September - Maverick Grotto

The Maverick Bull
THE
September 2005
September 2005 page 1
MAVERICK BULL
The
Newsletter of the Maverick
Grotto
Volume 18 Issue 9
The Maverick Bull
September 2005
Maverick Grotto Information
Copyright 2005 The Maverick Grotto.
The Maverick Bull is the monthly newsletter of The
Maverick Grotto, an internal organization of The National
Speleological Society (NSS G-322). The editor invites all
individuals and other grottos to submit articles, news, maps,
cartoons, art and photographs. If the material is to be
returned, a self-addressed stamped envelope should
accompany it.
Reprinting Articles: Internal organizations of The National
Speleological Society may reprint any item (unless copyrights
belong to the author as stated in the byline) first appearing in
The Maverick Bull if proper credit is given and a complete
copy of the publication is delivered to the editor at the time of
publication. Other organizations should contact the editor of
The Maverick Bull at the address herein.
Exchanges: The Maverick Grotto will exchange
newsletters with other grottos. Contact the editor.
Complementary Newsletters: The Maverick Grotto will
provide complementary newsletters to persons or
organizations that provide cave access (i.e. landowners) or
otherwise provide assistance to cavers. The Maverick Grotto
will provide one free issue to persons interested in becoming
members.
Subscription Rates: Subscription rates are $15.00 per year
for non-members and free for members.
Membership Policy: Any individual with interests, beliefs
and actions consistent with the purposes of The Maverick
Grotto and The National Speleological Society is eligible for
membership. Acceptance of new members is based on
payment of dues and a mandatory three trip requirement with
at least three different grotto members. These three members
shall act as sponsors. At least one sponsor must attend the
meeting at which the membership vote is taken. A two-thirds
majority vote of the members present will be required for
acceptance.
Meetings: Meetings are held the second Tuesday of each
month at Bodacious BBQ, 1206 E. Division St., Arlington. The
time is 7 p.m., and the food is good.
Library: Support your Grotto Library. Dennis Welch will
be accepting books and magazines on cave-related topics,
copies of homemade cave videos, etc. for our library. We wish
to thank Dennis for his efforts to bring and set up the Grotto
Library.
page 2
Photos & Map Credits
Cover Photo: Taken by Tammy Goldsmith. From left to
right: Charles Goldsmith, Tammy Goldsmith, Chris
Welch, Sharon Welch, and Dennis Welch after a tight
muddy trip through Maple Run Cave in Austin.
Page 5: Tammy Goldsmith
Page 6: Tammy Goldsmith
Page 7 & 8: Caving in Arkansas by Scott Boyd
Back Cover:
_____________________________________________
Visit Our NSS Award-Winning Web Site! Butch has been
hard at work constructing the grotto web site and keeping it
up-to-date. You’ll find information about getting into caving,
trip photos and the PDF version of this newsletter (with color
photos!): Also, Butch has also done a wonderful job putting all
the previous newsletters on the web site. Be sure and check it
out.
Http://www.maverickgrotto.org
________________________________________________
Cave Rescue: Call collect: (512) 686-0234
________________________________________________
Next meeting, September 13th, 7:00 pm
Bodacious BBQ
1206 E Division St.
Arlington, TX. 76011
(817) 860-4248
___________________________________
Program:
Come see "Journeys through the Purification
Karst", a slide show about Diana Tomchick’s
two week year end adventures in northern Mexico, 2003 & 2004.
Chair
Ed Goff
737 Bizerte Ave.
Dallas, TX 75224
(214)942-6024
[email protected]
Secretary
Scott Boyd
509 E Glendale St.
Crowley, TX 76036
(817) 297-4427
[email protected]
Newsletter Editor
Tammy Cox
237 Gwen St.
Azle, TX 76020
(817) 444-0186
[email protected]
Vice-Chair
Mark Gee
3819 Portland
Irving, TX, 75038
(972) 358-5105
[email protected]
Treasurer
Sharon Mastbrook
3412 Walton Ave.
Fort Worth, TX 76133
(817) 346-2039
[email protected]
Webmaster
Butch Fralia
3412 Walton Ave.
Fort Worth, TX 76133
(817) 346-2039
[email protected]
The Maverick Bull
September 2005
August 2005 Meeting Minutes
By: Scott Boyd
The Maverick Grotto met Aug. 9 at Bodacious BBQ,
on E. Division St. in Arlington. There were 13 members and 2 visitors present.
