Post by Mike Green on Aug 9, 2007 10:15:39 GMT -5
It was a pleasant Saturday afternoon when Stephen Adcock, Drew Cole,
and I (Mike Green) decided we were pumped and ready to tackle the
nearby Luminary Pit. Hardcore caving blood coursed through our
veins with speckles of mud and bat poo as we thought about how long
we had waited to bottom this TAG horror hole. For once in our
lives, time was on our side, and Stephen and I were closing in on
the rendezvous point (hwy 127); however, things always seem to go
aria with us. Upon reaching the now dubbed Highway to Hell, locals
littered the streets pettling crap that they must have made at
home. Wooden Indians, stuffed opossums, a giant inflatable monkey,
and other unique items blended right in with the hoards of people
anxious to rid themselves of their hard earned pay. Needless to
say, we aborted the long haul down 127 to Luminary Pit, and decided
to change our plans. Damn it! Foiled again!
Drew, Stephen, and I opted to visit Jewitt II, and diverted our
course onto hwy 68. Our goal was to bottom the H Passage which is
one of two 600’+ stream passages. None in our group had visited
this portion of the cave, and it was sure to be a fun trip.
It wasn’t long until our merry band of buffoons had located and
rappelled the entrance climbdown (15’). After following the main
passage for a few hundred feet, we slipped down into the tight
canyon to the top of a key hole drop (15’). From the bottom of this
pit, we proceed only a hundred feet to the beginning of a long crawl
to Sorry Pit (yet another 15’ drop). After this pit, we were in
passage unknown to the likes of our group. As ACES, we decided to
follow the stream into a low, shitty crawl. “I remember the SERA
guidebook saying this is going to be all walking passage,†I
hopefully announced as I plunged into the water. I thought I heard
something about Mike Green being a pansy, but I decided to let it
slide and I proceeded forward. Literally hundreds of feet passed as
the passage began to shrink to a belly crawl. I could hear Stephen
proclaiming that he was as happy as a pig in shit. I gritted my
teeth. All I wanted was some nice walking passage! “I’ll have to
rock him later,†I thought to myself.
After destroying our suits for a few more minutes, we reached a
junction. I decided that I would be the one to check the dry
passage, while Stephen checked the wet miserable side. After twenty
feet, I took my helmet off and pressed forward. It wasn’t long
until I thought it would be best to back out of the “dig†as I
called it. Stephen’s lead wasn’t any better. Feeling like losers,
we began to route. I made a joke about going to Grassy Cove
Saltpeter, but no one laughed. I thought it was funny...Stephen
began talking about the monster borehole that we must have
overlooked. Not really believing anything we were talking about, I
said that we would find it on the way out. Sure enough, after
returning to Sorry Pit, there was a climbup proceeded only by, you
guessed it, walking passage! That’s the same old shit on a
different day.
From that moment, the cave became a nice walking paradise with
scrambling, stooping, and plenty of length (approximately mile one
way). At the bottom of the cave, I dove into the stream once again
as it snaked around as a very low-plain crawl. I went until both
sides of my face were squished between the ceiling and the floor.
It was here that I retreated.
The journey out went pretty well except for one portion where we
traveled at least 1000’ in most likely virgin passage. It wasn’t
long until we all saw daylight once again.
Note from author:
This trip has been one of many that have sparked my interest on Hinch Mountain. During my lunch break yesterday, I crossplotted Jewitt and Jewitt II (yes, Im a cave dork) and found many correlations between the two caves. I think that I will carry out efforts to bolt climb some of these domes in the near future.
Does anyone have any interesting facts about this mountain or these caves? Do you all know any good contacts that would be educated on the karst layout?
and I (Mike Green) decided we were pumped and ready to tackle the
nearby Luminary Pit. Hardcore caving blood coursed through our
veins with speckles of mud and bat poo as we thought about how long
we had waited to bottom this TAG horror hole. For once in our
lives, time was on our side, and Stephen and I were closing in on
the rendezvous point (hwy 127); however, things always seem to go
aria with us. Upon reaching the now dubbed Highway to Hell, locals
littered the streets pettling crap that they must have made at
home. Wooden Indians, stuffed opossums, a giant inflatable monkey,
and other unique items blended right in with the hoards of people
anxious to rid themselves of their hard earned pay. Needless to
say, we aborted the long haul down 127 to Luminary Pit, and decided
to change our plans. Damn it! Foiled again!
Drew, Stephen, and I opted to visit Jewitt II, and diverted our
course onto hwy 68. Our goal was to bottom the H Passage which is
one of two 600’+ stream passages. None in our group had visited
this portion of the cave, and it was sure to be a fun trip.
It wasn’t long until our merry band of buffoons had located and
rappelled the entrance climbdown (15’). After following the main
passage for a few hundred feet, we slipped down into the tight
canyon to the top of a key hole drop (15’). From the bottom of this
pit, we proceed only a hundred feet to the beginning of a long crawl
to Sorry Pit (yet another 15’ drop). After this pit, we were in
passage unknown to the likes of our group. As ACES, we decided to
follow the stream into a low, shitty crawl. “I remember the SERA
guidebook saying this is going to be all walking passage,†I
hopefully announced as I plunged into the water. I thought I heard
something about Mike Green being a pansy, but I decided to let it
slide and I proceeded forward. Literally hundreds of feet passed as
the passage began to shrink to a belly crawl. I could hear Stephen
proclaiming that he was as happy as a pig in shit. I gritted my
teeth. All I wanted was some nice walking passage! “I’ll have to
rock him later,†I thought to myself.
After destroying our suits for a few more minutes, we reached a
junction. I decided that I would be the one to check the dry
passage, while Stephen checked the wet miserable side. After twenty
feet, I took my helmet off and pressed forward. It wasn’t long
until I thought it would be best to back out of the “dig†as I
called it. Stephen’s lead wasn’t any better. Feeling like losers,
we began to route. I made a joke about going to Grassy Cove
Saltpeter, but no one laughed. I thought it was funny...Stephen
began talking about the monster borehole that we must have
overlooked. Not really believing anything we were talking about, I
said that we would find it on the way out. Sure enough, after
returning to Sorry Pit, there was a climbup proceeded only by, you
guessed it, walking passage! That’s the same old shit on a
different day.
From that moment, the cave became a nice walking paradise with
scrambling, stooping, and plenty of length (approximately mile one
way). At the bottom of the cave, I dove into the stream once again
as it snaked around as a very low-plain crawl. I went until both
sides of my face were squished between the ceiling and the floor.
It was here that I retreated.
The journey out went pretty well except for one portion where we
traveled at least 1000’ in most likely virgin passage. It wasn’t
long until we all saw daylight once again.
Note from author:
This trip has been one of many that have sparked my interest on Hinch Mountain. During my lunch break yesterday, I crossplotted Jewitt and Jewitt II (yes, Im a cave dork) and found many correlations between the two caves. I think that I will carry out efforts to bolt climb some of these domes in the near future.
Does anyone have any interesting facts about this mountain or these caves? Do you all know any good contacts that would be educated on the karst layout?
