FROM A HOLE IN THE GROUND
Jim Jacobs
As most of you already know, our grotto and the entire caving world lost a good friend recently. "The Spirit of Illinois Caverns", Armin Krueger, passed away in August. He provided help, information, friendship, and so much more to thousands of cavers from around the country who were lucky enough to spend some time at Illinois' most accessable and beautiful cave. He loved spending time with cavers whom he would allow to camp on his land, which was directly adjacent to the cave. They would share their food with him, and he would talk about caves. He knew the Monroe County caves well, and delighted in sharing his knowledge with any and all who would listen. He was a gentle soul who exemplified what it means to be in tune with nature. I suppose that nearly everyone who has ever met him has a special memory or two as a keepsake. I hope that we can take a few moments at this grotto meeting to share them. Here is one from Tonja Fraser:
"Lara, Rich Bell and I went to Il Caverns last weekend. Armin is definitely still keeping watch over the place. There were flowers all around and I added a small contribution from some wildflowers nearby. It was a sad day though. I kept expecting to turn around and see him standing there..."
One of my favorite memories of Armin is captured by the cover of this issue, when he posed by the sign depicting the "Caver's Creed" for PANTAGRAPH photographer, Steve Smedley. It occured to me at the time that Armin was the living embodiment of that creed.
It's hard to imagine Illinois Caverns without Armin. Somehow, I don't think we'll have to. Just turn around and look out of the corner of your eye. He'll always be there.
The 1989 Fall MVOR, which was sponsored by the Windy City Grotto, was held at Illinois Caverns. Armin was the Guest of Honor, and the following article was printed in the "Guidebook":
THE LEGEND OF ARMIN KRUEGER
Cavers come and cavers go and only the caves and Armin Krueger remain behind. For the present generation of cave
explorers, Armin has been as much a part of caving in Monroe County, Illinois as the caves have been. It is fitting
and proper that Armin's diamond jubilee birthday (75th) be observed here by the MVOR. For those of you who are
new to vaning in this area and have not had the good fortune to share stories and cave leads around a late-night
campfire with Armin, the following words of introduction are offered. Don't let them substitute for a personal
introduction.
Armin is presently the caretaker of Illinois Caverns for the landowner, the State of Illinois. His professional involvement with the cave dates back to the 1940's when the then-landowner attempted to commercialize the cave. Armin has more or less been looking after the day-to-day affairs of the cave ever since. He has been variously referred to as the "Godfather" of Illinois Caverns and the "Keeper of the Cave". Most importantly, he remains concerned about the well-being of the cave and the safety of the cave' users.
Armin has always been a farmer. He has woods and croplands adjoining the west side of Illinois Caverns and separate holdings around the north end of Big Sink. Armin's allegiances are with those people who make their living working with the land. At times, their goals conflict with those of cavers who prefer to see the karst surface uncultivated and restored to native growth. Armin has attempted to accomodate multiple interests.
Armin was born in the family home that then stood within a short distance of the entrance. He began his caving career in Illinois Caverns at the age of five - a career that has not spanned 70 years. He attended classes at the one-room O'Leary School which still stands on land that is now Armin's. The students there drew water for the classroom from the cave stream beneath the school. Armin recently provided cavers with the use of the school as a fieldhouse. Cavers from the Meremac Valley Grotto have christened it the "Armin Krueger Speleological Institute." Armin is also the owner of the O'Leary school entrance to the Krueger System (named in his honor), Big Sink, and the Dual Pit entrance to Kelly Spring Cave.
We want to express our thanks to Armin and congratulate him on the 75th birthday observance. We wish him continued good health and good caving.
A drive to place a memorial to Armin at Illinois Caverns is being spearheaded by Joel Laws of the Meramec Vally Grotto. He envisions something like a limestone boulder with a likeness of Armin and a plate of some sort which would inform people of his legacy. The actual form that the memorial would take would, of course, be something to be decided on. I contacted him to let him know that we would discuss this at the meeting and that the NNG would likely be happy to support such an effort.
Larry Cohen (WCG) is also pressing for a post-convention weekend in Monroe County which would include an all-out effort to conduct/finish some long-standing surveys, unveil the completed Illinois Caverns map, make concerted efforts to push the Pirate Passage Dig, radio check Beercan Passage in Halfmile Cave, and dive the Big Sink downstream end to tie in with Kelly Spring Cave. More information on this when/if it becomes available.
Welcome new members Chris Dinesen and Greg Phillips! They participated in the Wayne's Lost trip, and doubtless will have tales to tell.
FALL 1996 MVOR
This year's Fall MVOR will be held near Competition, MO on September 27, 28 and 29. [The NNG meeting is on the
27th-Ed.] South past Competition on O road to first left past Gasconade rever bridge, which is Arthur Rd. Left
on Usher. Follow the signs to the site. This year's site is on the Gasconade River, where you can cave, float or
play in the water. Cave trips, including Smittle and Skaggs will be available, along with vendor's row, bonfire
and sauna. You may rent canoes ($20), or bring your own. Phone (417) 668-7724 for canoe reservations. There will
also be a donation auction, banquet, MVOR meeting (guest speaker, Bill Klatt), sauna, and bonfire with a door prize
session. Pre-registration is $12 for adults and $3 for children. Add $2 if you register late. (Pre-registration
deadline was Sept. 16. Not much notice this year). Call Randy Bruegger at (913) 829-3943 or Doug Feakes at (417)
668-7724 for information.
1997 NSS CONVENTION
The secretary has also received information on the 1997 NSS Convention, which will be held in Sullivan, MO, June
23-27 at scenic Blue Springs Ranch. This site is near Onondaga Cave State Park and is proximate to hundreds of
caves, many of which are well known to NNG'rs. See me for details, or read your NSS NEWS.
IN THIS ISSUE:
JOHN R. MARQUART describes his day at the fair, where he received on the NNG's behalf, the OUTSTANDING VOLUNTEER
AWARD from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
LARRY COHEN eulogizes Armin Krueger. JIM JACOBS tells about our cleanup trip to FOGELPOLE.
NORM ROGERS reports on this year's NSS Field Camp at Mammoth Cave.
