Jim Jacobs
I'd like to thank all of the folks who contributed to this issue. Since my schedule has been so full the last year
or so, my personal contributions have, of necessity, been limited. No time for caving means no caving stories.
How I've been filling my weekends may make interesting personal conversation, but I can't write about it in a caving
magazine. I not only miss caving, but I miss writing about caving. But the NNN goes on and on! You hold in your
hand a fine bunch of stories, but one in particular, shines like a small jewel! New member BRETT BENNETT penned
a report of his first trip to Wayne's Lost, and it's a fine article in its' own right. But he also includes a small
sidebar story about his personal encounter with "crawlway anxiety", and how he overcame the problem with
a little help from his friends that will make most of us exclaim, "Yeah! I remember that! That's *exactly*
how it happened to me! Wish I'd written that!" It's his willingness to put his own feelings on the line that
make it an exceptional story. Thanks, Brett.
NNG members were treated to a personalized tour of the Brookfield Zoo in June, with special emphasis on the bat exhibits. This trip grew from connections which we made at the Bat Symposium. JOHN MARQUART describes this special trip for those of us who [alas!] were unable to participate.
LARA STORM attended the NSS convention. We didn't. She tells us about it. We wish we had gone with her.
Much of this issue is comprised of first-hand accounts of the recent McBrides' Cave rescue. Much more interesting than the newspaper accounts. (The terrified spelunkers realized that death might await them). Sheesh!
The 44th Annual INDIANA CAVE CAPERS, sponsored by the Central Indiana Grotto, will take place Aug. 1-3, at Pic-A-Chic Farms, 10 minutes south of Bloomington, Indiana. I suppose that there are enough caves in that area to keep everyone busy! Naturally, the fliers came too late to include in the previous NNN, and we didn't have a June meeting, so I couldn't hand them out. I have the information, so if anyone wants to go, contact me.
It's getting near to the time of year when we choose our officers for the next year. It's not too early to think about, anyway. According to the NNG bylaws, President John Marquart will have to step down at the end of this term of office, since this is his second year. (Only the president is so limited.) John has led us to undreamed-of heights and honors, and has earned a very special place in the NNG history. Thank you, John, from all of us!
Brett Bennett
NNG Members: Norm Rogers, Greg Phillips, Chris Dinesen, Tonja Frazer, Lara Storm, Nick and Brett Bennett
What a weekend for firsts! Going to Waynes's Lost Cave, taking my son on his first wild cave, and me trying to quit smoking. (Unfortunately, I have never been able to drive for long distances without smoking. I'll have to try again when I'm not trying so many new things at once.)
We met everyone at McDonald's before 10 a.m., said our hello's and proceeded to Bent Arrow to purchase some supplies. Greg and I needed to get halogen bulbs for our Zooms. (Also got a few stickers for me and Nick.)
On to the cave. We parked along the side of the road and proceeded to prepare for Wayne's. You know, I need a mother just before entering a cave. I always forget something to carry in. This time it was my headband and bandanna. Oh well, I remembered the food and water.
For those who have not visited Wayne's, you enter an 18 inch square grate at the base of a tree, then drop down 10 to 12 feet into the Old Wayne's section. This is kind of fun; climbing down using tree roots as hand holds then hitting rock. Greg was the first down then we lowered Nick. I was next, and I, in turn, helped everyone after me.
Now what stared us in the face is one of the most intimidating sections of cave that there is. A 1500 foot crawlway. Do you realize how far that is? Well, get in your car and drive 3/10 of a mile. Most people don't like to walk a quarter of a mile let alone do it on hands and knees. Some places on the belly, because the ceiling is only 16 inches high.
It was decided that we would send Nick into the crawl with Greg and Lara, since they were the fastest crawlers. Norm also decided that I was to go last. (Real reason: If I got stuck, the rest of the group could finish the cave then come back and unstick me. Ha-ha!!!)
We started the crawl with Greg, Lara, and Nick in the first group. (Zoom!!! Gone!!! Didn't see them again until camp one.) Norm led the rest of us onward. He split it up into three sections, about 1/3 of the way each. In the first section, during the first tight squeeze, I had my head in the wrong position and couldn't see but a few inches at a time for about 50 feet, except for the times when I kept running into Tonja's feet. About 10 minutes into the crawl I had my doubts about being able to complete it. (Details in attached story.)
