Post by Brad Tipton on Aug 4, 2008 23:12:30 GMT -5
This past Saturday I met a Will and his crew for our scheduled trip to Fern Cave. The humidity was shocking again this weekend. At 10am the temperature in Scottsboro was already quite uncomfortable. The 500 foot elevation needed to attain the Johnston and Surprise entrances of Fern Cave didn't seem very appealing in the smothering Alabama atmosphere. Despite the heat, humidity, bees, snakes, and wilting motivation, we set off.
Seven of us split up into two groups. Aaron, Chris and I went into the Fern sink to rig the 404 foot Surprise Pit while Will went with the others to the Johnston entrance in search of Altoid Pit and many others located just inside the cave. The plan was to bounce Surprise, leave the rope rigged and swap pits with Will's group. The three of us made it to Torode's ledge quickly. The ledge as always was slick and wet, not the ideal combination when perched over a 437 foot drop. We negotiated the ledge safely and proceeded to rig the drop. Chris rappelled 1st, Aaron followed and I was last.
Very little water was falling into the pit which allowed for a far better view that wasn't impeded by mist. Despite the lack of mist, the pit's volume still shrouds the walls and floor from my view for the majority of the rappell. The massive pile of broken rock always comes into view before the floor where I land. The mound of breakdown at the bottom of Surprise Pit must be 75 feet high. In order to get safely out of the rockfall area everyone has to climb to the top. The bottom of the pit is massive, yet it is isolated from the rest of the 25 miles of Fern Cave. There is no practical way to access the rest of the cave without an extraordinary amount of effort and exposure. Once on bottom, there isn't much to do other than rest and prepare to climb back out. Chris and I tandemed out first leaving Aaron down below. I climbed with my light out, taking advantage of Aaron's Stenlight illuminating the far reaches of the shaft. It is amazing how much more you can see with someone else shining their light at a distance. Once we were back on the bridge Aaron climbed while we packed up.
Outside the cave, we proceeded a few hundred feet to the Johnston entrance. In the distance to the north, we could hear a storm brewing in Paint Rock Valley. The thunder was rumbling and the wind was picking up. When we arrived, the other crew was surfacing. Will gave us some pointers, which were, take a left, stay left, there is a register then left.....well.....I don't know about that. We entered the cave and began searching for the pit that Will left rigged. We went left, left, left and found no pits rigged. We did get a visual on the 117 foot pit on the way in which the other group opted to skip as they continued deeper into the cave. While we were wandering aimlessly, we happened upon a roost of bats that were actively dispersing. There were hundreds filing out of the room, noisily making their flight towards the cave's exit. Within a few minutes the roost had dissipated and the the cave returned to silence. I haven't witnessed that in many years. It was quite fascinating.
Meanwhile on the surface, the storm arrived at Keel Mountain and we could hear and feel the thunder inside the cave. Within an hour, many places that were previously dry began to flow with muddy streams. One of those instant streams led Aaron into a narrow canyon which lead to the top of the 144 foot pit. Upon inspection, I found no practical rig points above the drop. I elected to not attempt the exposed climb down to the edge of the pit to look for rigging. We finally found the two parallel pits rigged right outside the register room. These two pits dropped into a canyon with a muddy stream flowing from a high dome that seemed to meander in the direction of the wet 144 foot pit. I am guessing they are likely one in the same. Altoid Pit was broken by ledges, the parallel drop was practically free. The shallower pit had amazing acoustics.
Once we finished the parallel drops we traveled back towards the entrance. Since the other group had not returned from Surprise Pit, we decided to drop the 117 foot pit which is the best of the three we visited in the Johnston entrance. The 117 footer is whitewashed, scalloped limestone, littered with fossils and geodes. The bottom of the pit is another low level canyon with a waterfall. There wasn't a speck of mud in the bottom of this pit. Despite the thunderstorm dumping buckets of water on the mountain this pit was completely dry. Strange for a pit with whitewashed, fluted walls and a clean floor.
Once I was back on top, Will had returned from Surprise Pit. We traded stories, coiled rope and headed out. On the surface it was dusk and far cooler. The humidity that had been stifling earlier in the morning was now tolerable. The hike out was short and uneventful. We observed a swollen Paint Rock River which had risen many feet in the storm. All the water made for a slick and muddy return trip along the road past Kennemer Cave and back to the pavement. Once on the highway we decended upon the local Ruby Tuesdays for a much deserved dinner.
I calculated that my crew climbed approximately 800 feet of vertical drops spread out across 4 seperate pits. 3 of those pits were drops I had never visited. I am not even sure that two of them have proper names. It was a long but rewarding day.