Program: Finished watching the video from the pervious month, and then watched a video titled "Hard
Rock Cave". Both videos were provided by Butch
Fralia.
Reports from Officers: Treasurer: Sharon Mastbrook
reported that the grotto has $1232.06 in the checking
account and $240 in petty cash for a total of $1472.06.
Old Business: Dennis Welch asked about possibly
forming a liaison for the NSS BOG meeting. (There
isn't one yet.)
New Business: Diana Tomchick spoke about the International Congress of Speleology and the bid for the
next one in 2009, that is to be held in Kerrville, TX.
She suggested that we consider one or two ways to
support the bid. Pete Lindsley talked about going to
the ICS in 1980.
Trip reports and trip announcements: Charles
Goldsmith gave a trip report on his visit to Maple Run
Cave in Austin. He also announced an upcoming trip
to the Buffalo River area in Arkansas, and Pete suggested some more caves they could visit while in the
area. Dennis Welch announced a trip to the Carlsbad
Restoration project on Labor Day weekend, and said
that there would be other cave visits before and after
the Carlsbad work project.
There was also discussion and planning for vertical
practice to hopefully be held soon.
_____________________________________
Caving Events Calendar
September until Oct: Evening Bat Flight Tours, Devil’s
Sinkhole State Natural Area (Rocksprings): Every Wednesday
through Sunday the Devil’s Sinkhole Society leads tours. Peer
down into the depths of Texas and observe up to 3 million bats
emerge. A short program will be given on the Devil's Sinkhole
page 3
and bats. Visitors are shuttled in a tour bus from Rocksprings
Visitor Center to the site. Call for times; fees $10 adults, $8 senior citizens, $6 children 12 and under; reservations required.
(830) 683-BATS (2287), (830) 683-3762.
September until Oct
Bat Flights at Old Tunnel Wildlife
Management Area (Fredericksburg): Observe an estimated 3
million Mexican Free-tailed bats and 1,000-3,000 Cave Myotis
emerge from this abandoned railroad tunnel in the evening. All
nightly programs begin one hour prior to estimated bat emergence times. These vary during the year so call ahead for times
[(830) 367-7923]; seating for lower viewing area programs is on
a first-come, first-served basis. Contact: Amy Sugeno (830) 9902860. Info: http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/wma/find_a_wma/list/?
id=17
September 10
Bat Flights at Stuart Bat Cave, Kickapoo
Caverns State Park (Bracketville) Observe an estimated
500,000 bats emerge from Stuart Bat Cave in the evening. A program will be given regarding bats, the environment and the resources of the park. Call for times; fees $5 per person; reservations required (830) 563-2342
Sep 10-11 Hilltop Project (Capitan, NM): Ridge walking and
digging in windy blowholes on USFS and BLM lands, about 5
miles south of Fort Stanton Cave, NM. Meet for Cave Diggers’
Breakfast on Saturday between 7:30 to 8 a.m. at the Smokey Bear
Restaurant in Capitan. Contact: Lee Skinner (505) 293-5723
[email protected]
September 17-18 Manhole Dig (Carlsbad, NM): On-going
dig project on BLM land. Contact: Stephen Fleming
[email protected]
September 24-28, 2005 - Karst 2005
DoubleTree Hotel, San Antonio, Texas Tenth Multidisciplinary
Conference on Sinkholes and the Engineering and Environmental
Impacts of Karst Sponsored by the Geo-Institute of ASCE, P.E.
