Post by afrochili on Oct 23, 2006 20:47:11 GMT -5
Upon returning to the surface after a grueling trip, an infamous Bynum's Caver once stood on the small brick wall by the road, his face long and weary, head slightly tilted to the side, pvc suit in tatters, and all vivacity drained from his body; he remarked, "That cave just made me its bitch."
Few have gone before us (Marion O. Smith, Kent Ballew, and Neeld Messler, to name a few), and few will probably follow. Bynum’s will continue deep into Lookout Mountain, pushing further and further to the south and inward towards the west. What is unclear is where the passages will ever, but what is clear is that Bynum’s Cave requires a conditioned caver, one that can withstand endless crawls, tight negotiations, hits like a hockey player, and the mental capacity to push forward when he/she knows what lies behind on the return to the surface.
Only one month after Mike Green and I braved the deepest push thus far in Bynum’s, we returned with reinforcements. ACES Brian Sakofsky, Mike Green, Chad Dubuisson Johnny Prouty, Matt Schohl, and Stephen Adcock were joined by Kent Ballew in Chattanooga with enough gear to sustain a deep push trip into Bynum’s Cave.
Johnny and I head into the cave first and push and grunted our way to the pit which was previously known to be the back of the cave. Just before reaching it, Mike Green caught up and it wasn’t too long before the rest of the group joined us in the fissure above the pit. We all took a break together and gathered our strengths. Not knowing what we had in store for us, we climbed high above the fissure to what seemed the highest part of the vadose canyon and began to traverse south along the axis of Lookout Mountain. I didn’t take us long to reach the point that Mike Green and I halted our last expedition due to lack of resources.
Here, we dropped down a fissure and continued along the sinuous canyon; up and down traversing different levels, and up, over, and through breakdown. Bynum’s tenacity had not wavered. Kent, Mike and I reached the edge of the first real dome-pit and looked down into darkness from a midlevel ledge. With our adrenaline pumping, Kent and I followed Mike down a side lead to the bottom of the 80 foot pit.
Rising off the floor, I found the fissure to continue on and continued winding my way into virgin darkness. The cave took a change in character here. The once dry, cracked mud of the abandoned vadose canyon passages gave way to soft, soupy, thick, light colored mud. I took a turn westward into a large dome area. Excited, I called for Kent and Mike to catch up. Mike Green did a daring climb and recounted to us that the passage continues in the westward direction in a series of domes each about 50 feet high. Without bolting gear, we could not fully explore this section so we returned to the south trend. We each began scouring the area, each in leads of our own and I found myself just above the base of the largest dome-pit encountered thus far. I was 20 feet off the floor and a steep mud bank prevented my progress. I traversed the edge and found a negotiable bank in the mud and saw a hole beneath some rocks that I could slide through to the base of the pit. Unfortunately my natural equipment could not fit in between the hole, and I became trapped by the slick mud with the inability to pull myself out from under the large rock I had slid. I called for help and Kent responded by getting Mike Green and my pack straps to help pull me out. The rest of the crew had joined us three at this point, and Stephen and Matt raced back to their packs to get more equipment if necessary. Singing to pass the time before my rescue, I patiently waited as Mike traversed over to me, careful not to touch the large boulder I had slid beneath and provided a webbing loop from pack straps for me to pull myself out. What a precarious position I put myself in, but luckily we worked together and no one was hurt.
Mike, Chad, and Johnny slid easily into the pit where they gaze up over 120 feet and also found a gallery of siltsicles. While Chad, Mike, and I continued to explore for another half hour, the others began their return trip. The three of us continued to find domes, but the thick mud that entangled our bodies restricted our movements. I no longer had separate fingers and the mud made my movements lethargic and tiring. I managed to climb into one high dome careful of the slick surfaces and looked up over 100 feet. I found siltsicles over 3 inches high. It was here, deep within the cave, and hours of grueling passage ahead of me that I began to feel tired and sore.
We began our slow return, each step and climb precarious with our slick boots and suits. We found our way back to the place where Mike Green and I originally stopped our previous expedition, where we found Stephen and Matt waiting for us. We shared a hot meal and drank plenty of water. Kent and Johnny took off together shortly after our arrival, and it was soon after that the rest of us began the deliberate return. Mike, Stephen, and Matt passed Chad and I while we filtered water at the pit.
Our gear was in tatters; knee pads shredded, pack straps pulled, and our suits were ripped. My body began to cramp as I struggled to man handle my pack and we rested more. We rested frequently. Though our progress was slow, we set small goals to reach features within the cave, and we closed the distance to the surface. The water crawls became a relief to the mud and sweat that headed our progress. With grunts or agony, swearing, and a small yelp every now and again from a new bruise or scrape, we found ourselves at the tight entrance crawl. With fresh air not far ahead, we pressed on and joined the others on the surface.
With everyone’s efforts, we probably pushed Bynum’s to over a mile in length. The big dome-pit through the multiple limestones and shale layers is still undiscovered, and the end of the cave may never be found. A survey of Bynum’s Cave could prove to be one of the most difficult and grueling current surveys in TAG. Sitting here beat, sore, and broken, I once again fear my next trip into the cave.