117 footer (Just inside Johnston Entrance)
153 foot Altoid Pit
140 foot parallel pit (Altoid alternate route)
404 foot Surprise Pit
Seven of us split up into two groups. Aaron, Chris and I went into the Fern sink to rig the 404 foot Surprise Pit while Will went with the others to the Johnston entrance in search of Altoid Pit and many others located just inside the cave. The plan was to bounce Surprise, leave the rope rigged and swap pits with Will's group. The three of us made it to Torode's ledge quickly. The ledge as always was slick and wet, not the ideal combination when perched over a 437 foot drop. We negotiated the ledge safely and proceeded to rig the drop. Chris rappelled 1st, Aaron followed and I was last.
Very little water was falling into the pit which allowed for a far better view that wasn't impeded by mist. Despite the lack of mist, the pit's volume still shrouds the walls and floor from my view for the majority of the rappell. The massive pile of broken rock always comes into view before the floor where I land. The mound of breakdown at the bottom of Surprise Pit must be 75 feet high. In order to get safely out of the rockfall area everyone has to climb to the top. The bottom of the pit is massive, yet it is isolated from the rest of the 25 miles of Fern Cave. There is no practical way to access the rest of the cave without an extraordinary amount of effort and exposure. Once on bottom, there isn't much to do other than rest and prepare to climb back out. Chris and I tandemed out first leaving Aaron down below. I climbed with my light out, taking advantage of Aaron's Stenlight illuminating the far reaches of the shaft. It is amazing how much more you can see with someone else shining their light at a distance. Once we were back on the bridge Aaron climbed while we packed up.
Outside the cave, we proceeded a few hundred feet to the Johnston entrance. In the distance to the north, we could hear a storm brewing in Paint Rock Valley. The thunder was rumbling and the wind was picking up. When we arrived, the other crew was surfacing. Will gave us some pointers, which were, take a left, stay left, there is a register then left.....well.....I don't know about that. We entered the cave and began searching for the pit that Will left rigged. We went left, left, left and found no pits rigged. We did get a visual on the 117 foot pit on the way in which the other group opted to skip as they continued deeper into the cave. While we were wandering aimlessly, we happened upon a roost of bats that were actively dispersing. There were hundreds filing out of the room, noisily making their flight towards the cave's exit. Within a few minutes the roost had dissipated and the the cave returned to silence. I haven't witnessed that in many years. It was quite fascinating.
Meanwhile on the surface, the storm arrived at Keel Mountain and we could hear and feel the thunder inside the cave. Within an hour, many places that were previously dry began to flow with muddy streams. One of those instant streams led Aaron into a narrow canyon which lead to the top of the 144 foot pit. Upon inspection, I found no practical rig points above the drop. I elected to not attempt the exposed climb down to the edge of the pit to look for rigging. We finally found the two parallel pits rigged right outside the register room. These two pits dropped into a canyon with a muddy stream flowing from a high dome that seemed to meander in the direction of the wet 144 foot pit. I am guessing they are likely one in the same. Altoid Pit was broken by ledges, the parallel drop was practically free. The shallower pit had amazing acoustics.
Once we finished the parallel drops we traveled back towards the entrance. Since the other group had not returned from Surprise Pit, we decided to drop the 117 foot pit which is the best of the three we visited in the Johnston entrance. The 117 footer is whitewashed, scalloped limestone, littered with fossils and geodes. The bottom of the pit is another low level canyon with a waterfall. There wasn't a speck of mud in the bottom of this pit. Despite the thunderstorm dumping buckets of water on the mountain this pit was completely dry. Strange for a pit with whitewashed, fluted walls and a clean floor.
Once I was back on top, Will had returned from Surprise Pit. We traded stories, coiled rope and headed out. On the surface it was dusk and far cooler. The humidity that had been stifling earlier in the morning was now tolerable. The hike out was short and uneventful. We observed a swollen Paint Rock River which had risen many feet in the storm. All the water made for a slick and muddy return trip along the road past Kennemer Cave and back to the pavement. Once on the highway we decended upon the local Ruby Tuesdays for a much deserved dinner.
I calculated that my crew climbed approximately 800 feet of vertical drops spread out across 4 seperate pits. 3 of those pits were drops I had never visited. I am not even sure that two of them have proper names. It was a long but rewarding day.
117 footer (Just inside Johnston Entrance)
153 foot Altoid Pit
140 foot parallel pit (Altoid alternate route)
404 foot Surprise Pit
