











|
|
Punkin Cave
Scope And Purpose Of Project
The purpose of this project is to explore and survey Punkin Cave in order to create a useful map on which to base all research.
Research possibilities are geological interpretation, bat use, invertebrate ecology, airflow and meteorology, mineralogy,
speleogenesis. A map will provide a basis for all future exploration.
|
Project Management
Jim Kennedy is currently coordinating all survey trips into the cave, Jerry Atkinson manages the data,
and Pete Lindsley is drafting the map. The cave is owned by Texas Cave Management Association (TCMA),
and the property manager is Geary Schindel.
|
How Can I Get Involved
The timing and number of survey trips are limited by the bat presence in the cave. Also, the number of participants on each
trip is limited by TCMA policy. Preference for surveyors on upcoming trips is given to past participants. Any additional
openings are announced on CaveTex. Vertical skills and equipment is needed for
the entrance drop, and a willingness to survey mazy passage with considerable bat guano is required. New surveyors
will be teamed up with experienced cavers for on-the-job training.
|
|
This past weekend a diverse group of 18 cavers assembled at Texas Cave Management Association's fieldhouse in Carta Valley, Texas for the continued survey of Punkin Cave. We have had 4 teams in the cave previous to this trip, the most recent being 2 teams in November of last year. My ambitious plan was to have 4 teams in the cave at once, trying to get as much survey as possible before the bats return this spring. Trip length ran from 4.5 to 8 hours, depending on the team. Two teams went to the south end of the cave. Team 1 went to the Mortuary Room and mapped a couple of loops off the east end of the room and a bunch of stuff under the room. They also did a detailed survey of the small entrance to the cave, tying it in to the surface survey and the entrance room survey. There is still good airflow off the Mortuary Room, but everything gets too tight. Total for team 1 = 89.06m. Team 2 also headed into the Mortuary Room, but immediately started surveying an alternate route back up to the entrance room. They tied in to the permanent brass screw at station P3, creating another vertical loop. I think this is going to be called the Trick or Treat route from the team's comments in the survey book. As Don was telling me, if somebody above you kicked the wrong rocks, you would probably be buried in an avalanche of dry guano. A grisly fate! Total for Team 2 = 59.63m.
|
The other two teams went to the north end of the cave, and never saw each other all day. Team 3 returned to the Superstition Maze, mopping up some high loops and pushing the main survey trend southward, almost exactly back under the small entrance! They report that they scouted out a bunch more passage that they didn't have time to survey, and left dozens of leads. Total for Team 3 = 79.20m. Team 4 returned to the Nightmare on Maze Street with the intent of mopping up some small side leads and moving on to a different area. Well, the side leads went through a bunch of loops (most still unmapped) in a horrendous chert layer before popping out into the largest room found so far in that part of the cave. It was named Sleepy Hollow. A couple of base stations were set in that room for future surveys, but the sketcher was too overwhelmed by the complexity to continue in that direction, so it was soon left in favor of mopping up more small loops. However, and big new downtrending rift-type area was soon found, which lead to the current deepest point in the cave at -61.2m (-200.9 feet). One passage heading into this rift was mapped (Fifty Fathoms), and there are many high leads and parallel passages in this area. Total for Team 4 = 159.59m, and total to all teams for the day = 387.48m. The total survey for the cave now stands at 950.2m, or 3117.4 feet. Punkin Cave is now the 45th longest cave in Texas and has moved from the 56th to the 29th deepest.
TRIP PARTICIPANTS
Team 1
Pete Lindsley, Dallas
Kevin Lillie, Cloudcroft, NM
Bill Stephens, Wichita Falls
Stephen Bryant, Austin
Team 2
Allan Cobb, Austin
Don Arburn, Beeville
Lee Jay Graves, Austin
Wayne Hutchinson, Houston
Team 3
Wes Schumacher, Austin
Saj Pierson, Austin
Matt Zappitello, Austin
Tone Garot, Austin
Chris Vreeland, Austin
Team 4
Jim Kennedy, Austin
Mike Sisson, Austin
Gary Franklin, Austin
David Ochel, Austin
Charles Pekins, Lampasas
|
|
Twenty-one cavers from the Austin, Houston, San Antonio, and Dallas areas descended upon the wilds of Carta Valley to once again do battle with the monster known as Punkin Cave. 10 were returning veterans, bearing the physical and emotional scars from previous surveys into the bowels of the cave. The others were Punkin virgins, soon to be initiated to the guano-filled delights that keep bringing us back. By the end of the weekend we could lay claim to another 300 meters of hard-fought survey, and some increased photodocumentation.
