ADAM HAYDOCK

Looking down a 586ft pit on rope and knowing that we are about to drop deep into the center of a mountain is an experience that few words can describe.   One word did come to mind when the drop was named and that word must have been Fantastic!  Steve Scoutaris, Noboru Sakabe and Adam Haydock rented a car to take a weekend trip down to the world famous Ellisons cave in Georgia.  I remember back in march, Chris Parks and I were talking about planning a crossover trip and I want to thank Chris for getting the gears in motion and making this trip happen!!!  Anticipation was growing as the days got closer to this epic weekend and finally the hours were counting down to our departure down to Georgia.  Noboru came to my place and we picked up a rental car the following morning, picked up Steve at his house, and drove for 10 hours to Lafayette Georgia. Steve went to work the night before at midnight and got off work at 8 am so he did not get any sleep when I picked him up.  Your a crazy mofo Steve but I love that dedication!  The passengers in the car were hating me for eating 5, yes 5 hard boiled eggs prior to the ride so I quickly diverted from my usual Pantera and metal classics for some relaxing sounds so Steve could sleep.   It's quite a long ride but we managed to get there right at 9pm which made us one of the first groups to show up.  After a while people started trickling into the campsite but after talking with Troy for a bit, I ended up going to sleep early so I could get a good nights rest. 

The next morning we woke up early and got ready for our adventure through Ellisons cave. The crossover trip consisted of 13 great cavers; Noboru Sakabe, Elliot Stahl, Dave Stahl, Brian Killingbeck, Grace Baumann, Anmar Mirza, Aaron Atz, Kevin Romanak, Troy Fuqua, Steve Scoutaris, Jessie Houser, Joe Kinder, and Adam Haydock. Chris parks couldn't make it due to work obligations.  We drove to the blue hole where the trailhead starts the hike up the mountain to the entrance of Ellisons cave and the Dug entrance where we would enter the cave.

Blue Hole Ellisons Cave

We went over our plan which was going to be consisted of two groups; one group was Anmar, Troy, Noboru, Steve, and myself. The other group was Elliot, Dave, Grace, Brian, Joe, Jesse, and Aaron. Our groups objective was to enter the cave, rig, and rappel the 120 ft warm up pit. Than bring the 700 feet of rope across handline ledges to the attic of Fantastic pit.  The objective of the other group was to hike up and around the mountain to the Incredible Pit side, Rig the first 50ft drop, than rig the second 80ft drop, and rig and rappel the final 440 ft Incredible Pit drop.  After each group reached the ground we were going to travel through the cave passage and meet half way inside the cave. Than we would continue up each others rigged rope, de-rig the ropes we climb out on, and exit the cave at the other sides of the cave creating the crossover trip.

We entered the Cave, Rigged and Rapped the warm up pit, and made our journey to the Attic of Fantastic Pit.  The ledge bending around the drop didn't seem to bad but knowing you could slip and fall 586ft was a bit of an eye opener but thankfully handlines a were in place which made it even easier. I didn't really think about it till I realized where I was. Troy and Anmar rigged to the bolts on the ceiling so we had to actually swing out into the pit just a little in order to start our descent. Troy went first following and as Anmar was descending, we heard an unusual screeching noise coming out of the pit but it turned out to be the dirt and dust on the rope making a sound as the rack was feeding through the rope. I got on rope next, dialed into the pigtail line, than dialed into the main line that would swing me out into the darkness. I took a deep breath as my blood started to boil for a few seconds and stepped over the edge  I look up at the bolt locked into the rock and look down with a sense of a calm, focused, and a rather exhilarated feeling knowing right now that I am 586 ft on rope looking into the deepest vertical drop in the United States. I popped off a bar and maneuvered my rack to 4 1/2 bars which started my descent. I had to feed the rack a bit at times and got a few blasts of dust in my face as the rack screeched down the rope descending into the darkness. As I got closer to the ground I went through a fog cloud and at one point it was me in a foggy haze with a white rope suspending me in a darkness until I came in sight of the group below. I started to ascend faster so I popped on another bar. I started picking up more speed and in about 6 minutes I was at the bottom of Fantastic pit. It was amazing to look up and see how enormous this pit is inside this cave. I couldn't believe it. 