Lamoreaux & Associates, Inc., Edwards Aquifer Authority, and
co-sponsored by Southwest Research Institute. For more information visit the website:http://www.asce.org/conferences/karst2005
September 24-25, 2005 High Guads Restoration Project
On-going work amid spectacular scenery in beautiful caves of the
Lincoln National Forest. Last weekend of the month, permits often include Three Fingers, Virgin, Pink Dragon, Pink Panther,
Hidden, Wonderland, and Black Cave. Activities vary from
month to month. Contacts: Susan Herpin or Jennifer Foote [email protected]
October 6-9, 2005 TAG Fall Cave-In - Lookout Mountain,
Georgia . The cavers of Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia get
together in early October for a weekend of parties, speleocompetitions, and lots of "pit bouncing." http://www.
tagfallcavein.org/homex.html
Oct 8-9
Colorado Bend State Park Project: long-time favorite of Mavericks, pretty close to home, excellent project for
beginners, second weekend of month. Caving weekends will
The Maverick Bull
September 2005
occur in October 2005, January and April 2006; during other
months people will work on drafting maps and organizing data.
Contacts: Terry Holsinger (512) 443-4241 [email protected] or
Dale Barnard [email protected]
Oct 15-16 Texas Caver’s Reunion: Everyone is invited to the
28th annual Texas Caver’s Reunion . TCR will be held at Flat
Creek Ranch near Johnson City. Be sure to join the fun...caving,
swimming, hot tub and sauna, competitions, great food, vendors,
live music and best of all...lots of fun times. Info: tcr@oztotl.
com Contact: Allan Cobb [email protected]
•
•
____________________________________________________
2005 Texas Cavers Reunion
•
page 4
good opportunity to join and to show your support for the organization that cares about cavers
and caving in Texas. The TEXAS CAVER, and
the many caving Projects are obvious benefits
provided to you and other cavers by the TSA.
The TSA provides many other benefits that aren't
so obvious--please join and support the TSA.
Vendors of caving equipment and publications
will be set up.
The TCR staff is not in the police business. That
means everyone should police themselves and
those in their clan. In other words.....you are responsible for the behavior of your children and
your guests.
Using Common Sense and Common Courtesy is
the best policy.
Directions
Flat Creek Ranch
October 15-16, 2005
Come one, come all, y'all are invited to the
28th Annual Texas Cavers Reunion. This year,
we will be back at the popular Flat Creek
Ranch located near Pedernales Falls State
Park.
The Fine Print:
• Please remember to bring your own reusable
eating utensils to the Grand Feast and to come
prepared to take your garbage home.
• Well behaved dogs, friends, and family members are welcome, in that order, those that may
tend to be obnoxious should be left elsewhere.
• Port-a-Potties will be provided.
• As a convenience to cavers and in support of
the Texas Region of the NSS, the TSA will be
collecting dues for the 2006 membership year.
If you are not a TSA member, this is a very
From Austin: Head west on Highway 290 to FM
3232, go north until the road ends at FM 2766/County
Road 201. Take a right, go past the entrance to Pedernales Falls State Park and continue until you reach the
entrance to Flat Creek Ranch. Follow the signs to the
campground.
From San Antonio: Head north on Highway 281 until
you reach Highway 290. Go east on 290 until you
reach FM 3232 and go north until the road ends at FM
2766/County Road 201. Take a right, go past the entrance to Pedernales Falls State Park and continue until you reach the entrance to Flat Creek Ranch. Follow
the signs to the campground. For more information
email [email protected]
The Maverick Bull
September 2005
page 5
Maple Run Cave Trip Report
Participants: Dennis & Sharon Welch ,
Chris Welch, Tammy and Charles Goldsmith
August 6th, 2005
by: Charles Goldsmith
Maple Run is also known as Muddy Bottom I'm told,
but I didn't see a lot of mud, just a small bit. The cave
is dirty, don't get me wrong, and the cover photo
proves it.
But if you want to see a really muddy bottom in a
cave, go find Mud Cave in Arkansas. It's within hiking
distance of Fitton. The cave is one large cavern, about
50 feet high, 75 feet wide and 50 feet back and about
30 feet down to the back where the mud flows
through. We got just a little ways in and were up to
our knees in mud and we were easily 25 feet from the
back of the cavern. It was fine silt mud and it looked
like fine chocolate and seemed like you could swim
in it.
Anyways, I digress, Maple Run is muddy, but not the
worse I've seen. Maple Run is a nice leisurely hike of
about 1/4 mile and the entrance is nice and secluded.
