Highland County Cave Survey

The July weekend was the family weekend and by all reports it was a success. 24 people showed up for the fun/not so fun. They were: Charlsie, Roxanne and Larry Baer, Jake and Julia Botkin, Brien and Dawn Farris, Barry and Robin Horner, Rick, Pam and Chris Lambert, David and Mary McKnight, Carol and Megan Peterson, Lisa Quinn, Rick, Susan, Jennifer and Sarah Wagner, Beverly, Robert and R.J. Wagner. Also, Phil Lucas, Bill Murray, Josh Rubinstein, and Scott Wahlquist continued the survey of Five Springs Cave.

We met at my house in Monterey at 0900 and helped everyone get properly equipped. We left at approximately 0930 and convoyed to the Sinks of Gandy. 20 people did Stillhouse Cave first to see what the weather was going to do. The mud and the crawling convinced a few to not tackle the Sinks. The trip through the Sinks was made by 14 people and was quick and uneventful.

After we cleaned up we headed to the Spruce Knob Lake Campground and had a picnic lunch. Later that night we also had slide shows on Convention 2000 Cave, Five Springs Cave, Hellhole, Bullpasture Mountainside Cave and OTR.

On Sunday Larry Baer, Rick Lambert, Carol and Megan Peterson, Lisa Quinn, Rick, Susan, Jennifer and Sarah Wagner, R.J. Wagner and Alex Zendel headed to Mill Gap while Bill Murray, Josh Rubinstein and Scott Wahlquist headed back to Five Springs Cave.

The Mill Gap crew split up and tackled the Dead Hole and the Croft Insurgence. The Brass Balls award goes to Larry, Carol and Alex who removed the carcasses from the Dead Hole as the rest of us cleaned out the Insurgence. Eventually, their success and the likelihood they were going to break through that day caused everyone to desert the Insurgence and help. We split several large quartzite boulders and broke two 24 inch long 5/8” drill bits, which brought the dig to a halt. If I were a betting man I would bet on Sunday of the next survey weekend they will have cave!

The next survey weekend will be on August 24 and 25. Also, on that weekend we will sign the paperwork for a new grotto in western Virginia. Be there!