NORM and JIM agonize over the aftereffects of the trip to Wayne's Lost.
BILL KOERSCHNER recounts a trip to Clap Canyon in Roppel that makes a trip through Wayne's Lost look like a picnic
in the park.
A letter allegedly from FLOYD COLLINS appears.
The grotto mailbox brought us a pleasant surprise this August. We had been selected as one of eleven outstanding volunteers for 1996 by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (DNR). I was invited to be their guest at the Illinois State Fair to receive a plaque recognizing our grotto contributions to conservation. I was of course delighted and so were my five and six year old grandsons, John and Robert, Jr., when they learned that grampa was going to the State Fair. It didn't take much persuasion for them to talk me into taking them and their mom, Tina, along.
Saturday, August 10th was a beautiful day, not too hot, not too wet, as we all drove into the reserve parking area that DNR keeps at Conservation World at the fairgrounds. Nice, I thought, to be bypass all those throngs of people waiting in line to get into some remote parking areas. John and Robert were amazed at the size of it all. Thousands of people and things to do. They had been to the Champaign County Fair, but nothing like this. As Robert said, "awesome"! I insisted that we all hang out around Conservation World until our award ceremony that was scheduled for 2:45 p.m. It was great too, with all kinds of conservation projects on display. The kids learned that what I had been teaching them about doing good for the environment was fun too. Good lesson!
Finally the time was nearing and I herded my entourage to the Birds of Prey Stage where we were to get the award. We got there early enough to see the show of live eagles, owls, hawks, and many others. Then came our time. Jay Johnson, Volunteer Manager, for DNR took the stage and one by one each of the eleven awards were called out. When our turn came up, he read the letter of nomination for our grotto written by Bill Glass. It elaborated on our work in gating the Blackball Mine. You can read a lot of what was said in the July Near Normal News reprint of a letter by Bill. For one item, he elaborated on how our grotto contributed 42.5 man-days (10 hour days too) and did the greatest part of the welding as well as much of the other labor intensive work. I left the stage with a handshake, a plaque, and a very proud feeling for being the president of such a fine group.
We spent the rest of the day doing the usual things one does at a state fair. We saw lots of animals being groomed and shown, visited lots of concession stands for souvenirs, and the kids did lots of rides. It was a day that I won't soon forget and neither, I'm sure, will John and Robert. Grampa caves and works for conservation with a bunch of other dedicated cavers. One of these days I'll take them caving and someday they too may well be active for conservation. As I watch them grow, that won't be long either.
The caving community lost an extraordinary friend on August 22nd. Armin Krueger, NSS#21060, the"Godfather of Illinois Caverns," passed away peacefully. He was 81.
As generations of cavers came to know him, a deep bond developed with this hardscrapple, soybean farmer from Monroe County, Illinois. While cavers came and went, the caves--and Armin--remained behind. His constant presence reminded us that we were the intruders onto a very special place. This gentle man exemplified in a manner both dignified and simple that life did not require material wealth. When measured by friendship, Armin was wealthy indeed. He taught us about a spiritual bond and comfort with the land--and the subterranean depths--which could provide tranquility. While honest and frugality may describe him, deep affection for his fellow human beings exuded from him. A rare person indeed who having known Armin could claim not to have been touched by this love. Armin's life was indelibly bound to the caves beneath the rural Monroe County landscape, and in particular to Illinois Caverns. Born in 1914 less than a mile from this cave when the area was called the precinct of New Design (also called Burkesville Station,) Armin was the third of five children. An immigrant from Germany, Amin's grandfather had bought up much of the land directly south and east of the Cave. (Anyone who knew Armin was acutely aware that the distinctly German accent of his ancesters was never lost.) Armin's father, Moritz Krueger, farmed for corn and wheat. His mother, Maria (Mamie) Hagmeier from nearby Renault had in fact visited the cave ten years prior to Armin's birth, signing the cave register in 1904 when it was a featured attraction of the St. Louis World's Fair. Armin and his brothers William, Walter, and Henry, attended gradeschool at O'Leary's one-room Schoolhouse (now the "Armin Krueger Speleological Research Institute".) As a young man Armin explored the various nearby caves with his friends. Over time, Armin became owner of much of this land. In an agreement with the State of Illinois, the schoolhouse and nearby cave entrances, on property owned by Armin, were set up in perpetuity as a "speleological" natural preserve.
In the 1950's Armin took over caretaking duties at the William Hayden farm where Illinois Caverns was located; he lived at the site until his death. Logs he placed at the cave entrance to prevent people from entering were constantly being "moved." Rather than try to continue to buck this trend, Hayden and Armin made the cave "commercial" once again. (Commercial meaning the next thing to wild caving.) Armin placed a few metal footbridges and ladders in the entrance stream passage, replacing the wooden structures of earlier times. Otherwise, the cave retained no improvements or lighting from earlier times.
From Chicago, St. Louis, Carbondale, and elsewhere throughout the Midwest, cavers can testify how Armin gave life to underground Monroe County. His acute knowledge of every sinkhole and willingness to share this knowledge, provided cavers with innumerable cave leads -- and kept cavers coming back. But cavers also returned because of Armin. He taught cavers by his example, without his pupils realizing they had received his instruction, that a more sustainable, non-frantic existence was feasible. Armin collected cans before the rest of us caught on. He recycled discarded clothing and even unused carbide pellets. He did this not through poverty but rather to be frugal with material items. The junked vehicles surrounding his homestead demonstrated in an extreme fashion his spirit of waste not, want not. Armin neither wasted nor wanted. While cavers belted down the campfire beers, Armin graciously accepted a pop and candy. A clean plate was all he left. We cavers came and went. Yet, wherever cavers went, they took a piece of Armin with them. Many of the close friendships among cavers in Illinois and Missouri resulted from being around Armin.
His cave, Illinois Caverns, is now a State Natural Area. Thousands of youngsters received their first exposure to 'wild' caving in the Caverns. Armin's former properties, including Big Sink and Krueger Cave, will remain open to cavers as he desired. Armin's exceptional tolerance and love, even more than the caves, will remain stuck to the cavers he touched like the thick mud from his beloved depths. In testimony, cavers from Chicago, the St. Louis area, Carbondale, and his home Monroe County attended his August 25 funeral. He is buried in Fults overlooking the placid Mississippi River Valley.