Fro
Few have gone before us (Marion O. Smith, Kent Ballew, and Neeld Messler, to name a few), and few will probably follow. Bynum’s will continue deep into Lookout Mountain, pushing further and further to the south and inward towards the west. What is unclear is where the passages will ever, but what is clear is that Bynum’s Cave requires a conditioned caver, one that can withstand endless crawls, tight negotiations, hits like a hockey player, and the mental capacity to push forward when he/she knows what lies behind on the return to the surface.
Only one month after Mike Green and I braved the deepest push thus far in Bynum’s, we returned with reinforcements. ACES Brian Sakofsky, Mike Green, Chad Dubuisson Johnny Prouty, Matt Schohl, and Stephen Adcock were joined by Kent Ballew in Chattanooga with enough gear to sustain a deep push trip into Bynum’s Cave.
Johnny and I head into the cave first and push and grunted our way to the pit which was previously known to be the back of the cave. Just before reaching it, Mike Green caught up and it wasn’t too long before the rest of the group joined us in the fissure above the pit. We all took a break together and gathered our strengths. Not knowing what we had in store for us, we climbed high above the fissure to what seemed the highest part of the vadose canyon and began to traverse south along the axis of Lookout Mountain. I didn’t take us long to reach the point that Mike Green and I halted our last expedition due to lack of resources.
Here, we dropped down a fissure and continued along the sinuous canyon; up and down traversing different levels, and up, over, and through breakdown. Bynum’s tenacity had not wavered. Kent, Mike and I reached the edge of the first real dome-pit and looked down into darkness from a midlevel ledge. With our adrenaline pumping, Kent and I followed Mike down a side lead to the bottom of the 80 foot pit.
Rising off the floor, I found the fissure to continue on and continued winding my way into virgin darkness. The cave took a change in character here. The once dry, cracked mud of the abandoned vadose canyon passages gave way to soft, soupy, thick, light colored mud. I took a turn westward into a large dome area. Excited, I called for Kent and Mike to catch up. Mike Green did a daring climb and recounted to us that the passage continues in the westward direction in a series of domes each about 50 feet high. Without bolting gear, we could not fully explore this section so we returned to the south trend. We each began scouring the area, each in leads of our own and I found myself just above the base of the largest dome-pit encountered thus far. I was 20 feet off the floor and a steep mud bank prevented my progress. I traversed the edge and found a negotiable bank in the mud and saw a hole beneath some rocks that I could slide through to the base of the pit. Unfortunately my natural equipment could not fit in between the hole, and I became trapped by the slick mud with the inability to pull myself out from under the large rock I had slid. I called for help and Kent responded by getting Mike Green and my pack straps to help pull me out. The rest of the crew had joined us three at this point, and Stephen and Matt raced back to their packs to get more equipment if necessary. Singing to pass the time before my rescue, I patiently waited as Mike traversed over to me, careful not to touch the large boulder I had slid beneath and provided a webbing loop from pack straps for me to pull myself out. What a precarious position I put myself in, but luckily we worked together and no one was hurt.
Mike, Chad, and Johnny slid easily into the pit where they gaze up over 120 feet and also found a gallery of siltsicles. While Chad, Mike, and I continued to explore for another half hour, the others began their return trip. The three of us continued to find domes, but the thick mud that entangled our bodies restricted our movements. I no longer had separate fingers and the mud made my movements lethargic and tiring. I managed to climb into one high dome careful of the slick surfaces and looked up over 100 feet. I found siltsicles over 3 inches high. It was here, deep within the cave, and hours of grueling passage ahead of me that I began to feel tired and sore.
We began our slow return, each step and climb precarious with our slick boots and suits. We found our way back to the place where Mike Green and I originally stopped our previous expedition, where we found Stephen and Matt waiting for us. We shared a hot meal and drank plenty of water. Kent and Johnny took off together shortly after our arrival, and it was soon after that the rest of us began the deliberate return. Mike, Stephen, and Matt passed Chad and I while we filtered water at the pit.
Our gear was in tatters; knee pads shredded, pack straps pulled, and our suits were ripped. My body began to cramp as I struggled to man handle my pack and we rested more. We rested frequently. Though our progress was slow, we set small goals to reach features within the cave, and we closed the distance to the surface. The water crawls became a relief to the mud and sweat that headed our progress. With grunts or agony, swearing, and a small yelp every now and again from a new bruise or scrape, we found ourselves at the tight entrance crawl. With fresh air not far ahead, we pressed on and joined the others on the surface.
With everyone’s efforts, we probably pushed Bynum’s to over a mile in length. The big dome-pit through the multiple limestones and shale layers is still undiscovered, and the end of the cave may never be found. A survey of Bynum’s Cave could prove to be one of the most difficult and grueling current surveys in TAG. Sitting here beat, sore, and broken, I once again fear my next trip into the cave.
Fro
Now that's a good way for a caver to wake up! 