Fantastic Pit Ellisons cave

I want to recognize Troy for his leadership in how he assessed, handled, and executed one of the best cave rescues I have ever known. The decisions you made to save this cavers life were brave, thoughtful, and was put into action with precision. You did everything right and my hat comes off to you. Now the same climb that the victim fell into, is now our next obstacle. The climb itself didn't seem to challenging but knowing this location had a history, I put my harness on and clipped into the handlines to ensure my safety and to ease any worries anyone else might have had.  We all climbed up and made it safely to the upper passage. 

The climb to the upper passage

We continued on and eventually made it to the South Pole and North Pole rooms which had some amazing crystal formations. We were surrounded by treasure chest rooms caked with white crystals !

South Pole Crystal formation Ellisons cave

 

South Pole Crystal Ellisons cave

 I was particularly impressed with the ice crystal appears to be Epsomite which relays more on water to produce a real ice like looking formation that I have never seen anywhere in my life. There were even small bubbles inside the crystal which might have had something to do with the water that helped to create these glass like chandeliers. 

North Pole Epsomite formation Ellisons Cave

We continued down passages and Anmar claimed to hear voices in the cave.  Before we started assuming that he was hearing voices in his head, we walked right into the other team! We were able to meet half way through the cave and get a snap shot before continuing on. It was nice to see the other half of the group and to know that everyone was having an awesome trip.



Both teams meet in the middle of Ellisons Cave

We continued onto the Angels Paradise room that had some of the largest and  most delicate gypsum needles I have ever seen!!!. There was a whole room was carpeted with these shimmering cotton candy crystals ...Absolutely fascinating!! 

Gypsum Needles Ellisons cave

Gypsum Needles Ellisons cave

Gypsum Needles Ellisons cave

Gypsum Needles Ellisons Cave

Incredible Pit 440ft

Troy went up first and went solo which gave me a chance to take a few pictures of Incredible Pit from the bottom.  Once he was at the top, I got on rope and made my ascent up the Pit.  As I started my ascent to the top, I would slowly pendulum in and out of the waterfall which was like being in the middle of a thunderstorm yet every time I was pushed into the waterfall, it made me imagine how wild this room can get especially after the rain storms. We had it pretty easy!!!  I have heard that this pit can have a hurricane going on inside from this waterfall and a vortex of water spinning around which I assume made the pit so circular.  The day we climbed Incredible was considered a trickle.  We checked the weather to make sure we would not find ourselves in a variation of this hydrology and realized that there was a hurricane coming up the coast and would effect the Georgia area the following afternoon.  Perfect timing!!!!!!!  When I got to the top I was thinking to myself how impressive of a climb that was!!!

Kevin getting off rope at the top of Incredible Pit

 The last night of our trip we slept in a bit at Buckhorn State Park so we could stop of at a little gem called Pewit's Nest.  This place is located near Baraboo in Wisconsin which as a small narrow canyon with several small waterfall drops to wade through.  Laura, Marne, John and myself went to the top of the canyon where the walls allow for people to slide into the water and into the canyon.  John stayed dry as the rest of us started our descent down Pewit's Nest.

 The canyon walls had similar features as the bluffs of the Kickapoo River and Parfay's Glen.  Moss and slippery rock were common in the canyon as we made our traverse down the small gorge. We encountered two sections where we had to swim to get to the next drop.  The picture below was the first wade through water.

 After the final drop there was a pool with deep water that was surrounded by a narrow canyon but lead out to the beach area where a through trip can be made.