Guarded by mosquitoes I should say, and of course
locked. Dennis opened things up and invited someone
to lead in. I had my backpack on and jumped in. I wasn't five feet into the cave, sitting in a small pit when I
saw the next step, or crawl. There was not even
enough room to crawl through with my backpack on,
so I sat back, took the pack off and crawled through.
I never put my pack back on throughout the entire
cave, I never had a chance. This cave is 97% crawling
and you must drag and push your pack with you.
Elbow pads are a must in this cave (I hate them and
didn't bring mine, big mistake) and it's advised to wear
coveralls, so clothes don't hang (like my shirt did sliding down rock on my stomach) and pockets don't get
caught.
The cave temperature was a bit surprising to me. All
of the caves I've been in have been in the 50 degree
range. This one was only about 70 to 75, but still felt
very good after the 95 degree humidity outside. Texas
caves are unique. Dennis had a good laugh at all of us,
he was pulling tail duty and advising us on how the
best way to go. The next small pit was about three
feet deep and he advised that we go in head first to
navigate the following twists and turns. Well, we all of
course followed his advice. He then conveniently remembered that its the third crawl space that requires a
head first dive and goes feet first. We all decided that
the next pit should be done head first by Dennis. He
politely declined, and I'm almost positive he
snickered at us. During this last crawl down, head
first, my LED light strap broke (it was a cheap rubber
strap) when my cheap construction helmet dropped off
my head. So far, this helmet has done me fine for all
the caves we've been to in Arkansas, but for a crawling cave, this simply won't do.
Charles Goldsmith in a tight crawl without his head
lamp.
By the time we arrived in the Rainbow room, we had
scampered down and along far enough that I was totally muddy and pretty winded from pulling my gut
through the very tight crawl spaces. I'm way too out of
shape to have tried this cave safely, and it was only the
patience and knowledge of the Welch's that pulled me
through it. My waste is only thirty six inches, but my
gut through the very tight crawl spaces. I'm way too
out of shape to have tried this cave safely, and it was
The Maverick Bull
September 2005
page 6
only the patience and knowledge of the Welch's guess how they are made. Dennis told us about two of
that pulled me through it. My waste is only thirty six these unique formations that have grown together in
inches, but my gut is forty three, so anyone with a big- the Caverns of Sonora to form what looks like a butger stomach than
terfly. Something
mine, shouldn't try
that I've put on my
this cave. My arms
must see list of
are sore today from
things to do in the
using all my upper
central Texas area.
body strength to pull
myself
through
On the crawl out,
some of those tight
near the exit, we did
places, and I was
see our only creavery tired by the
ture in the cave. A
time we got out.
very small baby
Anyway, the rainscorpion that did
bow room gets its
not want his picture
name from one of
taken. It took many
two places accordtries to get him foing to Dennis. One,
cused while zoomthe varied colors of
ing, as he scamthe rock all over the
pered around, going
room can be similar
from rock to rock
to a rainbow's varied
trying to hide from
colors. Two, it's
us. Talk about camshaped
like
a
era shy!
rainbow on the map.
Either way, it was
Many thanks to
the first room that
Dennis and Sharon
we could sit up in
for taking us to this
(or
stand
and
cave, we had a good
stretch) and relax a
time and hopefully
bit. The next bit of
they didn't tire of
crawling is a blur to
waiting on me. I
me, I was struggling
learned quite a bit
to keep up and not
of info and am
slow people down.
looking forward to
There was quite a bit From left to right: Sharon Welch, Chris Welch and
the next trip with them.
more crawling and pull- Dennis Welch taking a break in Maple Run Cave
ing myself along.
After the cave, we cleaned
We passed a bigger
up and drove out to see
room and had a scramble down to the next crawl. Den- Becky Jones of Gonzo Guano Gear (http://www.
nis will have to remind me the name of this room. gonzoguanogear.com) to load up on vertical gear and a
We had to climb, twist, turn and contort our bodies new helmet/light combo for me. She was great at exup and around to get up and
plaining the pros and cons of each piece of gear and
then back down into the Room of Earthly Delights. took the time to give us a bit of instruction. I'm sorry I
This room had the pretties in it and was worth all took up so much of her Saturday afternoon, but it was
the strain and struggle I went through.