[This tribute to Armin is scheduled to appear in the October NSS NEWS.-Ed.]
On July 21, 1996 about twenty-five cavers met at Illinois Caverns for a cleanup trip in which we were to go in through the Fogelpole entrance, and exit from Keller, gathering garbage all the way. A massive cleanup of the Keller sinkhole, complete with trucks and hauling equipment had taken place earlier in the year, and this was to be the finish of the project. Many had camped overnight on Armin's land, and we met them there when we arrived on Saturday morning. Many were old friends, some were new faces. Thus it always is with such gatherings. Some had gone into town for breakfast, so we bided our time with the usual menu of tall tales of caves past and future. As usual, when cavers get together in this area, the NNG is well represented, this time comprising nearly half of the group. Our guides were to be Phil Moss and Jim Sherrill.
The breakfast group returned, and we gathered to hear the plan of the day. The plans had changed greatly. Due to a vicious thunderstorm the previous night, we would be unable to use the Keller entrance. The landowners had requested that we not use their entrance when the weather was too wet, and the connection between the two caves was likely impassible, since it is low and wet in the best of times. This was now a round trip through Fogelpole!
Fogelpole is a closed cave, securely gated and available only to qualified scientific and survey parties. Our group technically qualified, since Phil and Jim were here to set "bugs" (charcoal impregnated screens) in the water in key places in order to read traces of dye which had been previously released in other places in order to puzzle out the drainage patterns in the area. This information was needed due to an application from a developer who was planning to build a subdivision in the area.
We had to cut through some high grass and woods to get to the sinkhole which holds the Fogelpole entrance. We would later learn that we passed through some poison something-or-other as well. It took Marty weeks to get rid of it. (grumble grumble, scratch, scratch).
Those who have visited Keller will certainly recognize the geology of Fogelpole, since these are but two ways into the same cave system. The Fogelpole area features more large passages than Keller, which, like Keller are primarily active streamways. Which contain some slippery rocks. I thought it rather humorous as a couple of people took premature saturday night baths. At least it was funny until it was my turn. Luckily, when I slipped, the water was only an inch deep as it flowed down an incline. Marty was not so lucky. She went in all the way, and only a helping hand from one of the party at the right time kept her from an extended swim. Dave Fraser just missed a good dunking when we were walking some rimstone pools and he stumbled past me. It just happened that I was in the right place at the right time and at that moment, had good footing. Luckily also, he happened to be wearing a loose sweatshirt. I just reached out and grabbed as he stumbled. URRKKKK! He was stopped dead in his tracks.
We got to do most of what we find "fun" in caving. A little canyoning, some stream wading, a short pleasant sand crawl, some climbing over, around and through breakdown, slogging over some mud hills, and we got to see the beautiful, delicate white formations in the crawlway. The climb down from the entrance (and, of course back up again at the end of the trip) is somewhat precarious, and there were a couple of nervous moments as each of the party made it back to the top.
As usual, every time we found a hole that "might" go somewhere, we lost Lara Storm. "Check it out! It might go!" She was gone. Of course, we collected quite a bit of garbage along the way. Since this cave is well gated, what we found had probably washed in through the many sinkholes that feed the system. We also collected an unintended passenger.
By a mud-filled drain, Tonja Fraser found a large turtle who had been washed into the cave. Since his life expectancy would be severely shortened if he were left in this environment with little food, she decided (with general approval) to help it out. After the trip through the cave, she released it in Armin's pond, where, we hope it will live happily for a long time to come.
This year's restoration field camp at Mammoth Cave was, to me, a huge success. Not so much in the work that was accomplished (in fact, one person commented they felt like they didn't work too awfully hard) but more so in the social aspect of the camp. The reader must remember that my value judgments are based on social interaction rather just the tasks accomplished. I have a motto at camp that says if we got all of the work completed but failed to have a good time doing it, we have failed indeed. Keeping that in mind, we had a great camp.
There were three areas of focus at this camp. Removing two tour boats from Silliman/El-Gore Avenues, removing wood from Echo River, and lint removal along Broadway avenue. To make a long story short, the boats were removed, the wood removed, and the lint removed. To make a short story long, read on.
The week started with a meeting with Bob Ward our representative with the Park Service. After which, many of the camp participants attended church services in the cave. On certain occasions during the year the Park presents a program called, The Church Re-visited, a re-creation of an 1800s circuit preacher's visit to Mammoth Cave. A non-denominational minister and his wife, both dressed in period costume, led a large group of tourists into the cave by lamp-light and held services. Several NNG members sang in the choir. To this listener, they sounded like angels.
The next three days we worked at Mammoth Cave on the above projects. Thursday, we went to the city of Horse Cave to do some work for the American Cave and Karst Museum. We pulled weeds, built a block wall and trimmed trees over-hanging the cave entrance. As a reward for our efforts, we got to go caving in Hidden River Cave. Many of our group chose to go into the cave. It was very wet and very muddy, but we were all impressed by the huge Sunset Dome Room. It was about big enough for the sun to set in!
Before leaving the cave, one of the group, who shall remain nameless, (Tonja) started a mud fight. She even attacked a ten year old kid. Those of us who were in the line of fire tried valiantly to fight back but to no avail. We all learned it was best just to run away.
That night we were treated to a guided tour of Great Onyx Cave, one of the most well decorated caves in the area. All agreed it was beautiful.
Late Friday night the entire group went to the Lake Nolin dam. After checking out the spillway, we drove to a boat launch ramp, got out of the cars, laid on our backs, and watched for falling stars. It was a great time.
Saturday we went to Roppel Cave, split up into two groups, and went caving. One group was not real happy about their trip but the other group thought the trip was fantastic. After a five hour trip we got to visit Yahoo Avenue in Roppel. It has to be the most fantastic passage of cave I have ever seen. Over a mile of big walking cave. The first part was a wet area with all types of flowstone formations. Everywhere one looked there was milky white columns, stalactites, and stalagmites. I saw more cave pearls than I had ever see before in my entire life.