We were having a lot of fun so we decided to ascend back up the waterfalls and to the top of the canyon were we entered from. We were presented to the same fun challenges but they were a bit different since we are ascending up slippery rock and waterfalls, it required a bit more team work to complete.

 

 After making it up and over the waterfalls we got to the top and John was waiting for us there holding our dry clothes.  Pewits nest is a nice break away from the day and it was a great way to end a wonderful weekend labor day trip.  I want to thank Laura for setting up such an awesome trip as well as for everyone else who came out to enjoy some of the good parts to the southwest Wisconsin region.

Pictures featured on travel Wisconsin http://www.travelwisconsin.com/rafting-tubing/kickapoo-river-200506



Bluffs on the Kickapoo River



The Kickapoo River got its name from the Algonquin Indians which means "One who goes here, than there".  The crooked meandering river starts near Mill Bluff State Park and 126 miles later becomes a tributary of the Wisconsin river.  There are some springs and other creeks that feed into the Kickapoo River but back in the last ice age, glacial meltwater ran down cutting valleys and gorges which has cut a valley/ravine through the southwest Wisconsin Driftless area known today as the Kickapoo River. The scenery was as expected, beautiful!!!

As we cut the banks around the twisty bends of the Kickapoo river, we come across decent sized bluffs with hanging gardens of rare ferns and moss.  The marshlands and the valley of the Kickapoo hold some unique flora and fauna to enjoy while you meander down the lazy river.  We encountered a few small places where the water picked up but I wouldn't really class it as a class one.

We continued down past wildcat mountain and found ourselves losing the crowds at the take out points along the way.  It was really nice to have the river just us which also made it easy to find a good camping location.

We woke up early from camping and got back onto the water so we can make good time back to the car and onto our final location for the trip at Buckhorn State Park.  We continued on our trip down the river enjoying the heat of the sun and the coolness the canyon bluffs offered us.

We came across a spot on a bluff where we could all jump into the water and enjoy a nice break from the canoes.  Properly named "Adventure Cove" for the cavern like indentation in the bluff, we continued on the Kickapoo River into the Kickapoo Valley preserve area.

We continued to see bluffs with hanging gardens all the way down to Lafarge which was nice as well as having time to tie our canoes together to enjoy good company and stimulating conversation.

The trip was nearing its end as we made our final bends around to the take out point at Lafarge.  22 miles of memories, nature, adventure, and good times with friends made this trip a wonderful experience.

We woke up early Friday morning so we could get a jump on the labor day traffic and get our relaxing weekend started in Wisconsin’s southwest region.  We made it through before the herds of labor day weekenders and got to our first location on the trip, Parfay’s Glen. 

  Parfay’s Glen has some unique features that belong to this particular gorge in the Baraboo hills. This is the first state Natural Area of Wisconsin which has Cambrian strata conglomerate stone layers made of quartzite and sandstone that have been embedded into the gorge walls. 

 We hiked up and through the canyon past the waterfall about a quarter mile and completed our traverse back.  The groups of people started showing up there ( which was expected) but it wasn't the madhouse carnival ride line it could have been which was nice.   The canyon provides an opportunity for rare species of flora to grow on the walls as seepage and cooler conditions can be found within the gorge.  We were in the gorge for a couple hours and decided to head out knowing that the checkout lines will be flowing with humanity.  We wanted to make sure we got to Wildcat Mountain State Park before nightfall.



    After a few wrong mis orientations with Iphone GPS and a camping stop, we made it to Wildcat Mountain State Park.  We had 8 more people showing up so we got a group site which turned out to be a really nice large camping site with lots of room.  After we set up camp, we got to the Observation Point where we were able to see quite a distance into the hills of Ontario Wisconsin.

