Fisher Cave |
Jon Beard, Roy Gold, Gabe and Kasi Rodgers | Jon Beard, Roy Gold, Gabe and Kasi Rodgers brought restoration equipment into Fisher Cave (Franklin Co) in preparation of project activity for the weekend. The group also did some photography in the Grand Canyon Passage. |
| Fisher Cave October 4th |
Jon Beard, Roy Gold, Gabe and Kasi Rodgers, Max White, Charley Young and Sarah Young | Eighteen cavers met at Fisher Cave (Franklin Co) to continue the restoration project. Participants included (alphabetically) Jon Beard, Roy Gold, Gabe and Kasi Rodgers, Max White, Charley Young and Sarah Young from SPG, Kris Butler, Joe Nicolussi and son Joe Jr. from MSM, Paul Hummel, Aaron Kriska and Ed Kriska from MMV, plus Jeff Grigg, Glenn Griffith, John, Barbara and Sandy Messex. They matched and repaired stalactites and stalagmites in the Ballroom, and began work on stalagmite restoration in the Dripstone Forest section of the cave. Perhaps the most significant repair completed this day was the reattachment of a 7-foot stalagmite weighing an estimated 600-800 lbs. Gabe and Kasi also conducted water quality testing on cave streams issuing from the Weeping Willow Passage and Grand Canyon Passage to add to a cave stream database. After supper, a small group crawled to the Crystal Room for photography of speleothems and other features. Future restoration possibilities were considered in this area, which is largely unvandalized. |
| Fisher Cave October 5th |
Jon Beard, Roy Gold, Glenn Griffith and Joe Nicolussi | Jon Beard, Roy Gold, Glenn Griffith and Joe Nicolussi reattached three stalactites prepared the previous day and reattached four stalagmites matched previously before ending the Fisher Cave progress for the year 2008. For the weekend, ten speleothem reattachments were made and flowstone and dripstone were cleaned in preparation for the project in 2009. In all, 143 reattachments have been made in the cave since the project was begun years ago. |
| October 7th | Jon Beard, Judy and Roy Gold, Melvin Johnson and Ron Martin | Jon Beard, Judy and Roy Gold, Melvin Johnson and Ron Martin participated in a nature exhibition at the Springfield Expo Center which featured author Richard Louv ("Last Child in the Woods"). SPG manned an information booth on cave conservation among several booths including those of the Springfield/Greene Co Park Board, Missouri Dept. of Conservation, Watershed Committee of the Ozarks, Ozark Mtn. Paddlers, James River Basin Partnership, Bass Pro, Wonders of Wildlife, Missouri State U., National Park Service and others. |
| Tag Trip October 3rd-9th |
Zach Copeland and Charley Rey | Zach Copeland and Charley Rey were among a group of OHG cavers who saw several caves in Tennessee before and during the TAG convention. Caves visited were Secret Cave (Oct. 3rd and 6th), Blue Spring Cave (4th), Camps Gulf and Rumbling Falls Cave (5th), Xanadu Cave (7th), Mudpuppy and Crystal Palace Caves (8th), Rustys Cave (9th) and Valhalla Cave (10th). |
| Brown Cave October 11th |
Jon Beard, Roy Gold and Charley Young | Jon Beard, Roy Gold and Charley Young spent the day in Brown Cave (Douglas Co) filling and removing three bags of trash weighing (combined) more than 100 lbs. Among the trash found were several pairs of shoes and sandals abandoned in or near various quagmires. Also of interest were three pairs of kneepads that were apparently inadequate as well as an abandoned bicycle helmet. The cave pattern is simple with exactly two passages (one of which is not very obvious), yet there were several arrows and lots of 6-lb-test fishing line attempting to show the way out. Vandals also gave names to several rooms using red spray paint. The group spent some time removing or masking some of the profuse spray paint graffiti Another trip will need to be scheduled to remove the remainder. Roy and Charley also took several photos of the popular 3,300-foot cave. |
| Carroll Cave, Husson Cave, Pillar Shelter October 16th |
Jon Beard and Eric Hertzler | Jon Beard assisted Eric Hertzler in changing six dye trace packets related to dye tracing in Carroll Cave (Camden Co) after meeting with Bob Lerch and Amber Spohn who were to do in-cave work. After this, Eric and Jon were shown Husson Cave (Camden Co) by its landowner, a new cave for the cave files. The cave has a small stream and slightly less than 20 feet of negotiable passage with a bedrock floor (where it wasn’t covered with root mats). After looking in vain for another landowner for another nearby cave, the two surveyed Pillar Shelter, an impressive sandstone shelter near Ha Ha Tonka State Park roughly 75 feet wide and almost 40 feet deep with two large entrances and a small critter sized entrance. |
| Sweet Potato Caves #1, #2, #3 October18th |
Jon Beard, Jack Rosenkoetter, Leo Thompson and Bob Taylor |
Jon Beard, Jack Rosenkoetter and Leo Thompson assisted Bob Taylor in the surveys of Sweet Potato Caves #1, #2 and #3 (Douglas Co). #1 is a joint-determined narrow cave slightly more than 100 feet long and well decorated. Within was at least one cave salamander, one pipistrelle, and several cave crickets. #2 is nearby and around 50 feet long. It is considerably wider than #1, but with no speleothems save for a minor flowstone coating near the back end of the cave. They saw three pips. #3 is 45 feet away from #2 with a bellycrawl to a tight vertical hole that leads to another lower-level bellycrawl that apparently heads in the general direction of #2. A skinny caver is needed to go further. Of particular interest is the sandstone ceiling exhibited in all three caves (Swan Creek sandstone of the Cotter dolomite). After this, the group of four explored Wilson Cave a few miles away. This several hundred foot-long cave is very mazy and like the Sweet Potato Caves, in the Cotter Formation. It begs mapping as there are few maze caves known in the area. They saw several pipistrelles as well as several cave crickets and raccoon offerings. |
| Emerald Lake Cave, Lon Odell Memorial Cave, Great Root Cave October 19th |
Jon Beard, Roy Gold and Bob Taylor |
Jon Beard, Roy Gold and Bob Taylor spent the day in Dade County getting GPS locations on a number of caves and karst features starting with Emerald Lake Cave. Next was the largest of four nearby in-line bowl-shaped sinks, Lon Odell Memorial Cave and a new cave that still requires some digging to enter the cave proper. The latter feature is tentatively named Great Root Cave due to a massive hackberry tree root in the sink entrance. Thus far there is about 15 feet of depth and 10 feet of linear passage to this cave with more in view but unreachable until more loose rock is removed. |
| Breakdown Cave October 25th |
Jon Beard and Ashley Whaley | Jon Beard and Ashley Whaley led a scout troop through the Main Room, North Loop, Lower Level Maze Loop, Southeast Passage and the Split Knee Passage of Breakdown Cave (Christian Co). They saw a few pipistrelles as well as two cave salamanders (one yellow, one orange), two slimy salamanders, three larval salamanders, a cave spider, springtails and several cave crickets. |