The second half of the passage was dry with gypsum formations everywhere. Huge gypsum flowers, with petals ten inches long, hung from the ceiling. Every surface was covered with gypsum crust. It was magnificent!
The week came to an end and we all said sorrowful good-byes to our old friends and the new ones we just made that week. As a side note, that week my brother and I listened to a cassette tape of the Doors best hits. We listened to the tape over and over the entire week so when ever we were to hear those songs in the future, we would think of our week at Mammoth Cave. Just the other day I heard the song "Love Her Madly" from that tape. Looking back on our week, I would have to say, "Yes, I do!"
Participants: Norm Rogers, Greg Phillips, Tim Shaffer, Tim Sickbert, Julie Angel, Chris Dinesen, Tonja Fraser, Dave Fraser, Beth Reinke, Len Storm, Lara Storm, Pat O'Connell, Jim Jacobs
Norm Rogers:
With the cruise control set on 70 miles per hour, the miles rolled by effortlessly. The only things breaking the
monotony of the drive were a compilation of all the bad hits of the 70s and 80s playing on the radio and the all
too frequent lane reductions due to road construction on interstate 74.
I glanced down at my watch. 12:40 A.M. It was a long drive home after a long day of caving at Wayne's Cave in Bloomington Indiana. My thoughts drifted back to the events of the past week, preparing for the trip. I had made reservations at the Motel 6 for a large room, thinking there would be five or six guys from Peoria spending the night. It's always been easier to spend Friday night in Bloomington to avoid the five hour drive the morning of the trip.
But one by one the Peoria cavers had canceled, leaving just my brother, Greg, and myself. Not wanting to spend that much money on a room for just the two of us, I canceled the reservation. Little did I know that on a football weekend in Bloomington Indiana I was giving up the last room left in town. This forced Greg and I to go door-to-door at the motel looking for someone so understanding as to let us in for the night. Our only alternative was to pitch a tent at the cave site and camp out. Since the mercury was already dipping into the 40s, that idea was not too appealing.
Finally, three benevolent young women allowed us space to sleep on the floor of their room. Coincidentally, they were NNG members, Beth, Julie, and Chris. I crawled into my sleeping bag, rolled over, and tried to sleep.
The next day we all admitted that sleep hadn't come easily for any of us. Something about an unspoken rule of not passing gas in mixed company. I'll never understand that-but I do accept it. After a more than ample breakfast at Denny's we met the other NNGers who had gathered and went to the cave.
What can be written about Wayne's Cave that has not already been covered? Wayne's is a tough cave! We had several people entering the cave that had never been there before and I tried my best to quell their fears before going into the cave, but there was still trepidation on the part of some. After the 1200 foot crawl, we visited the RPI Discovery and the Wells areas of the cave. Oohs and aahs were heard throughout the group. Then we struck out in search of Camp Two. I was kind of leading the group because no one else had been there before. We climbed over huge mountains of breakdown and crawled under others. At one point, I knew we were really close to Camp Two but I couldn't find the right way.
I've always wondered why I can never find my way around in a cave. One would think I'd get lost forever in there. Anyway, after several frustrated attempts to find the right way, we started back to Camp One. Those people must have thought I was a real dope.
Once back at Camp One though, everyone seemed to be in good spirits and ready for the long crawl out of the cave. I hung back with the folks that would be the last ones out. I figured they might need their spirits lifted along the way or possibly I could lend some other kind of assistance. Beside that motivation, they were "babes"! Len Storm must have followed my train of thought because he hung back with us.
The crawl out of Wayne's is much worse than the crawl into Wayne's. Maybe because you're tired, maybe its because you're just sick of caving at that point. Whatever the reason, its a lot harder going out. At one point as we were resting in the crawl, I began to wonder why we do this caving thing. I was laying on my back, the ceiling inches from my face, and was covered from head to toe with mud, filth, and water. We had sweated in the crawls, shivered in the big passages, risked physical injury just by being in that cave...and this was fun? Someone once said that a person must be crazy to go to Wayne's more than once. If that's the criteria, I must be over-qualified.
Before I could fully review my analysis of crazy cavers, my mind was pulled back to the present by a particularly bad Donna Sommer song on the radio. I never did like disco. I kicked the brake pedal to disengage the cruise control for yet another construction zone. I glanced down again at my watch. 1:30 A.M.
Trying to work out a knot in my shoulder with my left hand caused me to wince in pain. My arm felt like lead. Every movement took great effort and every muscle ached from caving. However, I couldn't keep a smile from creeping across my face. This had been a good day.
Jim Jacobs:
I learned an important lesson this weekend. Yes, Wayne's is a tough cave and an interesting challenge. I can still
handle a trip there. But as I get older, I have to allow myself more recovery time afterwards. I knew I would be
stiff and sore after this trip. I even knew exactly where it would hurt. After a few times through this cave, you
learn such things. I was aware that I would be stiff in both shoulders, between my shoulder blades, wrists, and
forearms, and a bit through the chest. But I didn't remember how stiff or how long it would last. I will never
again take a saturday trip to Wayne's and try to bowl on sunday. It was pitiful!
Pat O'Connell arrived at my house shortly after 5:00am for the trip. After a cup of coffee, we packed his gear into my van and were able to head out before 5:30. The trip was uneventful, and we rolled into the McDonalds in Bloomington, IN at 8:55. We had time for a leisurely breakfast, since the appointed meeting time was not until 10. Naturally, the first ones to join us were Len and Lara Storm. One by one and two by two the others staggered in. I was especially glad to see Tim Shaffer and Tim Sickbert, since I hadn't had a chance to cave with them for quite a while. Sickbert and I had made a pact to explore the crack in the floor in the RPI passage, and had brought vertical gear. I also had 98 feet of rope in a Bluewater bag. Pat had also brought his vertical gear in his pack, but after pushing it all the way in, (huff, puff) decided that he would rather see the sights.
The trip in through the crawl didn't seem so bad. I toted the rope bag part of the way, and "allowed" Tim Sickbert to push/drag/roll it most of the way. Soon, the crack in the floor appeared which signaled the end of the crawl and the beginning of walking cave. I understand that Lara, who was ahead of us, did the crawl in twenty minutes. That's a pretty good pace for such a strenuous crawl! She ended up paying the price later.
