Gardening and composting Flood Cavern the lower reaches.
Wednesday, 12 July 2017
Took the day off as the forecast was fine. Again cave had flooded so some clearing to reach old end. Got there and cracked on. The proceeding crawl was enlarged a little debris was cleared from where I’d got to before. The hole down was enlarged a little. Then the roof checked and a large chunk fell off. This had to be broken up and dragged out. Access to the pool was restricted due a large block that appeared to be holding up a larger part of the roof. The front pointy bit was broken off to allow access to the pool.
This is where gardening and composting moves into sewage works. The smell bubbles and wriggling things that emerged were a little unpleasant to say the least.
I squeezed round the block, nose and mouth just out the water to a desperate squeeze over bed rock which i couldn’t pass and the way on look hopeless. I retreated and Shezi had a look pulled out the chunk i’d knocked off but was comfortable going under the roof. So swapped again and I barred and jiggled the remaining lump of rock out of it place where it had appeared to be holding up the roof. I wasn’t squashed and managed to force it into the side where I had squeezed past it.
This then enable an full body length immersion in a pool of water and other items. This time I’d gone in with helmet off to give a little more head room. the front was inspected the detritus poked and pulled on. But this time bits of the roof were dropping off, as the edges were tugged on. Not convinced this bit is the way on and may have to have a crack at the stuff to the left. Right is desperately low less than 6inches with around 4inches of water.
A retreat was called after 2hours of lying in water in wetsuits.
Not sure if it will make us ill. Once outside again we had a look around the undercut and found about 10m of passage at the down stream end of the undercut. A bar was used to remove some detritus jammed against a small boulder. This spot might be interesting but will be harder to work as it is heading into a body sized elliptical tube passage continued beyond boulder. More work required.
Comments
I think you have reached the duck – critical point. Should be quite short, then up a slope out of the water and straight ahead into a small passage that will be blocked with sticks, gravel etc – this took a while to get past in 1997 – then it opens up – low and wide, you go along the left side and it eventually goes big. Inlet on left and straight ahead in big bedding to sump. Off right at the top of the slope is a low bedding that initially appears more open than the small probably blocked passage but rapidly gets too low.
Keep going!
Andy Tharratt