We joined back up with the first group at camp one. Nick was feeling pretty good. I was relieved to just be out of the crawl. I was concerned that Lara and Greg might be tired of having Nick after that long crawl but Norm assured me that Nick would be okay. It's that thing with kids being much better when their parents are with them. (Thank you Greg and Lara for taking care of him.)
At camp one, we rested for a while as Lara refilled her carbide lamp and I dug mine out for its' first use. After this short break, we made an assault on camp two. (Some concern that this might be difficult was made known, especially since Norm got them lost the last time.) We climbed over, under, up and down breakdown all the way. Past Fraternity Rock, Breakdown Mount, and crossing the Natural Bridge, we made it to camp two.
Here we rested and ate lunch. I noticed what was left of some graffiti. Someone said that before the restoration, that Wayne's looked like Buckner's. I found that hard to believe. (Buckner's looks like a subway train.)
After this break we went a little farther to get pictures in Helictite Holler. This is where I saw my first formations. Helictites covering the ceiling, the remains of a snowball, some gypsum formations and moon milk. Everyone turned off the lights as I took a picture of the milk, and it glowed after the flash. (That was cool!!)
At about this time Nick decided he was ready to leave the cave. Now picture a 10 year old wanting to do something. They want it Right Now! No waiting, just NOW!! Greg kept teasing him about the elevator at the other end. (Oh boy, would Nick be disappointed.) We turned around and headed back towards the crawl. Why does it take a shorter time getting back somewhere than it takes to get there in the first place?
We rested at camp one before we made our escape through the crawl. Same rest stops on the way out but this time I asked which direction to put my head. [Note: In this section of the crawl. many of us REMOVE our helmets and push them ahead.-Ed] This really helped. Norm and Chris didn't wait for Tonja and I this time. They were gooonnne!!
We strapped our packs to our ankles on the way out. This helped a great deal. I was going to take a picture at the H-squeeze on the way out, Tonja even reminded me, but as she said on the way in, "You won't want to on the way out."
Norm was waiting to help us out. We started the crawl at 4:50 p.m. and finished at 6:20 p.m. (Whoa, one hour and a half.)
I do know one thing, Nick doesn't ever want to go back to THAT CAVE. Overall, Nick did good. I'm real proud of him. Who knows, maybe we'll go back in September when Rich is healed. I'm even taking my wife, Angi. (Hope she gets over her claustrophobia.) Later, Cave Folk
Brett Bennett
The Particulars:
Date: 5-31-97
Time: 12:15 p.m. CST
Location: Wayne's Lost Cave - Crawlway
Symptoms: Fear, anxiety, total lack of confidence in oneself.
This is not really a caving report, but it has to do with what I experienced about 10 minutes into the crawl at Wayne's Lost Cave. I was last in line to enter the crawlway that Saturday morning. This was determined because I had the biggest proportions in the group. This was okay with me because I didn't want to hold anybody up. After about 50 feet, it became tight. Butt rubbing on the ceiling, head in the wrong position, not being able to see around the bends. Now, I'm not claustrophobic, but all this combined caused me to really start to doubt myself. I feared that I would not be able to make it. I was ready to turn around, didn't want to go on, just knew I couldn't make it. Nope, not me. Self doubt? You bet. How does one deal with this? That tight spot didn't help any. 1500 foot crawl! Who am I kidding? I don't even like to walk much let alone crawl. No way!! Not me!!!
By now you must be wondering what made me change my mind. Well, my 10 year old son was on the trip with me. No one wants to look like a failure to their children. I sure don't. With a renewed desire and the encouragement and coaching I received from Tonja Frazer, I continued on. With her encouragement an assurance I made it out of the crawl.
Later after we finished the crawl, I told this to Norm. He told me that everyone needs some encouragement from time to time, and that someday it will be my turn to coach someone through a difficult passage. You know, in a way I'm looking forward to that day.
Thanks to all of you for the encouragement that you have given to me and others.