We headed over to the hole that marked the beginning of the RPI passage and plunged in. Tim and I stopped at the crack in the floor, while the rest of the gang forged ahead to see the goodies. This slot had been bugging me for a very long time, ever since I first saw it on my first trip here. It obviously opened up, and seemed to be about a fifteen foot drop, and you could hear water tinkling. It was so obvious a lead that I knew that it had been explored already, but WE didn't know what was down there and the map didn't help much. I HAD to know. Dan Voorhees and I had discussed it before a previous trip, but he didn't come this time, and I could wait no longer!
The passage is a typical canyon in which you are forced to stay high for a while, then go down low as it widens, then up high again as it narrows. The sides and ledges are smooth, so there was only one obvious tie-off point; a huge slanted boulder which rested at a 45 degree angle about five feet from the crack. We looped webbing around it, and clipped the loops with a 'biner. The boulder was not smooth, the tape tight enough, and the boulder close enough to vertical, that we were satisfied that we had a safe rig. We clipped the rope in, and dropped the rope bag down the slot. THUD! We knew that we would not have to rig for an on-rope changeover. Tim was the first to get his rappelling gear on (I had trouble untangling my harness), so he got the honor of being the first to make the drop. The slot was tight, and made tighter by the fact that his figure eight stuck out a little ways in front. He was nevertheless able to ease his way through it, so I doubted that I would have any trouble, since Tim has a few pounds on me. He called "off rope" and "clear" while I was still rigging, and told me that it was a nice big dome, but didn't seem to go anywhere. I followed nonetheless, and since my Petzel bobbin sticks out farther than Tim's figure eight, the slot was as tight for me as it was for him.
As I landed, I could see that Tim's description was accurate. The room is an irregular dome, with a crystal clear pool of water at one end with a sandy basin. The walls are black and gray limestone, with belts of mud in which were inscribed various initials and dates by the fingers of previous explorers who also had to know what was down here. There was no spray paint, garbage or other vandalism. There was some pretty moon milk dripping down the black wall near the pool. It was really a nice room, and I suppose, worth the trouble of lugging vertical gear in and out. We looked and chatted for a few minutes, toasted our success, and prepared to exit. I was faster rigging my "Frog" than Tim was with his modified "Texas" system, so I was first out. It was easier to use just one foot loop, and push against the wall with the other, and I made it to the slot quickly. Of course, Tim had to provide me with rope tension from the bottom. One drawback to the frog system. It need a bit of weight or tension by a caver at the bottom, or else you are forced to hand feed the rope through your chest Kroll for the first ten feet or so. When I am the last up, I tie my pack to the rope beneath me, and that works just as well. I squeezed through the slot, threw my leg over the edge and was up easily.
As Tim hit the slot, he had a bit less squeezing room than I do, so he had to try a few things to see what worked. I asked him if I could help, and he told me to encourage him a bit. I, of course proceeded to very loudly cast doubts as to his odds of EVER emerging from that crack, and threw in a couple of cracks concerning his ancestry, which caused him to start laughing, but he was able to get his leg up and push himself clear anyway.
We derigged and took our gear out into the main passage. The rest of the party had passed us on the way out while we were packing, and we told them that we were going to go the way that they had gone since Tim had never seen the Wells. (This was his first trip to Wayne's.) I remembered the way, and we found our way there easily. The Wells is a large series of interconnected domes, with ceilings approaching 80ft. Quite impressive, and the display of moonmilk dripping down the side of the last dome is a "must-see". We ate a candy bar, and speculated on someone's chances of making up the knotted rope that descends from the top of the final dome. I don't know how long it's hung there, but it's been there for quite a while. I don't know where it goes, either. Perhaps some day.........
We had thought that the rest of the party might wait for us back at camp one, since they were going to have lunch, but we had spent quite a while back in the Wells, and we were not surprised to find that they had moved on before we got back. Norm had said that they were going to head to Camp Two, so after a brief break, Tim and I took off in that direction. Sort of. Actually, I turned left instead of right when we hit the stream bed, but we soon figured out that we were going the wrong way when we were forced to either find cracks in the breakdown or be forced into the stream, which appeared to be about waist deep in the first cutaround. We turned back, and before we got back to Camp One, saw an intriguing side passage on the same side of the passage as the route back, so we decided to check it out. There was an arrow pointing up through the breakdown, so we followed it, carefully looking back frequently so that we could find our way back. We climbed through the breakdown, walked for a bit, and then followed the passage as it turned a corner and emerged into a larger passage which sloped gently downwards through a canyon. After a few seconds my orientation spun around, I saw the paintbrush embedded in the lip at the end of the slope, and realized that we were right back at Camp One! We had rinky-dinked ourselves. At least I now know where that large passage goes when you come down off of the ledge after the crawlway.
We went back down to the stream, turning right this time, and headed for the main cave. After just a few minutes, we passed a few of our party who were on their way back. Norm and the rest had pushed on toward Camp Two, but these folks had decided that it was time to call it a day. With them were two cavers whom they had met in the cave, who were from northern Indiana. I wanted to show Tim the breakdown hills in the main cave, so we went on. Another 30 minutes or so, we had climbed up and down breakdown to the area where you are forced to either take a 20ft. jump down (NOT advisable) or go down and around the breakdown. We agreed to leave that part of the cave for another trip and turned around. We didn't catch up with the rest of the group heading to Camp Two, but that was all right. I was getting a bit pooped, and we still had the long crawl out.
As Norm mentioned, the crawl out is MUCH longer than the crawl in. I don't know how they arranged that, but if it's 1200ft. in, it seems like 2000ft. out. I will forever heap blessings on Tim's head for taking pity on an old guy and taking the now much heavier rope bag the whole way out. What a guy! I take back all those insults when we were dropping that pit. And there is no feeling like emerging into the Old Wayne's portion of the cave and actually being able to stand up! Relief! As we reached the climb out, a group of faster cavers, including Greg and Tim Shaffer caught up with us.