Dennis money well spent in my opinion. I definitely suggest
pointed out the fishtail helictites that are a rarity. her for any caving gear you might need, especially her
There were beautiful formations and I can’t even
custom built harnesses.
The Maverick Bull
September 2005
page 7
Northern Arkansas Trip Report July 16-17, 2005
By: Scott Boyd
I left home about 11:30am Friday
and headed for Missouri. I got
stopped for speeding in Colbert,
about seven miles into Oklahoma,
and decided I would just put it out of
my mind and not let the ticket ruin
my weekend. I arrived at Roaring
River State Park in southern Missouri approximately eight hours
later. I found the campsite where
Dan Smith said he would be staying,
along with Milo Mark's tent. No one
was there, so I went looking for the
Cox's campsite and finally found
them in campground #1. I stayed
there for a few minutes, and went
back and set up my tent.
We all gathered at about 8:30 Saturday morning at the Cox's campsite
to go in a four-vehicle caravan to
Whippoorwill Cave in the Madison
County Wildlife Management Area
in Arkansas. It took us about two
Group photo in Whippoorwill Cave
hours to get there. Sixteen people in
all spent about four to four and a
half hours exploring Whippoorwill
Cave. We had split up into small
groups of two to four people and
went separate ways exploring the
numerous passages and crawlways.
Dan from Missouri left the cave
early and took his three boys with
him, so there were only ten or
eleven of us that went on to the
next cave.
The next cave we visited was
Pine Creek Cave, which was also
in the Madison County WMA.
Lots of time was spent trying to
find a way around the "birthing canal" passage that almost everyone
went through to get to the back of
Formations in Pine Creek Cave
the cave. Lex was in a room in the
cave that was after the birthing canal, but he hadn't gone through it,
so we knew there was another way
back. We finally found it, and I
along with some others were relieved that we didn't have to go
back through the birthing canal
passage. We spent about three
hours or so in there exploring the
many passageways. Most of the
formations we saw were way in the
back of the cave. Most everyone
spent some time admiring the formations before we started back to
the entrance. When we finally got
back in the trucks to go back to
camp, I was surprised to see that it
was already 8:30 in the evening!
Time sure flies when you're having
fun caving! We returned to camp
about 10:00pm. We cleaned up
and all went to the Cox's campsite
for a delicious dinner of hamburgers, chicken, and sliced brisket.
Dan Smith followed up with
homemade vanilla ice cream for
dessert.
Sunday morning we decided we
would go to Lynn's Cave. We
drove most of the way there in four
vehicles because some of us were
going straight back to Texas afterwards. Once we turned off the
pavement, we drove for several
miles on dirt roads. When we got
part way up a mountain, the road
got too rough for those of us with
two wheel drive vehicles to go further. We parked the vehicles near a
small, run-down shack next to the
road, and piled into Lex's truck for
the trip further up the road, which
really couldn't be called a "road"
any more. Lex and Tammy found
the right spot to stop, and we hiked
a short distance up the side of a
hill to the cave entrance. Lynn's
cave was like a maze, with lots of
turns and intersecting passages.
We also found a lot of pits that we
figured must have been some kind
of mining operation sometime in
the past. We also found several
salamanders in the cave. After a
Salamander in Lynn’s Cave
The Maverick Bull
September 2005
couple of hours of exploring Lynn's Cave, we left the
cave and went back to where we had parked. We all
said our goodbyes to each other and headed down the
hill in our vehicles.
I caught up with Dan and Cheryl in Clarksville, and
we decided to have lunch together at a local burger
joint. While traveling through Oklahoma, I decided to
stop off at a casino about ten miles north of the state
line on US-69. I intended to lose only $10.00, but I
walked out twenty minutes later and $25.00 richer.
Overall, I had a great time and lots of fun. Thanks
Lex and Tammy for inviting me along and thanks for
the good food.
