zach Copeland and Brian Goeppner | Returning to Mammoth Cave, Zach and Brian did the 7-mile Morrison’s route, entering through the New Entrance, making their way through the Turtle Hurtles, an 800-foot plus hands and knees crawl over rimstone dams, then saw Cathedral Domes before finally exiting through the Frozen Niagara entrance. |
| Salts Cave June 12th |
Zach Copeland and Brian Goeppner | On Brian and Zach’s last caving day in Kentucky, they visited Salts Cave, seeing Dismal Valley, Mummy Valley, and the place where researchers had once found a mummy, a little boy. |
| Fitzpatrick Cave, Breakdown Cave June 12th |
Jon Beard, Bill and Bonnie Heim | Jon Beard, Bill and Bonnie Heim hosted Bill Kacerovskis, Craig Williams and Susie Jensen of the MCKC in a trip to Fitzpatrick and Breakdown Caves (Christian Co) after the MCKC Board of Directors meeting. In the first section of Fitzpatrick Cave, archaeologists Craig and Susie found some chert workings (scrapers, core stock, etc.) indicating prehistoric use of the cave. Afterwards, while Jon searched for a bristly cave crayfish to show everyone, the group found something never seen before in the cave, an Ozark cavefish! This was a startling discovery and adds to the known distribution of this endangered species. After this, the group went to nearby Breakdown Cave and again, Craig and Susie found chert workings in the entrance passage. They saw the main room at a leisurely pace with the main topic being the cave’s use as a restoration lab and speleology classroom. |
| Fitzpatrick Cave June 13th |
Jon Beard | Jon Beard returned to Fitzpatrick Cave to photograph the Ozark cavefish and bristly cave crayfish (63 photos in all) in a span of over two hours. |
| Fitzpatrick Cave June 16th |
Roy Gold and Charley Young | Roy Gold and Charley Young visited Fitzpatrick Cave intending to photograph the Ozark cavefish but did not see it. They saw two bristly cave crayfish instead. They took several photographs of the cave including some passage shots and webworm webs with droplets of water. |
| Steins Creek Cave June 20th |
Jon Beard and Roy Gold and Bob Taylor |
In lieu of a cancelled Fisher Cave restoration trip due to Meramec River flooding and closure of the cave, Jon Beard and Roy Gold assisted Bob Taylor in mapping work in Steins Creek Cave (Wright Co). While Bob sketched, Jon and Roy took several photographs of speleothems, a grotto salamander and calcite crystals. Bob is determined to finish this long-continuing survey in just one more trip (or maybe…two). |
| Garrison Cave #2 June 21st |
Jon Beard | Never trust a film crew. Jon Beard checked the water level and Thompson Siphon system in Garrison Cave #2 (Christian Co) in preparation of next week’s mapping trip. The 300-foot siphon hose had been cut and stuffed out of the way in a side passage. After talking with the landowner, Jon found that a film crew had received the owner’s permission to make a film in the entrance passage with the promise to "leave the cave as it was when they found it." Apparently they determined a black hose was not going to be in the film, so it was removed. Their campfire ring also still remains--certainly a different kind of vandalism. Later, Jon was joined by wife Alicia in some karst photography in Sequiota Park (Greene Co). One of the cave entrances photographed is a small spring that might be considered a small cave (a wet one at that). |
| Garrison Cave #2 June 22nd |
Jon Beard, Roy Gold and Charley Young |
Jon Beard, Roy Gold and Charley Young returned to Garrison Cave #2 to splice the siphon hose (in two places), prime the siphon system and remove the fire ring. |
| Cave Hollow Cave June 23rd |
Jon Beard | Jon Beard accompanied Klaus Leidenfrost and Lynda Mills of the U.S. Forest Service to Cave Hollow Cave (Iron Co) to measure for a possible new ACCA style gate that is both better for the bats and worse for potential vandals. |
| Garrison Cave #2 June 23rd |
Roy Gold | Roy Gold returned to Garrison Cave #2 (Christian Co) to check the level of the First Watercrawl and shut off the siphon in preparation for the upcoming survey trip. |
| Dream Cave June 26th |
Roy Gold, Brian Goeppner and sons Ben and Colton, and Jon Beard | Roy Gold, Brian Goeppner and sons Ben and Colton, and Jon Beard made a return trip to Dream Cave (Ozark Co) to replace the sliding bar of the gate with a new stainless steel bar and refurbished lock. While in the cave, Jon, Brian and Roy photographed helictites, spathites, stromatolites, bell-shaped coraloids and other features. Biota noted were cave and grotto salamanders, spothanded crayfish (near entrance), and pipistrelles. On the way home, Jon and Roy found a natural arch in a road cut a few miles north of Ava, photographed a large sandstone shelter, then checked on the Garrison Cave #2 water level. They decided to turn the siphon back on. |
| Garrison Cave #2 June 27th |
Jon Beard, Zach Copeland, Lawrence Ireland and Lloyd Morrison |
Jon Beard, Zach Copeland, Lawrence Ireland and Lloyd Morrison assembled at Garrison Cave #2 (Christian Co) for some survey mop-up work and photography. Lawrence and Lloyd ventured all the way to the upstream end of the cave’s North Creek to make some important cross sections of the Insane Insipient Braidway section. While they were doing that, Jon and Zach added detail to the sketch of the main passage between the Helictite Room and the breakdown area near the Castle in the Sky. This included the discovery of over 100 feet of lower level passage near the Dancer’s Pole. Lloyd and Jon brought cameras and took several photos. Biota seen included 32 bristly cave crayfish, two species of isopods and a blue-gray minnow (the latter seen in the First Watercrawl). Lloyd took some excellent close-ups of crayfish carrying eggs and newly hatched young. |
| Fitzpatrick Cave, Breakdown Cave June 27th |
Bill and Bonnie Heim and Charity Hertzler | Bill and Bonnie Heim assisted Charity Hertzler in an educational field trip for a group of scouts through Fitzpatrick and Breakdown Caves (Christian Co). Sections of Breakdown Cave visited were the main room and the North Loop. Only a thin (and brave) few went through Hell’s Gate. Biota noted in Fitzpatrick Cave were a pickerel frog and a myotine bat; in Breakdown, a few pips, two grotto salamander juveniles and a slimy salamander at the cave gate. |
| Smallin Cave, Sonrise Cave June 29th |
Alicia and Jon Beard | Alicia and Jon Beard briefly visited Smallin Cave and nearby Sonrise Cave (Christian Co) by invitation of Kevin Bright, who is leasing the property. They were there to photograph a bristly cave crayfish carrying eggs. |