When we reached the top, the first group who had headed out was waiting for us, including the two friendly Indiana cavers, Marlin Heinlein and Bob... They had even provided cokes for our people that they had exited with. We changed out on the road and ferried a few drivers over to where we had parked our cars.
Marlin and Bob were camped over at MacCormick, and they invited us to join them for pizza at the Elliotsville Pizza Hut. They were going to their camp to shower and change, and we had to wait for the rest of our gang to get out of the cage, so it sounded like a fine idea.
Everyone got out safely, (if not energetically). Norm's group was headed in a different direction, so the rest of us met Marlin and Bob for some delicious (but expensive) pizza, the usual moans and groans and other post-cave chatter and headed home. Pat said, "Wayne's...been there-done that... never again!" But how many of us, who are on our fifth or sixth trips have said the same thing? Every trip.
TRIP REPORT
ROPPEL-CLAP CANYON
Bill Koerschner
11 am, Jan. 1-4, Jan. 2, 1994
Bill Koerschner - notes
Bill Stephens - inst, tape
Russ Conner - inst, tape
I approached this trip with some apprehension because I dimly remembered a scene from seven years ago - at dawn on a 24 hour trip, four battered and exhausted zombies lay panting on the sand pile at the mouth of Clap Canyon - they had just doubled the length of the wretched passage and emphatically vowed NEVER TO RETURN. But you know how these things go - absence makes the heart grow fonder - you forget everything but the wind - the wind that will lead you to untold miles of virgin borehole. So four hours after entering the Downey Avenue Entrance we were once again sitting on the sand pile, wondering if this time we would reach the end of this mysterious passage, and knowing that we would definitely get the crap beat out of us.
The passage is easy at first, a dry bedrock tube that's just a hair too low for comfortable hands and knees crawling. Soon the ceiling lowers and we flow down on a bed of dry pea gravel. The passage is 10ft. wide here - I fall into a crawling rhythm - bring my right leg up, roll up on my left elbow and heave forward - there's nothing to look at, nothing to worry about, no decisions - just point yourself down passage and heave/ho. Heh! This isn't as bad as I remembered - easy stuff really, and soon we'll be to the - ARRGH! A searing, electric pain races up my shin. I glance down and see a tiny bedrock fin projecting above the gravel - not THAT'S the Clap Canyon I remember! After 600ft. the passage becomes an awkward pothole canyon, then lowers to a bitchy, ledge-infested rock crawl. The combination of shallow rock pools and projecting ledges covered with razor-sharp "cave velcro" caused a previous crew to name this area the "Poodle Chews", after the lyrics by Zappa. Fortunately, the puddles had dried up considerably in seven years and we were able to get through with minimal sacrifice. After 300ft. we broke over one final ledge and crawled downhill into a 4ft. diameter rock tube that obviously sumps during floods. This changed into a walking canyon after another 300ft., then degenerated into a 10ft high by 1ft. wide squeeze canyon for the final run to the rest area at VD200. It took us two hours to traverse the 1750ft. of passage to this point.
At VD200 the main passage abruptly mud-fills and the only way on is a highly irregular, down going tube at floor level. This passage changes character every 10ft. and winds around all over the place, eventually spiraling down through a complete 360 degree turn and ending up 11ft. lower than VD200. Here at VD224 we began our survey in a 4ft. wide by 2.5ft. high tube with irregular banks of reddish brown clay. The clay at one time must have filled the passage because the floodwaters that occasionally blow through this crawl have cut a gravel-floored channel through the clay to bedrock, leaving clay ledges and clay breakdown. The clay banks reduced the usable passage to 1.5ft.W by 2.5ft.H in several places and made movement extremely difficult. The clay soon coated everything, my pack was an unrecognizable ball of clay, my rockmasters were 5 lb. blobs that dangled several inches below my knees on their elastic straps and the notebook was too horrible to mention. The friction was unbelievable; the only way to move was to first peel yourself off the clay and flop forward while rolling your clayball/pack ahead of you. We looked and felt like chocolate-covered ants, but at least ants don't have to repeatedly tuck in their shirt tails - GROSS! At VD238 we intersected a 30ft. long fragment of walking canyon that mud-filled in both directions. This was the end of Alan Canon's exploration of the previous trip, and he had reported that the crawl kept going under a ledge at the north end of the canyon. Bill Stephens was first to the intersection and yelled back that IT DIDN'T GO! The way on was an L-shaped slot 2ft. long and 4in. wide. We had been SUCKED IN! There was much grumbling and cursing and gnashing of teeth. Meanwhile, the undeterable Russell had taken a look at the slot and proclaimed, "I might could dig my way through here," I fished out my railroad spike and gave it to Russ, who roto-rootered through the dig in 2.5 hrs. The finished dig was 18in.H by 12in.W and made a 90 degree bend to the right. Stephens crawled up to it and said to Russ, "Man, I can't believe you made it through this." He proceeded to bash 4 inches off a nut-buster rock horn on the inside of the bend, dug the turn wider and just barely was able to jerk his knees through the bend. I'm 6'2" tall and considered for a time if I would have to break my legs off first, but by some bizarre series of gyrations I made it through the dig and we were back in business!
The survey ground forward in more of the same grim stuff. We passed a few small situp rooms that apparently form on the downstream side of constrictions. After the third room we reached a constriction bad enough to cause Russell to pause - not a good sign. It was 5am and we still had to get our backsights, so I told him to check ahead. He forced his way through and checked 100ft. ahead in 4ft. to 6ft.W by 2.5ft.H tube with whipping air. We bagged the survey at VD252 and began backsighting out. After 45 minutes we reach the dig and I slide up into it, wriggle my chest through the turn and clear my hips to a point about 4in. down my thighs. NO WAY SUCKER! YOU ARE TRAPPED! My legs are too long. I try to roll my hips - no go. DON'T PANIC! I back out, turn around and try it feet first - you can always get out of something if you reverse the exact moves you used on the way in - right? WRONG! YOU CAN'T BACK UPHILL INTO A CLAYLINED SLOT! I admit defeat and let Stephens take a crack at it. He blows into the slot up to his legs and stops - "I see what you mean." He grabs the spike from its perch on the far side of the slot and begins to dig his way out. I start to dig on the inside and after about an hour we make good our escape. The DIODE DIG would be a good name for this since it only allows cavers to flow in one direction.