The first group consisting of trip leader Jim Kennedy, Mike Sisson, and Lee Jay Graves arrived at the TCMA fieldhouse around 3:30 Friday afternoon, unloaded their vehicle, and opened the cabin. They then went to the cave to check out the bee situation (a non-issue) and rig the two entrances. They soon returned to the cabin and welcomed the other participants who were slowly trickling in. A couple of beers and some burgers and Elgin Garlic Sausage cooked on the grill topped off a satisfying evening under the full moon catching up with old friends.
The next morning saw a mass breakfast directed by Pete the Elder, with everybody tanking up for the long day ahead. Releases were signed, and a group meeting was held to go over the cabin and property rules and to assign everyone to teams and survey objectives. After the usual gearing up process, everyone headed to the cave to await their turns on the two rappel lines.
Wes and Team Superstition headed back to the end of the Superstition Maze, and gathered another 62.59 meters of survey in 20 shots, finishing off some leads. However, there is still much to do in this area.
Jim lead the usual band and a couple of new additions back to Sleepy Hollow, guiding Pete's and John's teams there to begin their surveys. Jim's intention was to survey out from Sleepy Hollow and connect back to Fifty Fathoms, but ended up spending the whole time in a confusing breakdown maze with lots of loops. Eventually the team got the heck out of there and surveyed some more stuff between the old ER survey and the beginning of the MS (Nightmare on Maze Street) survey, making some more connections and finishing off some leads left from the November and March trips. In 30 shots the team gained 90.58 meters, before bagging the survey to tour Fifty Fathoms.
Pete lead a mix of veterans and newcomers (including Re-Pete) through the upper reaches of Sleepy Hollow, sketching this complex area and surveying some of the many leads. There were several tie-ins to existing survey, creating more loops but allowing us to check our survey accuracy (which so far has been consistently good). This team racked up 68.76 meters of survey in 17 stations.
John and his team started on the west side of Sleepy Hollow, and soon found themselves surveying through a tight crack (the Nipple Remover) to some underlying maze, and eventually finding a back route into Fifty Fathoms, first seen from below in March. The team met up with Jim's team as they shot the last few stations into Fifty Fathoms, and followed Jim back out the originally-surveyed route to avoid the dreaded Nipple Remover. Total for this team: 74.51 meters and 23 shots.
Altogether, the four teams produced another 269.44 meters of survey (972.6 feet), bringing the total to date for Punkin Cave to 1378 meters. Some of this is splay shots and redundant survey, but even when we exclude those shots, Punkin will get bumped up from the 45th spot on the Texas Long Cave List to the 34th or maybe even the 33rd spot! It still remains the 29th deepest, as we were unable to extend the depth of the cave on this trip.
Austin caver Ben Kim was a one-man photography team on this expedition, shooting lots of great stills and some of his amazing panoramas, particularly in the entrance room. These are true spherical panoramas that we can use for presentations. See below section for online panoramas of Punkin Cave.
Saturday evening was another feast by Pete Lindsley and crew, after which we retired to the roaring campfire to blow off some steam, tell stories, drink adult beverages, smoke cigars, and so on. We even had a "drive-in" movie on the back porch before retiring for the night!
Finally, on Sunday, a group of us headed out to do some much-needed road work, while a larger group headed off to Deep Cave, guided by Don Arburn. The Forest of Columns, Bear Scratch Room, Lunch Room, and Miller Time were visited, and a small cluster of a couple hundred Cave Myotis (Myotis velifer) were noted in the Forest of Columns. Afterwards, everyone picked off ticks accumulated at the entrance. All pitched in with cleaning up the cabin (especially Hue) and grounds before mothballing everything for the next trip.
So another highly successful expedition to Punkin Cave draws to a close with this writing. There is still the usual data processing, map drafting, and so on. And, of course, planning the next expedition!
|
TRIP PARTICIPANTS
Team 1
Wes Schumacher, Austin (sketcher)
Matt Zappitello, Austin
Tone Garot, Austin
Sandi Calhoun, Austin
Devra Heyer, Austin
Team 2
Jim Kennedy, Austin (sketcher)
Mike Sisson, Austin
Gary Franklin, Austin
Corey Moser, Austin
Hue Moser, Austin
Team 3
Pete Lindsley, Dallas (sketcher)
Pete "Re-Pete" Chomak, Dallas
David Ochel, Austin
Lee Jay Graves, Austin
Bonnie Longley, Austin
Team 4
John Brooks, Dallas (sketcher)
Don Arburn, San Antonio
Matt Turner, Austin
Frank Grimes, Houston
Joanna Hajdik, Houston
Team 5
Ben Kim, Austin
|
|
|
|
|
|
|