ADAM HAYDOCK

Justin, Melissa, Molly, Cindy, Phil, Walter, Ah, and I wake up at a decent hour and head over to the parking lot of Surprise Pit.  It took a while to get to due to the road conditions but we were able to get over there in good time and made the typical hike up the mountain to the beautiful waterfall entrance of Surprise pit.

We ate some lunch and entered the cave following the water to where it drops off and to where the shelf traverse is located that took us around the breakdown and to where we would drop 404ft. into Surprise pit.

We rigged into some bolts and set a few pads around the edge and we dropped down into the vast wilderness of the underground inner space room of fern caves Surprise pit. This was a really nice drop.  at one point you are in the middle of nowhere on rope with just fog around you and rope going up and down.

We all made it down and I snapped a few photos of us as we started our climb out of the cave. Justin and I went last as I snapped more photos of people climbing out.  This was my first time tandum climbing and it was a bit creepy to be climb with two people on rope and it bounced and moved around.

We all made it to the top without any issues except fro phil attempting to get me to pass a knot which he needs to try harder at and me leaving my light at the entrance drop at the top of the pit.  I hope someone is able to find it and let me know that they got it.

We had a ceremony where we let the remaining portion of JT's ashes go into the water and over the pit which is where he wanted to have is ashes put which was a bit emotional for some of us. JT was a big contributor of the cave and enjoyed mapping and visiting fern cave and surprise pit. May JT rest in Peace in one of his favorite places to be, Surprise Pit.

Mike Green and I woke up around 5 Am to get an early start over to Dorton Knob Smokehole for a long day in the bottom depths of this system to seek out a way to connect Serendipity Cave. Lyndsi, Mikes girlfriend cooked up " Lyndsi Breakfast" which was super awesome and was a full of much needed calories for the trip.  

We Set out to the mountain which took us about an hour and a half to get to and waited for Elliot Stahl and Damien to show up. Once they got to the parking lot we got dressed and prepared for the trip into the cave.

We encountered a few drops of 50ft or less which were connected by slot canyon passage that we had to stem over in order to get to the next drop.  The lips were tight but they opened up into small but open rooms to rap down with ease. The Canyon passages connecting the drops were narley clothing grabbers that required you to stop to release the clothing from the sharp popcorn protrusion or risk having your layers shredded which would accelerate hypothermia....by the end of the trip, even the bag I was using was shredded.

After a few hundred feet of sharp canyon stemming we encountered a few more raps that dropped us into the 1200ft crawl section of the cave. We went through the yuppie entrance which is the "easier" route with the historic entrance being the most insidious of the two entrances.  

After we got to the bottom we prepared for the belly and hands and knees crawl in water and gravel that would eventually take us to Hidden Well. My bag was full to the rim as I had to pack my vert gear in there as it was and would be grabbing at everything just to the side of me sapping much needed energy away from my progression.

We started off with hands and knees crawling which was not to bad and it would eventually transfer from that to belly, some stooping, little walking, and back to hands and knees until we got to the last section where it was a crawl in water including a plunge in the bathtub of 54 degree water before we got to hidden well where the wind would be blowing and the drop into the room would be massive!!!

We ended up ascending 15ft into another canyon traverse which was a bit exposed but took us to a drop down and a traverse line that led us to the pendulum free fall into hidden well. This drop is around 296ft but the room is massive and almost twice as big as Mystery falls. It was an amazing drop and I wish I got a better picture of this room.

Once we all got down we continued down into a breakdown pile with super tight squeezes and the water raining down upon us as we entered the last drop.  this was a small drop but very beautiful and I wish I got more photos of this drop.