VISITING BATS AT THE BROOKFIELD ZOO
John R. Marquart
Our story really starts at the 26th North American Symposium on Bat research held in Bloomington, Illinois last October. It was there that some of us Near Normalites met Jim Rowell, the bat specialist for Brookfield Zoo, formally named the Chicago Zoological Park. Jim was there to represent the zoo and serve other functions, such as making the official video recordings of the talks. Jim is a very friendly and open person whom we got to know quite well. When the Symposium closed on Sunday, Jim joined the group that we escorted to see our handiwork at the Blackball Mine as the official field trip for the Symposium. Tonja Fraser and I talked with him about the bats at Brookfield Zoo and he graciously invited our grotto on a VIP behind-the-scenes tour of the zoo. We appreciatively accepted his offer and decided to make it a grotto field trip to this world-class, 216-acre zoo in the spring.
Finally, after what seemed like a never ending winter, spring came and Tonja made the arrangements that Saturday, June 28 was to be our field trip to replace our regular Friday monthly meeting. It was 11:00 a.m. on this beautiful, sunny Saturday that 30 some Near Normalites and their families and friends converged at the south parking lot of Brookfield Zoo. Jim Rowell met us there for "Jim's Bat Tour." I had been expecting that all the bats would be lined up in cages in one building so you would see this bat and then that bat, all in a neat, but unnatural row. That wasn't the case at all. The live bats were spread throughout the zoo, with each species mixed with live vegetation and other live animals in its own environment. It is a great way to show us how bats really live and interact with the ecology and it is great for the bats to be able to continue to live in such a natural way, instead of being caged as freaks on display.
Jim led us from building to building as we toured a wide variety of different environments, from desert, to rain forest, to wetland swamp. At each stop Jim pointed out the bats that reside there and provided details about them. The bats were hard to pick out. Nature had endowed them with natural camouflage and they would hide in dark places, like inside dead trees. Still Jim showed his expertise on the subject of bats by quickly telling us where to look. The "Swamp: Wonders of Our Wetlands" was a particularly exciting experience. As we walked along the spongy path into a dark, misty room, bats were all around. They hung from trees and flew close to our heads. No bars or glass separated us from them here. I overheard one lady repeat the well known, (and wrong) tale that you should, "Look out, they get tangled in your hair". Other more malicious slander was voiced by other uninformed. Here we also saw many other nocturnal animals, like owls, being active in this artificial nighttime. We visited the rain forest of Australia, or at least a close resemblance to it. I didn't even know Australia had rain forests. There we saw herds of huge Flying Fox bats hanging from tree limbs and flying over our heads. Then came a real thrill that the usual tourist doesn't get. Jim took us into a special room and had a lady attendant bring in a live Flying Fox for us to examine. She explained that some of them were so friendly that when a slice of fruit was held out, they would come land on your arms to feed. This beauty, with its smooth brown fur and pretty fox-like head and face, was one of those particularly friendly ones. The bat kept her four-foot long wings folded as she fed undisturbed while we closely examined and photographed her. Nice bat, but don't plan on having one for a pet. It's illegal, without a special permit. Jim said that someone did steal one by carrying it out, but it was rediscovered later. Apparently, the thief either got worried about being caught or had a bad conscience about his/her misdeed. I was with my son, Bob, and his two youngest, Robert, Jr. - 7 and John -6. With regret, we had to comply with their impatience when we saw the long line waiting to get into our next stop. I believe it was the "Seven Seas Panorama." The afternoon heat was getting to the kids, me too, and we decided to leave the group and see a few large animals before heading home. The star of our side trip was "Tropic World" with "Binti", the 8-year-old mamma gorilla who rescued the 3-year-old boy in August. The news media gave Brookfield Zoo some world-wide fame when the boy somehow climbed the 3-1/2 foot guard railing to fall a good twenty to thirty feet into the gorilla enclosure. With her own 17-month-old infant on her back, Binti picked up the unconscious boy and cradled him in her arms as she took him to the access door where park attendants could get him to safety. We saw Binti below still gently cuddling her baby gorilla and were told that gorillas have a long nurtured childhood. My own grandsons climbed up to get a better look and were quickly chastised by an excited guard. No more fame for Binti if they could help it! Julie Angel expressed deep feelings when she saw Binti softly stroking the head of her baby just as a human mother would do. It made us all realize that we are not that far separated from these wild creatures in spite of all our "civilized" human devices. That was a realization to ponder as we drove the long way home and I mean the LONG WAY! With Bob driving and me navigating, we got very lost and saw lots of west Chicago that wasn't on our planned tour. Julie made the mistake of following us. She had to since she had agreed to haul my grandson, John, with her to keep her own youngster, Michael, company. When we finally found our way to I-57 over an hour later, she was laughing heartily. Earlier, we had made fun of her for getting lost on the way up and ending up at O'Hare Airport. Who has the last laugh now?