By this point I am so wasted that I barely have the strength to peel myself off the clay and it takes a convulsive effort to get my pack to roll even a quarter turn. I realize I am a LONG way from home and in WAY OVER my head. By now it was pushing 8am and we were looking at as much as NINE more hours to get out. Our signout time was for 5pm Sunday so we had to blow off the rest of the backsights (sorry Jim) and go for the entrance. We reach the sand pile in Cannuck Canyon by 11am and stumble out into daylight by 4pm - just in time to call in.
So much for our quest to find the end of the mysterious passage that goes upstream and downhill. The passage that periodically flows water with such ferocity that gravel bars migrate uphill through a 360 degree corkscrew. The passage with the wind. I can't speak for the others, but I know where my endurance limit is not - it's at VD252 in Clap Canyon. So this time I mean it - I am NEVER going back in that passage - even if it does go to miles of dusty borehole. NEVER! NEVER! NEVER! Well, maybe...
So if you think you're hot stuff and you like to push to the bloody edge - have at it, it's yours. Take plenty of food and water and above all, don't screw up because the rescue kit for this area is a bottle of Jack Daniels and a 45.
PS: On the way in we spotted the upstream end of the Coffee Bean Crawl leaving the A-Survey right below the first hole up to the RED TAG SPECIAL. No wonder we missed it.
Carole Rogers
4324 W. Rockwell
Peoria, IL 61615
Deer Carole,
Hello Carole. I reckon you know who I am, Floyd Collins. Year I know most people think I dyed in Sand Cave back
in 1925, but I got out thru a back entrance that some of Stephen Bishop's kin showed me. Since then I have spent
my winters livin on a coastal island with John F. Kennedy (he wusn't really kilt either) and sometimes Elvis stays
with us, although I caint take much of that hip swingin ego maniac. I still like to spend my summers in the caves
and hollers around Flint Ridge (do you know if they really did connect to Mammoth Cave?) but I have to sneak around
a lot to not be found out. Them pesky Park Service boys can be purty slick especially the likes of that Bobby Ward,
but so far they ain't seen me, but I've had some close calls.
I been keepin watch on yer cave cleanin' bunch the last few years ans wus disappointed you din't make the trip this year. However, I wanted to write to tell you about some of the behavior of yer husband, Normun, at this year'a clean up. It seems as though Normun has quite an eye fer the ladies like when he wus pointin out to his fellow cavers, at the historic entrance, the gal tourists who Norm thought were "keepers". Me always being a single guy (although I did get "married" a few times on a Sat. nite, but don't tell) found that activity disgustin. He did the same thing when he wus a lint pickin down in the cave.
All week long he wus a haulin the women cavers around the likes you've never seen. There wus Amanda, Beth, Brandy, Chris, Debbie, Jamie, Julie, Laura, Linda, Nancy and Tonja. I don't rightly know if he had a faverite or not, but there wus one girl he wus always haulin to a phone. (I think he broke the phone at Maple Springs on purpose so he could do this!) I even heard he sneaked into the kitchin one time with Cheryl but I didn't rightly see him do this.
Then ther wus the nite that a lot of them cavers (and Normun was the ringleader) drove over to the Nolin Dam and went star gazin. Instead of bein in bed where they should have been, they were a-layin on their backs, a-lookin up at stars. They sure lookt pretty dumb. Normun wus always a-sneakin off during the week, down in the cave, lettin the others do the work. Most of the time, he'd take some of the girls with him. It's a good thing that Bobby Ward dint catch him.
Anyhow I wanted to write and let you know about some of the things yer husband wus up to. You can even print this letter in your grotto newsletter, ifn you want. Hope you can come next year. Hopefully the Park Service will let all you cavers go more places in "my" caves next year. You know, the Park Service has some strange ideas, but don't tell 'em I'm writin, else they may turn me in and I'll have to start payin taxes again. Take care fer now, I gotta go see if I can fix some helectites that a couple of danged fools broke over in Crystal.
Sincerely,
Floyd Collins
"Worlds Greatest Cave Explorer"
The 26th Annual North American Symposium on Bat Research is to be held in Bloomington, Illinois from Wednesday, October, 23 through Saturday, October 26, 1996.
The conference is hosted by Illinois Wesleyan University with Professor Thomas Griffiths, Professor of Biology at Illinois Wesleyan as a host. The actual meetings will be held at Jumer's Chateau Hotel in Bloomington. I have talked with Tom Griffiths explaining that some of our members are interested in attending at least part of the program. He welcomes us but does ask that we contribute some to help defray the cost of the meeting which includes some meals. In general he said that full registration for faculty is $90 and for students is $70 for the conference, but that he will welcome those of us who want to attend only parts of the conference. He said that one day participants should register for $10 to $15, but those who only want to sit in on a couple of talks can come at no cost. I am planning on trying to attend Thursday and Friday only.
You will need to see the complete schedule to see what you might be interested in hearing, but here are a couple of highlights that I noted:
1. Wednesday consists only of registration and an evening social - no programs.
2. Thursday talks start at 8:00 a.m. and run until 4:45 p.m. with poster sessions also scheduled through the day. A talk that I intend to attend is at 2:00-2:15 p.m. "Indiana Bat Summer Habitat Patterns in Northern Missouri"
3. Friday talks start at 8:00 a.m. and run until 3:30 p.m. with poster sessions from 3:30 to 5:00 p.m. A banquet is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. Dan Taylor will talk from 9:45 - 10:00 a.m. on "The North American Bats and Mines Project: New Industry Partnerships Create Habitat for Mine-roosting Bats". Also three talks scheduled for 10:45 - 11:30 a.m. involve endangered Indiana bats. I intend to take in these and Merlin Tuttle's talk from 11:45 - 12:00 a.m on "Formation of National Bat Conservation Partnership for NaturalResources".
4. Saturday talks start at 8:00 a.m. and run until 2:00 p.m.I will have copies of the whole schedule and registration forms to give out at the grotto meeting.
