Post by afrochili on Oct 23, 2006 20:45:52 GMT -5
We've all experienced talking to someone who doesn't cave and their response to our stories is "I could never do that, I'm too claustrophobic." Our response is usually something along the lines of (except if you're Panama Red), "Oh, but we wouldn't stick you into a small, tight caves on your first trip or two. We ease you into it." Bynum's is one of those caves that we all would avoid bringing anyone who we would want to have interest in caving after their trip. So here I am, able to move for about ten minutes at a time before collapsing on my tired and aching body; rest my head against a cool rock and catch my breath. I'm crawling forward with my arms outstretched in front of me, arms useless, head stuck to the side, and my body pinned on all four sides. The only thing propelling me forward is my ankles and toes at an inch at a time. I'm on my way out of Bynum's after eight and a half hours with Mike Green (Bitch), and we are both physically and mentally exhausted. I might look like a pig in a blanket, but I'm almost out.
Bynum's is the type of cave that could tire you out, even a hardcore ACES caver, and you would get stuck in its endless devastating crawlways; its sharp, tight rocks. You could even panic yourself in angst out of getting caught in its grasp. (Does this happen to ACES cavers?) Many a caver has been beaten by Bynum's grip.
The last adventure by ACES into Bynum's, where the hard-core crew ventured as far and as deep as they could go, a high lead was left unattended, and Mike and my goal, with hammer and chisel in hand, was to go as far and as high as we could. We entered at 1300 hours and blasted down the 20' entrance drop, and through the 40' tight, key-hole crawl. It took us hardy any time to reach the 20' climb down and the ear-dipper crawl where Mike and I dug my fat ass through the cobbles as I laid in the water. From there, we crawled, stooped and dragged our bodies through the cave for about an hour and a half until we reached the stream once again. We had already shed our poly pro tops and ventured on with a synthetic t-shirt under our nylon cave suits, still we found ourselves overheated and our mouths dry. We proceeded through a hands and knees water crawl and before we knew it, we reach the 50 ' drop. This is the only drop in the cave and has been thoroughly explored by Ballew, Dubuisson, and me. This is where we were to begin our exploration.
We found a bizarre pile of sand with Proudy's head imprint still in it from long ago. Here, Mike Green headed up and I proceed to persuasively negotiate the opening. After improvements, I found a better way up and we rose about 20 feet above the level of the drop. Backtracking in the direction we came from, Mike had found a way further up to a level approximately 50 feet above the drop and into virgin passage. We decided first, to travel back the direction we came from. Continuing -along the Northeast/Southwest trend, Mike and I searched for a perpendicular joint-passage. After Mike located a pinch in the upper passage trend, I noticed a perpendicular joint, and coerced Mike into checking the tight squeeze. Sure enough, it went, but Mike could not proceed past the boulders embedded in the mud.
We decided to continue in the opposite direction, following the Southeast trend and deeper into the cave. Every footprint was the first to be laid down in Bynum's and every drop of sweat, the first. We traversed single file through the meandering passage and the brilliant cracked mud-stone following the trend of Lookout Mountain. We hovered over the deep vadose canyon below our feet. The cave continued onward into endless darkness. We located a joint and turned right into it. After a little negotiation, we were both able to rise above the level of the trend passage and continue forward. Mike Green’s eyes gleamed in the brilliance of white calcite or gypsum before him, and he was able to hear an echo beyond before being turned back by a tight squeeze. Interesting to me was the fact that the passage changed from fairly flat bedding planes to a nearly 60 degree bedding plane. There must be a large shaft that underwent dissolution to allow a huge chunk of limestone to fall in its current position. Later a fissure formed through the large limestone.
For those who do not know Uncle Ballew, he is a tough caver, loud Southerner, and a genius. He’s so intelligent, in fact, that he’s a bit insane (he’ll tell you this if you ask). Uncle Ballew formed a theory of a large shaft developing through the resistant layers of the Bangor and the Hartselle, and finally through the Monteagle Limestone. If a fault passes through, or terminates in Lookout Mountain here, his theory holds ground. Bynum’s is the place this would exist, and every trip within the last couple of years has been in search of this dome-pit. The passage that Mike and I found could very well be the bottom of such a pit.
This is the first place that I would use microblasting to find an expansive dome-pit in Bynum's. We returned to the major trend and continued onward. The passage continued with the vadose canyon impending doom below us until we came to another lead. Mike and I came to the realization that the cave continued onward to the Southwest, and with leads left and right on multiple levels, we did not have the resources to continue. We decided to turn back in walking passage, approximate 750-1000 feet beyond the point of the 50' drop.
All and all, Mike and I figured we scooped approximately 1200' of virgin booty! That and the fact that we turned around in walking passage, might propel others to continue in our footsteps. Mike and I will definitely return, but we both need some recovery time, and time enough to forget Bynum's torture I now make a challenge to anyone to find my NSS numbers, and Mike Green (Bitch)'s name in the mud and continue where we left off.
Exhausted, and dehydrated, we turned around and began the trip back to the point where we originally ascended into the upper passage and dropped back down to the pit level. Slowly and not without a certain degree of agony, we made our way back. Continuing through the stream crawls, sand crawl, and up into the meandering crawls, back down to the stream once again to the ear dipper crawl and to the rope climb. After climbing the rope we continued to the sitting room right before the entrance key-hole, which brings us to the present.
My eyes are on the prize, the entrance climb and a Gatorade at the gas station at the bottom of he hill. I've tethered our combined packs behind me and Mike is struggling with his shoulder behind me. What he doesn't know is that I'm struggling with the rest of my body ahead of him. The wind is howling at my face through the crawl. After contorting my body in circus acrobat-like ways, and at least three breaks, I find myself out of the key-hole and into crawling passage once again. I pick up our pack and crawl and climb my way to the bottom of the entrance drop. Managing to climb the entrance drop, I walk up to the cars and thank what-ever G-d may be out there, that once again, I've survived Bynum's Cave.