Even after getting home hours late, all we could think about was what a great time we had! We really appreciate Jim Rowell for doing all that for us. We expect to be seeing more of him too. I invited him to come to one of our grotto meetings to give a talk on bats and he agreed. We can look forward to another interesting and educational experience from a bat pro.
Lara C. Storm
The beginning of the 1997 NSS Convention held in Sullivan, Missouri was marked by a heavy rain producing floodwater that prevented several registrants from reaching the campground. Coming from Kentucky, I arrived in Sullivan around one o'clock Sunday morning. I ended up sleeping in the school gymnasium along with a few others that night. The next morning, the backroads of Bourbon could be taken to reach the soggy Blue Springs Campground.
I ended up camping with the Ohioans because I already knew one of them from the Western Kentucky caving course I had taken the week earlier (Speleology with Roger Brucker). On Monday morning, I accompanied one of the Ohioans to a talk entitled Electronics and Communication. The most interesting topic discussed in this talk was a small video camera/VCR that could be attached to a long pole and used in caves to find out if a lead goes (specifically, to find out if a lead, to tight to fit in, goes). The contraption was demonstrated, and a video tape of its use in the cave was shown. The most significant event of Monday was the Howdy Party. It began at 6:30 p.m. with a nice dinner which was followed by socializing and dancing.
Every morning there were talks that could be attended, displays to view, contests to participate in (or watch), workshops to go to, vendors to shop from, or cave trips to go on. Conventioneers could either visit commercial caves or lead their own trips into wild caves nearby. On Tuesday evening, there was a hoe-down. On Wednesday, the MCKC hosted a pasta dinner under one of the pavilions in the campground. On a walk back from the dinner to my tent, I got caught (and soaked) in a rainstorm. During the day on Thursday, there was a blood drive at the convention headquarters in Sullivan. I participated in the blood drive-- for thirty minutes as others came, gave, and left-- and felt surprisingly weak for the rest of the day. After giving blood, I attended a talk on cave survey software which included some very interesting demonstrations of the computer programs. Later, I went to listen to a talk on Illinois Biospeleology. That evening was the Photo and Video Salon, an awesome presentation of some of the talents of the members of the NSS.
Thursday evening, at midnight, a very strange event occurred. People from all over the campground gathered around a small baby pool, full of multiple packs of cooked Ramen noodles, to witness the bizarre occurrence. Persuasion was necessary to get
volunteers to participate in the competition, the Ramen noodle wrestling. The rules were simple: no shoes, no jewelry, and if you fall out of the baby pool it starts all over again. Observing, it seemed amusing and strange. Participating, it was a lot of fun.
Friday was the last day of the convention. That night there was an awards banquet to honor many special members of the National Speleological Society. What a week! I learned a lot, I met new people, and I had a lot of fun. This was my first convention, but it is not my last. It is one of those great experiences in your life where you wonder why you never did it sooner. I encourage everyone to give it a try. . . the 1998 convention is in Sewanee, Tennessee. . . I hope to see you all there.