We finally made it to the bottom where there were dome leads to be pushed so Damien and Elliot started climbing a 20ft dome and mike prepared some hot coffee while we waited.  Damien eventually got to the top and reported that there is another room and other leads to push so we all climbed up and while Damien and Elliot went into another dome room, Mike and I went down into another lead where the water was coming from. The passage was extremely tight, sinister, and relentless but mike was able to push through and reported that there was a 15-20 ft dome room with a portion of the water coming form the top and another portion coming from a crack at the bottom. A climb would be dangerous just to get back to this room and the logistics of the climb itself were shady due to the chert layers that would need to be passed. The decision was made to pursue the other dome which might have had more potential.

We were in this room for a few more hours as Damien climbed about 60ft and ran out of rope.  We were getting a bit cold and our equipment ran out so we ended the push and started our way back out. The top of this dome might have potential but there was a crack that might have led to a canyon which might be just big enough for a person to fit through but it was hard to determine. We climbed out of the breakdown pile and I popped my shoulder a little trying to fit through the 10 inch squeeze which was not good. we ascended Hidden Well and made our long slog back through the 1200ft crawl and up and out through the slot canyons swearing at mike ever 5 minutes or so for taking us through this amazing nasty devil of a cave.  I was even starting to get a little smoked at the very end and had enough of this system. We took a short cut and founded our selves out at around 1am in the cold 35 degree air. It felt great to be out of there but every step was a task as we dragged ourselves back to the car and changed into dry clothes. It was impossible to dress for this cave as you would get too hot and too cold hour after hour. there was no comfort but just a bad ass time in a challenging cave system

After Thanksgiving I headed out to fox mountain to check out a few caves in the area and get my camera ready for Surprise pit the following day.

I headed over to Rustys cave which was a 30ft drop into a small walking cave system that had some nice formation rooms and flowstone features.

I took my time setting up some different shots playing around with lighting and setting on the camera to make sure I could get some decent shots for tomorrow.

Rustys cave is a nice small easy system and worth the visit as the formations are beautiful and the route of the cave is straightforward.

After Rustys Cave I headed over to Cemetary Pit which is a 154ft drop and over two miles of cave passage with waterfalls big rooms canyons and some mazy like passage.

I rigged to three bolts and descended the ledged drop to the bottom where I proceeded to take a quick look through the passage before heading back up and off the mountain. The cave was pretty interesting but pretty typical passage that you would find in the area. It is a must visit place and I enjoyed my time on fox Mountain .

After leaving Fox Mountain I headed over to Howards Waterfall Cave to check out this place before heading back to Phils place to prepare for Surprise Pit. The cave appears to be pretty heavly travelled and I ran into a family where a father that is a caver was bringing his family through the cave for a Friday trip.

It was quite a different atmosphere as the kids were yelling and running down the cave as we had to crawl and stoop walk which was rather cute...only for about 10 minutes, which at that time, got annoying.

I ended up staying behind to snap a few photos and headed out of the cave by myself and headed back to Raccoon Mountain for tomorrows trip into Surprise Pit.

FLICKR: https://www.flickr.com/photos/exploration-worldwide/albums/72157661921723525

After Orcestwell Spring, we made it over to Champion Spring which was quite the drive but worth the drive as we got to a beautiful resurgence and a surprisingly beautiful dive site.

We walk to the entrance and it is a breakdown pile with another breakdown pile in the cave that water resurges from.  The entry point into the cave was a bit low but it was very manageable once I was able to squeeze through and start the dive.

Josh Helped me bring the diving gear up to the waterline and I got into the water and proceeded to lay line in going underwater passage. he viz was around 15ft or more which was fantastic for Alabama!  I could see the walls as they were flutted and chert mods stuck out of the wall.  There were some blind crawfish that I would pass from time to time as I went deeper into the cave.

I found another line has already been layed so I tied off to that and proceeded to follow that until it ended which I tied off another reel and continued my push for around 500-600ft and turned for gas management procedures. The passage kept going with no end in site and I wonder if anyone has ever pushed this passage beyond where I found the line to stop.  I would love to return to this cave with larger tanks to continue the pursuit and see where all of this water is coming from.

The next day we headed over to check out some springs to dive which was a different change to my typical tag trips but it was a nice diversion as the Diving in TAG is a lot better than I thought it would be in clear conditions.