A few of the group in Whippoorwill Cave
page 8
Website Stuff
By Butch Fralia
September is a slow time for the newsletter because there’s not a lot going on in the Texas caving
world due to the heat. To help fill the gap, here are
some factoids about the Maverick Grotto website.
The website uses 300MB of an available
750MB of server space. This is comprised of 430
PDF files, 2103 pictures, and 153 web pages. It’s one
of the largest caving websites. A page download includes any graphics (images, buttons) on the page. A
web page as you see it isn’t a single file but a number
of different files. When the larger caving websites on
the Internet. In the web world, it’s classified as an
information site. Apparently people use it to find
caving information because so far this year, the website has been visited 9011 times from 6350 unique
Internet addresses.
How do people get to the website? 65.1% from
bookmarks, 29% from search engines, and 5.5% from
links on other websites. 121 visitors have added us to
their bookmarks during a visit. What do they look at
when they get there? After the home page, the photo
gallery page is the most visited with 1238 visits, followed by the Phantom Springs photographs with 1057
visits. Page views looked at are 25,930 and 3.63 GB
of data has been downloaded. There aren’t 25,930
pages on the website so that means a lot of pages get
looked at again and again. Each time a web page is
visited, it’s considered a download look at a photo
page, each of the thumbnail pictures is a separate page
that must be downloaded when you visit.
Search engines have downloaded 4.99 GB of
data. Expressed in numbers that’s 4,990,000,000 characters of data. In particular, they seem to really love
looking at newsletters. Maybe that’s a testament to
the many great articles that have appeared in the newsletter over the years. Google alone has downloaded
1.31 GB for indexing into the search engine.
Lynn’s Cave in Arkansas
Due to a search engine optimization, performed early this year, 2038 search terms have
led many different people to our website.
The Maverick Bull
September 2005
The top ten searches year to date are listed below:
Search Term
Fitton Cave
Maverick Photos
Maverick Grotto
Bustamante Cave
Fitton Cave Arkansas
Grotto
Endless Cave
Ed Goff
Golondrinas Cave
Maverick Bull
# of Times
129
62
57
23
18
17
15
15
14
14
The searches have included names of past and present
grotto personalities like Ed Goff, John Langevin and
others. Some interesting terms lead people to visit us
like:
fernando bull cartoons
are there any hidden caves in lancaster?
picture of a maverick bull
dangerous dick duckbusters
photos of giant human bones
underground caves found in cameron oklahoma
pic of the bull bodacious
san sntonio pink panther located
photos of people parachuting
feral pigs fort worth texas
meeting girlfriend from puerto ric
george washington caver famous inventor
what are the effect of indecent dressing in a society
does a misdemeanor vandalism have to be disclosed
pictures of any 5 airborne diseases
sierra poetry club in austin near breaker
Some of the terms above are obviously misspellings
but still humorous like George Washington Caver and
you have to wonder about the person looking for underground caves in Oklahoma. I’ve never thought
about our website being a place to meet Puerto Rican
Girls. I still haven’t found any pictures of airborne
diseases either.
page 9
Gonzo Guano Gear
Your Caving Gear Headquarters!
Established 1989
Serious caving requires serious
gear...
we supply that gear
263 CR 117
Llano, TX 78643
Phone: 325-247-5165
Fax: 325-247-2475
[email protected]
Sponsor of the Texas Speleological Association, Proyecto Espeleologico Purificacion,
Proyecto Oxmolon, and
The Cheve & Cerro Rabon Projects, Oaxaca,
Mexico
Please mail any questions or comments to:
[email protected]
or
[email protected]
GGG Top Loading Bat Packs
In red or yellow PVC with black accents, these packs
have adjustable 1.75" web shoulder straps, a carry
handle on the side, compression straps, and a tether
loop. They also have a webbing skirt around the bottom seam to protect this section from abrasion. These
top-loading packs have a small
pocket near the top on the inside
to hold your little odds and ends.
Med. TL Bat Pack
$55
Lg. TL Bat Pack
$60
The Maverick Bull
September 2005
page 10
Lex Cox coming out of a tight squeeze in
Pine Creek Cave in Arkansas
Maverick Grotto
c/o Tammy Cox
237 Gwen St.
Azle, TX. 76020