Alan Cressler (Atlanta, Georgia)
cressler@usgs.gov
This is a factual account of the events last weekend at McBrides Cave. (At least my version)
The group consisted of Andy Porter, Andy Zellner, Brent Aulenbach, Nancy Aulenbach, Shane Snyder, Gary Chambers, Steve Collins, Gerald Moni, Forest Platt, Doug Strait, and Alan Cressler. Our group was looking for a wet multidrop to do on Saturday that would not take all day so we could get back for the evening events at SERA. McBrides was the cave of choice because it was a pull down and easily done in high water. We were WELL aware that there was a good chance of rain and that it would be a high tide trip. NOAA weather radio was consulted on several occasions before we left for the trip and on the way to the cave. There is some discrepancy as to what I heard and what Andy Porter heard. I was listening to the forcast issued out of Morristown, Tenn. A flash flood watch was issued for east Tennessee, Western North Carolina through southern Virginia. The Tennessee counties that were listed were Hamilton, Bradley, Polk, Mcminn, and Monroe. I personally heard no counties listed for the Cumberland Plateau. Andy says he heard the Cumberland Plateau listed in the watch. He could have been listening to station out of another city. Of the people on the trip, I had been through the cave at least a dozen times, several of which had been high tide trips. Andy P, Andy Z, Gary, Doug, Steve, and Gerald has been through the cave on one or more trips. Gerald was on the connection trip from the upper cave and lower cave. After getting permission from Mrs Lloyd to do the cave, I went to look at the lower entrance. There was water issuing from the entrance but that is not unusual after a rain. I had done it several times in that condition. When we got to the upper entrance, there was plenty of water going into natural bridge sink and the first few drops were wet. That is also not unusual. The outside ravines were not flowing and there were no signs to me that the ground was as saturated as it was. Everyone was having a great time in the water. When we finally reached the main stream, it was flowing pretty good. I knew it would be challenging but still was not worried. The first problem happened above the 90 ft pit. Andy P. went down the 8 ft climbdown first and I jumped into the plunge pool next. This is the same pool that Darcy Duin broke her ankle in two years ago. I didn't hit anything and even though Forest was directed on where to land, she hit the same thing that Darcy hit and damaged her ankle severely. Forest was given the option to climb back to the big room and wait for the upper cave to be rerigged for an escape out the upper entrance. She opted to continue out the lower route. After dealing with that for a while we rigged the 90 ft pit with a single line and everyone got down. Doug rigged the double line and made it down with out too much trouble. We pulled down the rope and continued. The next two drops were done with either Gary, Shane, or myself assisting Forest. At the bottom of the 7th drop, there is a ~50 ft crawl that leads to a difficult lip at a 9 ft pit. In normal water, one crawls in and riggs to a rope rigged through a loop about one ft from the edge. I rigged the drop with assistance from Gary but realize that it would be impossible to rig a rack because of the water flow. I used another technique that I done before. Since it was only 9 ft, I just grabbed the rope and swung around and lowered myself to the ledge. That worked fine. The method was explaned to Forest and with my assistance did the same thing. I spotted Gary next. After we were all down to the ledge, I went down the next 9 ft section to the bottom of the drop and spotted Forest followed by Gary. We moved Forest into a nice dry area out of the water and airflow. In the meantime, Andy P came down unassisted and made it to the bottom of the drop. We had 4 full sets of vertical equipment on the trip and Gary had a set. As he was about to climb the rope to help spot others down the 9 ft pit, we heard distressful calls from Gerald. Gary climbed the rope to find Gerald on the ledge with a broken leg. Although communications were poor, Gary managed to convey to me that he had a broken leg and that we would not be able to move him down the rest of the drop and into the dry area. (I estimate the air space at the top of the 9 ft drop was 6 inchs when we did it. The air space got lower for the last people to come through. One rumor that I heard was our group was scattered and separated. This was not true. There were lag times involved in that many people doing two close drops with an difficult spot between them.) Gary made the decision that a rescue needed to be called out. I cut off a piece of that pull down rope to static rig the 9th drop and began to move Forest and Andy P towards the lower entrance. There was about 200-250 ft of low crawling with a 4-5 inch air space. That was easily done and we made it to the 9th and last drop. I static rigged the pit and backed it up to the pull down rig. All the water went down a 3 ft diameter hole so it was sporting. Gerald was injured about 1630 EDT and the three of us made it out of the cave by 1730 EDT. We had no major problems on the traverse but we were slowed by Forest having to crawl or float the whole way. It was only towards the lower entrance that I noticed a flood pulse was coming through the cave. The water was charged with organic debris and there were pressure spouts from formations and flowstone was flowing. We never lost airflow in the cave although it was weak. The outside temperature was only 58 degrees. When I went to the Lloyds house and explained that there had been an accident, they called 911 before I could dial the number to the Scottsboro Rescue Squad. 