Dan Taylor plans on flying into St. Louis and driving to southern Illinois to inspect the Unimen Mines there where gates were erected right after our work at the Blackball Mine. He will then come to Bloomington for the conference and wants to go back to the Blackball Mine to get more photos. I will try to go with him as can others of our group.
Called to order at 7:15 by President John Marquart. Members present: Tim Sickbert, Brian Braye, Lara Storm, Leonard Storm, Beth Reinke, Mark Belding, Tonja Fraser, Jim Jacobs, Norm Rogers, Carol Rogers. Guest: Gregory Phillips
New members were noted: Larry Bird, Dan and Randy Wahlfeldt. A correction was made, in that Walt Rudy, Deb and Ben Smith are reinstated former members rather than new members.
OFFICER REPORTS: The minutes of the June 28 meeting were approved as published in the NNN. The Treasurer's report was delivered by Vice President Beth Reinke for Julie Angel, and approved.
TRIP REPORTS: Lara Storm described her experiences in Bird's Eye Cave near BlackBall Mine. Norm Rogers reported on the trip to Zimmerman Mine by biologist Bill Glass and grotto members. Some survey stations were found and remarked. Another trip is in the works. It may be possible in the future to protect certain critical areas of this mine by gates. Jim and others talked about the Fogelpole to Keller through trip cleanup, which became just a trip through Fobelpole. The Keller entrance owners asked that we not use their entrance in bad weather, and there had been a vicious storm the night before which had saturated the ground in the sinkhole. Norm and some others toured Illinois Caverns instead, and scooped ten feet of virgin passage by doing a little digging. He also recounted the story of the time that he and John M. 'almost' connected with each other, one from the Lantern cave side, the other from Keller, but were stopped just short by a partially flooded crawlway and a doused carbide lamp. Tim S. told about his trip with Tim Shaffer to the Camp's Gulf Cave area in Tennessee. They also visited other caves, such as Ross Cave and Gouffre, which features multiple drops. Tonja F., two people from Riverwatch and Don Coons did another water and insect survey at Zimmerman. The stream health seems to be excellent, and the mine supports many bats.
OLD BUSINESS: Brian B. and Jim J. reported that due to the arrangement with a different printing company, that print run of the NNN is much less expensive than it used to be. Brian noted that the cover photo of the July NNN was by John M. Photo Credit had been ommitted. Beth R. announced that meeting announcements by postcard would only be used for special occasions, such as the annual public meeting, due to the cost. John M. reported that letters of thanks had been received from Bill Glass (State of IL), and Dan Taylor (Bat Conservation Int'l) for our help on the BlackBall gating project. He also lamented on his empty bat house, which he had built "all wrong" due to faulty bat behavior research and instructions by the company that marketed the kit. We also voted to begin a grotto checking account. Julie A. should report on progress at this meeting. We discussed the concept of a waver of liability for NNG membership and trips. Jim agreed to get a copy of the "Shared Adventure" form that all participants in ISU Campus Recreation Outdoor Program trips must sign. We may use this as a model. The program for the next meeting will be a mutual display of photos that we've taken. The Sept. 27th meeting will take place at the Upper Limits, and will feature instruction in climbing and rappelling. Cost: $9.00 each. A trip is being planned to Wayne's Lost for September. Norm Rogers will get the key.
Respectfully submitted,
Jim Jacobs, Secretary
Called to order by President John R. Marquart. Present: Tonja Fraser, Norm Rogers, Chris Dinesen, Julie Angel, Dan Wahlfeldt, Randy Wahlfeldt, Len Storm, Lara Storm, Larry bird, Tim Sickbert, Kevin Rasmus, Jim Jacobs, Brian Braye, Brian Valentine, Rita Gupta, Beth Reinke.
OFFICER REPORTS: The minutes of the July meeting were read by secretary Jim Jacobs. Approved. The treasury report was given by treasurer Julie Angel. We have a balance of $241.64. Approved.
OLD BUSINESS: Brian Valentine reported that he has not yet moved our web page to a new address yet, but he will let us know when he gets it done. Julie noted that our checking account is now in place with the First of America Bank. The fee will be $3.00 per month plus the charge for the blank checks. The meeting program for the Sept. 27 has been finalized by Brian Braye. We will have a short meeting at the bank as usual, then adjourn to The Upper Limits gym for some climbing and/or vertical practice. After the October 25 meeting, a program will be presented by Dr. Sam Panno of the Illinois State Geological Survey.
NEW BUSINESS: We discussed methods for streamlining our meetings. Tonja volunteered to be program committee chair. Brian showed our new grotto letterhead for official communications. We opened a discussion on liability. Jim read "The Common Adventure Philosophy" which all participants in ISU Outdoor Recreation trip participants must sign. Jim agreed to rewrite it to fit our group and present copies to the board for discussion. Larry B. talked about Conservation Watch. Perhaps a representative may give a presentation at a future meeting. John M. reported on accepting the Outstanding Volunteer Award for the NNG at the Illinois State Fair. This honor was bestowed on our grotto by the State of Illinois Dept of Natural Resources for our work on the BlackBall Mine gating and survey project.
TRIP REPORTS: Julie visited commercial caves, Cave of the Mounds (WIS) and Fischer Cave (MO), while on vacation with her family. Brian V. reported on Buddah, and Kevin R. took a trip to Buckner's with a group of kids and adults. Norm R. described the week at Mammoth Cave. The projects included lint removal and boats from El Gohr. Two groups toured Roppell after the work at Mammoth was completed. One group ended up on a royal rinky-dink. The other group ended up seeing Yahoo Passage, which Norm describes as the most beautiful he's ever seen.
PLANNED TRIPS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS: Wayne's Lost, Sept. 14. Brian Valentine's wedding on the same day. There will be a Mammoth Cave weekend in January. A scientific conference on bats will be held in Bloomington. ILLINOIS! More information when it becomes available. A rookie trip to Illinois Caverns will be planned soon. Chris noted that the DNR had set Hobo's (computerized recording thermometers) in BlackBall. Adjourned
Program: Favorite cave photos.
Respectfully submitted,
Jim Jacobs, secretary