We made our first stop at Orcestwell Spring which is right near vast caverns.  It has been rumored that this cave connects to Vast Caverns but nobody has made the connection.  I suited up and reconed the dive site which turned out to be a series of duck under water passages that took me into this room that had a few feet of water.  The passage looked grim but there was a meander in the cut bank where I could get under a ledge and dive the sump yet it looked pretty sketchy and creepy, especially doing it solo.

Yes, the rule is to have a dive buddy but when it comes to zero viz, a few feet of clearance, and sump diving, there is not really anything anyone can do when you go into the sump.  Your sump dive buddy can attempt to find you but typically that could be a big risk for the dive buddy as we usually go in one at a time.

I decided to not dive at that moment and think about the operation before jumping into it. Josh practiced mapping the cave and I took some photos of the formations before we left for another dive site called champion springs.

After Diving in Champion Springs, I came back to Ocestwell spring and attempted the dive.  I pushed through the meandering low ceiling passage by basically army crawling underwater and it opened up enough for me to swim.  There were times when it meandered left and right and sections that got tight but I eventually popped out into a bell that I swam to the end. the passage continued underwater and I popped out once again into another bell.  The passage continued yet again until I popped out in a low crawling section that gradually got big enough to walk on my hands and knees.  I left my gear there and kept crawling until I got to a dome which reminded me of the last drop in Vast Caverns! I could not believe that I might have actually made it to the bottom of Vast Caverns but I was not 100 percent sure, so I left a line arrow with my last name and left the cave.  A trip into Vast Caverns needs to be made but I fear that any evidence that I have left might have been swept away in the recent floods. to be continued...

After making some life changes which equated to free up more time, I decided to head down to TAG for an undetermined amount of time to visit friends and go caving.  I loaded up the car with diving, caving, climbing, and camping equipment than headed down south 10 hours Steve Davis's house near South Pittsburg.  I made it to Steves house around 8pm and was greeted by Josh Schultz, Steve, Lee White, and Steve's affectionate pup.  We discussed our options that we had and what we were going to get involved with and decided to visit Dark Well. 

We ate breakfast and drove over to the Paint Rock area through the meandering roads which did not agree with our stomachs to much, especially mine. for some reason I was getting car sick which never happens and consequently felt like crap until we got to the parking lot of paint rock.

After a few mis orientations and backing up on roads, we made it to the parking lot and took a brief break before heading up the hill. The Hike was casual and typical TAG hiking till we reached the entrance of Dark Well

The Drop had a walk in cavern entrance which we rigged and re directed into the first pit which was around 100 ft with a few ledges to stop at along the way.  The drop was pretty straightforward multi drop material with a waterfall raining down on you as you rapped to the bottom of the drop.  The  Cave reminded me of Water Well.

We get to the next rig point and I set up a rebelay on a shady looking bolt that took us down another 50ft. to a third drop of around 10ft. the water was moving pretty good at this point and we quickly came to a forth drop that we threw the rope down in which took us to the bottom of the rope.

To our right were a few dome rooms that we traversed around and to our left was continuing passage that took us into a room with another 100ft pit and a large drop where the water was flowing over.

Josh went back to get the traverse line and I ended up throwing up twice, making sure it was in the water and flowing over the edge as my sickness and dizziness caught up to me...We continued on caving and I rigged a traverse line so we could walk around the pit into the large room in the back. Can't let a little vomit and dizziness stop the trip especially when we are this far back into it.

We popped into this main room and it was quite impressive to see as the break down pile was prob around 75 ft to the ceiling.  There were a few more drops ahead of us but we decided to turn around and exit the cave.

We worked our way out of the cave with no incident and de rigged in the sub freezing temps wet which took us into the night cold to the bone. We get to the car and leave for home only to find out that Josh had to go k to get his harness which he ended up finding in the field frozen to the ground!! great first day in TAG!