911 did patch me over to the Squad and I talked to a person whos name I don't remember. He paged Milton Polsky who called me back within a few minutes. I explained the serious situation and told him that Hamiliton County Cave and Cliff Rescue, Huntsville, and Walker County Rescue should be involved. After hanging up with him, I called Doranne Lane and got Buddy's car phone number and Dennis Curry's number I left messages at both places and within a few minutes Buddy called me back. I explained the situation to him. In the meantime, Milton showed up and offically invited the other rescue squads. About 1 hr and 15 minutes after we exited the cave, Nancy, Brent, and Doug exited the cave. One of them will have to post their experience. I borrowed a yard stick from the Lloyds and Andy and I set up a crude staff gauge at in the creek to moniter the rise and fall of the creek. We started monitering at 1800 EDT. There was a slow rise for two hours with a gain of two inchs. It crested around 2000 EDT and began to slowly fall about an hour later. It dropped about 4 inchs by the time that Gerald was brought out. Cavers started showing up about 2 hrs after the first call. John Stembel, and Jack Thomison were the first followed by Marion Smith, Don Coons, John Swartz, people from the Scottsboro Rescue Squad and Chattanooga Squad. I am not going into the chronology of the actual rescue nor what the events were for the four people left in the cave with Gerald over the next 12-15 hours. That would best be done by one of them. Gerald was brought to the lower entrance around 1515 EDT on Sunday and air lifted to Erlanger Hospital in Chattanooga. After talking to Jackie Lloyd, he said that a hard and steady rain began about 1530 EDT and lasted to 1600 EDT. It was still lightly raining when we first exited the cave. On saturated ground that was all it took for a flood event. During Saturday night and Sunday the National Weather Service had placed the Tennessee portion of the Plateau in a flash flood watch calling for 1-2 inchs of rain. Fortunately for the operation, it never seriously rained any of the time. Mr. Lloyd had internet access in his office and we monitered the rain with radar images from Intellicast Weather. It is true that poor judgement was used in the choice of doing any wet cave in the Plateau area. It is fortunate that we didn't choose an in-and-out cave. It would have been impossible to climb against the water in any cave, especially some of the ones that were offered. We should have been more aware of the saturated nature of the ground although some of the telltale signs were not really evident, flowing surface ravines, flooded field, etc. The ground just looked wet. I should have never let Forest jump into the pool. It requires an accuracy and percision that she missed although people jump into it all the time. It is fortunate that if someone had to break a leg it was Gerald. He is probable the only one who could have survived 15 hours on a ledge in a waterfall. We had a great deal of experience of our side. When the situration turned nasty, everyone handled themselves in a highly competent manner and no one panicked. We just did what we had to do, including Forest. If Gerald had not broken his leg, we would have all made it out with a good scary story. I would like to lastly say that I know many people will criticize us for this blunder and that is appropriate. However, there is some extremely good experience that can be gained from a situation like this. This is my third such experience with a flood pulse in a cave. They can usually be perdicted and avoided in most cases however they can strike at any time in ones caving career. It is better to have some experience in dealing with one than to not know at all. If a person decides to do this kind of caving, that person is at risk from these events. All eleven of us have a little more experience of how to survive and help others survive this kind of event. I would also like to think a large group of people who are the best at what they do--the Rescue Squads. If it were not for these dedicated people, the rest of us might as well stop caving. Alan McBrides is not closed. Jackie Lloyd said that it will be business as usual except that no one will be allowed to enter the cave after or during periods of rain. It is a very nice and friendly cave that everyone should experience (deep vertical cavers anyway), except when it is in flood.
WHEN HYPOTHERMIA IS A GOOD THING...
Dean Wiseman (Indianapolis, Indiana)
GWISEMAN@INDYVAX.IUPUI.EDU
I've read about the McBride's Rescue involving Gerald and Forest, and I'd like to make a point: Often times, we tend to think of hypothermia and reduced body temperature as our enemy in the cave. But in this particular situation, I am inclined to think that hypothermia may have SAVED Gerald's life, and may have been key in allowing Forest to exit at all.
I'm not sure as to the nature and extent of Gerald's leg fracture, but I suspect from the description that it was a femur fracture, or possibly a severe tibial fracture. In both cases, it's not unusual for an injured person to lose a liter or more of blood inside the leg, even if the skin is not broken. Cooling the body's core temperature causes a heat conservation response whereby blood supply to the extremeties and exterior of the body is greatly reduced. In Gerald's case, less blood circulation in his legs may have allowed him to maintain a reasonable blood pressure during his ordeal. Think of it as kind of like applying a very large ice pack. It just kept the swelling (blood loss) at bay.