We could see the Kickapoo River from the top meandering its way through the valley below.  We decided to drive down to see the river and check out the "Ice Cave".  The Ice Cave was a depression in a small bluff with a dripping waterfall that seems to flow after a rain storm.  I wasn't rally impressed with the Ice Cave and I don't even consider this feature to be an Ice Cave.  It is worth checking out if nothing else is going on as it is 5 minutes from the state park and a 5 minute walk to this feature.  We stayed up until everyone showed up while we watched the stars, gazed at the  lighting clouds from the huge storms passing to the south of us, as well as the faint site of the Milky Way Galaxy.  We all got to bed around 2 AM and woke up super early for the main event of the weekend, The Kickapoo River. 

FLICKR PARFAY'S GLEN: http://www.flickr.com/photos/exploration-worldwide/sets/72157635363981077/

FLICKR WILDCAT MOUNTAIN STATE PARK: http://www.flickr.com/photos/organize/?start_tab=one_set72157635365171283
 

 Warren Dunes is located near Sawyer Michigan right near the border of Indiana but still on the Michigan Side. This is a beautiful location to visit some Holocene glacial action, enjoy some sun on a excellent beach front, pretend you are in the desert as you are actually in a desert environment, and climb the famous hill at the entrance which appears to be between 200-300ft up.

 The dunes are sand deposits from the receding glaciers that left miles of sand on the Southern Lake Michigan Shoreline which extends for 60-80 miles when the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore is included.

 The sand deposits at the warren dunes are more impressive IMO, than some of the other deposit locations on the great lakes with the exception of the Grand Sable Dunes on Lake Superior.

 The environment reminded me of a Barron desert in some location with deep sand hills that reach in excess of 200ft in some location.

 There were plenty of places to find solitude in the extensive trail system in the Warren Dunes as well as an interesting flora culture set back from the hinterland to the beach front.

 I went to visit the Warren Dunes on a yearly basis for the last 5 years and It was always fun to run up and down the large hit at the entrance where dead trees stand out like large toothpicks as you slide down with every step you take.

 The Dunes here have a lot more desert environment than the other dunes in the area so I highly recommend this place for anyone who wants to get away from the city.

 When the sun would set you could see the sand ripples sculpting the sand and the sun casting a orange liek fiery reflection over the dunes.

 I truly enjoyed visiting the dunes and camping at the campground which is attached to the dunes from the back.

 Enjoy this place with confidence knowing you will find a whole lot of good stuff to do here and enjoy a nature preserve with beautiful scenery and interesting flora.

 Last day in TAG before we headed home on a drive that turned out to be the longest 12 hours we have ever experienced, we decided to go to South Pittsburg Pit and bounce this one as it was on the way home.  We got to the parking spot and followed the dirt trail up to a connector trail that took us to the entrance of this 160 ft drop.  I finally go to use my rope and all the other pits required rope longer the 250 ft.  We rigged the drop and set up a redirect on a pulley to avoid rope abrasion.  Noboru and I descended this pit and saw this from the bottom.

 All of the walls from the bottom were lit up from the sun which made this pit a very unique open air experience for us.  It was a nice last pit on our trip to see the reflecting light coming off the damp cave walls and looking at the canyon passage behind us

 We went back to a small water fall and free climbed into a crawl that leads to more dome rooms and passage but decided to turn around so we could save some more time and I didn't want to drag my gear through the mud anymore than I had already.  There was a rope to assist the waterfall climb so I used it to descend and Noboru climbed down.  Noboru got on rope and ascended up the pit and I followed quickly afterwards. 

 We got back to the car and started out on our estimated long 9 hr drive back home to Chicago when we ran into some of the worst traffic jams I have ever seen.  We were at a dead stop and the side streets were pouring over with people trying to get around the traffic so which ever way you went, it was a complete shit show. We stopped of for some excellent bar b que ended up making it home around midnight thinking about that we were just on one hell of a trip for summer TAG.  I want to thank Colin for making this trip happen, Laura and Noboru for driving and all working as a team as well as the "TA TA's" for just being the TA TA's! keep your teeth clean and we will see everyone soon.!!!