Most definately, the ACES and Uncle Ballew will need to proceed with another trip into the bowels of Bynum's. This time we must be armed with extra food, a stove, iodine tablets (or other purification methods), and fresh young (ignorant) cavers to continue in our footsteps.
Fro
Bynum's is the type of cave that could tire you out, even a hardcore ACES caver, and you would get stuck in its endless devastating crawlways; its sharp, tight rocks. You could even panic yourself in angst out of getting caught in its grasp. (Does this happen to ACES cavers?) Many a caver has been beaten by Bynum's grip.
The last adventure by ACES into Bynum's, where the hard-core crew ventured as far and as deep as they could go, a high lead was left unattended, and Mike and my goal, with hammer and chisel in hand, was to go as far and as high as we could. We entered at 1300 hours and blasted down the 20' entrance drop, and through the 40' tight, key-hole crawl. It took us hardy any time to reach the 20' climb down and the ear-dipper crawl where Mike and I dug my fat ass through the cobbles as I laid in the water. From there, we crawled, stooped and dragged our bodies through the cave for about an hour and a half until we reached the stream once again. We had already shed our poly pro tops and ventured on with a synthetic t-shirt under our nylon cave suits, still we found ourselves overheated and our mouths dry. We proceeded through a hands and knees water crawl and before we knew it, we reach the 50 ' drop. This is the only drop in the cave and has been thoroughly explored by Ballew, Dubuisson, and me. This is where we were to begin our exploration.
We found a bizarre pile of sand with Proudy's head imprint still in it from long ago. Here, Mike Green headed up and I proceed to persuasively negotiate the opening. After improvements, I found a better way up and we rose about 20 feet above the level of the drop. Backtracking in the direction we came from, Mike had found a way further up to a level approximately 50 feet above the drop and into virgin passage. We decided first, to travel back the direction we came from. Continuing -along the Northeast/Southwest trend, Mike and I searched for a perpendicular joint-passage. After Mike located a pinch in the upper passage trend, I noticed a perpendicular joint, and coerced Mike into checking the tight squeeze. Sure enough, it went, but Mike could not proceed past the boulders embedded in the mud.
We decided to continue in the opposite direction, following the Southeast trend and deeper into the cave. Every footprint was the first to be laid down in Bynum's and every drop of sweat, the first. We traversed single file through the meandering passage and the brilliant cracked mud-stone following the trend of Lookout Mountain. We hovered over the deep vadose canyon below our feet. The cave continued onward into endless darkness. We located a joint and turned right into it. After a little negotiation, we were both able to rise above the level of the trend passage and continue forward. Mike Green’s eyes gleamed in the brilliance of white calcite or gypsum before him, and he was able to hear an echo beyond before being turned back by a tight squeeze. Interesting to me was the fact that the passage changed from fairly flat bedding planes to a nearly 60 degree bedding plane. There must be a large shaft that underwent dissolution to allow a huge chunk of limestone to fall in its current position. Later a fissure formed through the large limestone.
For those who do not know Uncle Ballew, he is a tough caver, loud Southerner, and a genius. He’s so intelligent, in fact, that he’s a bit insane (he’ll tell you this if you ask). Uncle Ballew formed a theory of a large shaft developing through the resistant layers of the Bangor and the Hartselle, and finally through the Monteagle Limestone. If a fault passes through, or terminates in Lookout Mountain here, his theory holds ground. Bynum’s is the place this would exist, and every trip within the last couple of years has been in search of this dome-pit. The passage that Mike and I found could very well be the bottom of such a pit.
This is the first place that I would use microblasting to find an expansive dome-pit in Bynum's. We returned to the major trend and continued onward. The passage continued with the vadose canyon impending doom below us until we came to another lead. Mike and I came to the realization that the cave continued onward to the Southwest, and with leads left and right on multiple levels, we did not have the resources to continue. We decided to turn back in walking passage, approximate 750-1000 feet beyond the point of the 50' drop.
All and all, Mike and I figured we scooped approximately 1200' of virgin booty! That and the fact that we turned around in walking passage, might propel others to continue in our footsteps. Mike and I will definitely return, but we both need some recovery time, and time enough to forget Bynum's torture I now make a challenge to anyone to find my NSS numbers, and Mike Green (Bitch)'s name in the mud and continue where we left off.
Exhausted, and dehydrated, we turned around and began the trip back to the point where we originally ascended into the upper passage and dropped back down to the pit level. Slowly and not without a certain degree of agony, we made our way back. Continuing through the stream crawls, sand crawl, and up into the meandering crawls, back down to the stream once again to the ear dipper crawl and to the rope climb. After climbing the rope we continued to the sitting room right before the entrance key-hole, which brings us to the present.
My eyes are on the prize, the entrance climb and a Gatorade at the gas station at the bottom of he hill. I've tethered our combined packs behind me and Mike is struggling with his shoulder behind me. What he doesn't know is that I'm struggling with the rest of my body ahead of him. The wind is howling at my face through the crawl. After contorting my body in circus acrobat-like ways, and at least three breaks, I find myself out of the key-hole and into crawling passage once again. I pick up our pack and crawl and climb my way to the bottom of the entrance drop. Managing to climb the entrance drop, I walk up to the cars and thank what-ever G-d may be out there, that once again, I've survived Bynum's Cave.
Most definately, the ACES and Uncle Ballew will need to proceed with another trip into the bowels of Bynum's. This time we must be armed with extra food, a stove, iodine tablets (or other purification methods), and fresh young (ignorant) cavers to continue in our footsteps.
Fro