Hypovolemic shock is, by far, a much greater threat than hypothermia, in terms of how quickly it can kill. That's part of the reason why splinting in the field is a very good skill to have, because splinting can help reduce internal blood loss from a bone fracture.
The same thing applies to Forest as well. One side effect of hypothermia is a reduction in nerve function, and while she was still in a heck of a lot of pain, the cold may have helped reduce the effects of injury just enough for her to tolerate movement and facilitate a "rapid" exit from the cave--avoiding a much more complicated rescue situation. In a warmer situation, Forest's injury could have quickly swelled resulting in a total loss of ability to move. I'm never going to say hypothermia is necessarily a "good" thing; Loss of muscle coordination and strength from hypothermia may have caused Gerald's mishap in the first place. However, in this case, I hope you can see that perhaps hypothermia can be beneficial at times.
GET FIRST AID TRAINING, OR BETTER YET, BECOME AN E.M.T. IF YOU ARE TRAINED, PRACTICE YOUR SKILLS!!! Don't wait for the real thing to bite you in the ass.
TOP TEN COMMENTS OVERHEARD AT McBRIDES RESCUE
Bill Putnam (Lawrenceville, Georgia )
putnam@icn.msm.edu
Here they are folks, straight from the Home Office
in Stevenson, Alabama:
The Top Ten Comments Overheard on the McBride's Cave Rescue!
(as recorded by hidden microphone)
Number 10:
Well Alan, what were you guys doing in there?
Number 9:
Rain? What Rain?
Number 8:
Now I know what Salmon feel like.
Number 7:
!@%$ &!$#%^! !%$#@$ (and various other obscenities from Marion Smith)
Number 6:
Hey Zellner, are you Break Dancing or just shivering?
Number 5:
Tell Dennis to stay out of Gerald's drugs.
Number 4:
No, he isn't closing the cave, but he's really pissed about
the naked cavers on the front porch.
Number 3:
I don't like the looks of that waterfall - let's go home.
Number 2:
What do you mean, you didn't bring your wetsuit to the rescue?
And the Number One Comment:
Shooooot!
Finally, just in case you have forgotten (or joined Tag Net after it was posted a couple of years ago) here is item number 5 from the famous (or infamous) presentation of the "Top Ten Ways to Buy the Speleo-Farm - and some tips on how to avoid it" by Bill Putnam, caver, rescuee, and (this time) rescuer:
Top Ten Ways to Buy the Speleo-Farm (and some tips on how to avoid it)
#5) Drowned while exploring river cave in monsoon season
- Always check the weather before going caving.
- Look for signs of previous flooding (logs on high ledges, etc.
- Be aware of specific danger points, like crawlways & pits.
- Wait it out or run for the exit? It depends on the cave.
- If in doubt, stay out!
And from Kim Grossman and Seamus Decker (who know a thing or two
about rain and wet caves...) in Tag-Net #1099 on Friday,
May 30 1997 (in retrospect, could this have been an omen?):
YOU KNOW YOU'RE IN FOR A FLOOD ENTRAPMENT WHEN...
(By Kim Grossman and Seamus Decker)
... the trip leader says he checked the 5 day weather forecast... 5 days ago. [or the forecast says "rain yesterday, rain today, rain tomorrow, followed by more rain"]
... you see throngs of Lemmings rushing towards the cave entrance.
[in this case, I guess 11 cavers = 1 throng]
... the trip leader has a bumper sticker that reads "A bad weekend of flood entrapment in a cave is better than a good day at work!" [but I don't think Gerald had this in mind...]
... the only pre-requisite for the trip is that you know how to swim. [or free dive sumps...]
To which I would add one more:
You decide to do a wetsuit pulldown trip because it's raining too hard to enjoy the party at SERA [or MVOR].
(Just kidding guys... *(:-) Seriously now - this rescue was an outstanding operation, and all the rescue teams and cavers involved were fantastic. I am really sorry for Gerald and the others who were injured or trapped, but I do feel really good that I (who benefitted from a big rescue in 1987) was
able to return the favor for some friends. But it looks like Gerald and the others will all be OK, as I am, thanks to our fellow cavers - especially the ones who plan, train, organize, and serve on the cave rescue teams around TAG. We all know who they are and every one of us owes them a lot more appreciation than they usually receive.
I experienced a number of moments of great pride and gratitude as I worked on my tasks during the operation, and I appreciate more than ever the folks who came in and got me out 10 years ago when I suffered an injury simlar to Gerald's. Seeing Gerald come out of the cave and take off in the helicopter brought a lump to my throat and tears to my eyes, as I remembered my own experience.
For what it's worth, I understand that several thousand dollars worth of rescue equipment and supplies were expended, destroyed, or lost in this rescue (which is not unusual in one of this magnitude). You might want to consider making a nice donation to your local cave rescue team or to the Jackson County, Hamilton County, Huntsville, or Walker County units (among others) who expended gear in this operation. After all, you really do want them to have all the right stuff available if
YOUR number ever comes up..... I'm sending a check tomorrow morning and I suggest you all do likewise. Even a small contribution will be appreciated and put to good use.
McBRIDE UPDATE: GERALD & SWEET PEA
Gary Chambers (Nashville, Tennessee )
GC29177@aol.com
Misty & I took Cecile to the Hospital to be with Gerald and waited for Gerald to come out of Surgery. The doctor reported that his break was extremely clean with no excess tissue damage. A pin was installed in the bone through his right butt cheek!! ( the horror ) We spoke a few words with him when he was brought to the room but we must have been boring him as he started snoring on us in mid sentence. So we left the hospital to head back to Nashville with Misty driving my car and me driving Gerald's truck home.
We drove a couple miles from the hospital looking for the express way but needed directions so we randomly pulled into a convenience store and by huge coincidence out walks the pilot from Gerald's helivac helicopter! We chatted for a while and then followed his directions back to I-24.
In talking with Gerald today and has been told that he can put ALL of his weight on his leg already! :-O ( limited only by pain ). A good indicator that he is doing well. I think his biggest inconvenience excepting his leg is that he has no clothes. He is wearing 2 gowns .... one in front and one in back ... and they are both too short. :-O . Gerald will be returning home on Wednesday.
I spoke with P.K. tonight and discovered that Forrest Platt's (aka Sweet Pea) sprained ankle (as diagnosed by the North Jackson Hospital, AL) ... was x-rayed today by a real hospital in Atlanta after she found herself in a disproportionate amount of pain last night and was discoved to have a broken tibia. Thankfully she has finally gotten proper diagnosis and treatment!
So bottom line, everyone is doing fine and MANY MANY THANKS to everyone involved!
May 23, 1997
Present: John Marquart, Julie Angel, Beth Reinke, Mark Belding, Don Coons, Jim Jacobs, Lara Storm, Rich Bell, Brett & Nick Bennett, Kevin Rasmus, Brian R. Braye, Earl Neller, Dave Carson, Angie Carson, Norm Rogers, Chris Dinesen
Called to order at 7:13 by President John Marquart.
OFFICER REPORTS: Minutes of previous meetings accepted as printed in the Near Normal News. The treasury was audited by Mark Belding and pronounced in good shape. The report was approved.
OLD BUSINESS: The Burton Cave gating was postponed indefinately. Evidently, there was an old report that there *may* have been some gray bats there. More discussion on the Waiver of Liability forms. Current Web address of the NNG home page, as maintained by Len Storm.
http://oldsci.eiu.edu/physics/len/grotto/nng.htm
Send info on current trips to Len for posting on the Web.
NEW BUSINESS: Don Coons is hosting Chinese Cavers - potluck dinner at the Rutland American Legion (formerly the Sunset Cafe).
TRIP REPORTS: The IDNR Field Trip to La Salle Co, IL 5/17. 200 cars, 365 people. The Monroe County trip totalled around 420 people.
TRIPS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS: Wayne's Lost trip by Norm Rogers [see report, this issue-Ed.]. USDA Forest Service Fire Training Course, June 6-8. NSS convention. Invitations to cave in Perry County by the Mark Twain Grotto. Contact Dave Mahon or Patty Daw. (Pattydaw@aol.com). Fogelpole cleanup 8/2/97. BCI Bats & Mines Workshop, Harrisburg, IL Aug. 12-14. The Special Tour of Brookfield Zoo replaces the June NNG meeting.
Don Coons presented the program; a slide show of caves of Puerto Rico and Volcanos in Mexico.
respectfully submitted,
Jim Jacobs
Secretary