ADAM HAYDOCK

The Devil's Hole system is a vital resource for the endangered species of pupfish and a point of hydro logic geological survey and life.  Please continue to respect and treat this property as a sanctuary and respect the measures taken to protect this research.  We need the help of EVERY visitor and encourage the stewardship in facilitating a preserving environment for the devil's hole system.

Click on this link to watch a Video on the Devils Hole System

looking up at the entrance of the Devil's Hole PHOTO BY: Brett Seymourhttps://vimeo.com/141245090

Devil's Hole is a 50ft x 10ft fissure crack in at the base of a mountain located in the Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge just outside of Death Valley National Park.  The devil's hole entrance is part of a massive aquifer, an aquifer that has no confirmed depth or has been full explored by divers in the past.  What is known about this system is that it is faulted entrance into an aquifer of unknown measurement.  The fissure opens up to the aquifers water table and faults down into phreatic and fissure submerged passages that are mostly underwater with the exception of a few air bells.

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One of the most protected species of fish I have ever encountered, The Devil's Hole Pupfish, are and have been the subject of research, spotlight, and debate for over 70 years. These pupfish are an ancient species of fish that have been found in other fossil specimens and are noted for their particular threshold to high salinity levels in water and extreme temperatures.   The Devil's Hole Pupfish are a unique species that can thrive in environments where other fish would die. They are endemic to this section of the devils hole system

Devils Hole Pupfish, PHOTO FROM: Click HERE for photo location

and have been living in a algae shelf above 80ft where the light zone allows algae to grow subsequently allowing the pupfish to survive by eating the nutrients that the pupfish require for survival.

The Devils hole system has not been without incident and has a long history incidence as the fortified confines show that protect the devil's hole today. The Steel fencing, multiple cameras, and breach triggers with immediate access to law enforcement protect the pupfish and protect people from themselves by attempting to challenge the cave, which has had deadly results to former intruders.  Back in 1965, there was a incident where several kids jumped the fence and entered the devils hole system, two never came back out. Jim Houtz, one of the recovery divers,  was assigned to the recovery and completed a dive to 315ft. with no sign of the bodies, just an endless bottom.  

 Jim explains his account of the depth in Devils hole, " I went to the surface and notified everybody about what we found. It was a very sad, very solemn moment. I said, ‘I’m going to recover the rest of this equipment and I’ll do one more thing to confirm. So I made one dive to the last little ledge – at 325 feet. At that point, the Devil’s Hole opens up wide, and I can tell you one thing. I know it goes down to over 900 feet. We once let out 932 feet of cable from that point and there’s a current down there – so how much of the cable was bowed from the current, I don’t know, but it’s just, it’s just massive." 

 Cited from:

 https://www.reddit.com/r/UnresolvedMysteries/comments/37t5gk/two_divers_disappeared_in_devils_hole_in_1965/

More recently, there was a group of people caught vandalizing and trespassing onto this property that consequently disrupted the pupfish culture with evidence of pupfish fatalities after this incident. read more about the incident here.

https://www.nps.gov/deva/learn/news/devils-hole-vandals-identified.htm

The Devil's hole is also a connection to massive tectonic action with the evidence of 'tsunami activity in Devils Hole.  One earthquake caused by a 7.4 magnitude earthquake in Oaxaca, Mexico on March 20, 2012 created waves that splashed over the water table and onto the surrounding walls.

 Learn more and see another video in this Scientific American article.
 
We were invited to attend one of the dive operations where the NPS and Fish & Wildlife divers did a fauna count of the endemic pupfish in the devils hole system as well as a observation and fauna count at depth.  Water temp is a beautiful 94 degrees and the viz was excellent!  The water is believed to take thousands of years to work its way through the aquifer and out the springs, that indicate a massive system under one of the most dry and desolate places on earth.  

Chronology of previous diving operations in the Devil's Hole, Nevada. 

https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/1988/0093/report.pdf

Future diving efforts are planned and although the plan to continue a survey has been halted to protect the pupfish, a continued survey in the Devil's Hole system will not only provide a better understanding of this aquifers mystery, but will also shine light on the essential purpose of Ash Meadows and Death Valley, which is to identify and protect all species of life that already exist and have yet to be discovered in the darkness and depths of the Devils hole system.

Click on the Link Below to learn more about the Devil's Hole System.

NPS divers in Devils Hole during a recent research dive in April 2015. | Photo: Brett Seymour (NPS) 2015.https://www.kcet.org/shows/artbound/mojave-project-divining-devils-hole

There is no doubt that this system has a vast array of mystery from a geological, biological and a volcan-speleological perspective with regard to the hydro-thermal waters, tsunamis, and unknown fauna that might be thriving in the depths of this system. 

More information on the hydro-logical flow in Nevada and California.

http://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/1711/

We got to the bottom of the canyon and there were people at the head of the potholes hanging out talking about how great of an experience they had going through this canyon the day before. We walk around the potholes and get to the first pothole challenge.

It was not much of a pothole challenge as we just slid down and could walk out of it and the second pothole was a bit deep.  I set up an escape rope just to practice pothole escape and it was easy to scale the pot hole.  The first drop was right after the pothole which was around 100ft to the bottom. I set up a line to send the packs down as we made our way over the first rap and into the bottom of the canyon below.  

Once we got to the bottom the canyon was beautiful and quiet with the desert winds and a lonely dragonfly guiding us to the next drop.  The canyon was very interesting as it had a lot of charter from potholes to a nice drop and now the canyon is opening up a bit until we got to a slot and the final 120ft drop.

This drop was quite impressive and I was becoming more and more impressed with this canyon as we went along the route.  We dropped into this canyon and the walls grew taller which was a beautiful site to see the stained and tarnished sandstone walls and the dense poison ivy to the side of the canyon. Wow this was a very impressive place.

Once we got to the bottom of the canyon, we continued on our hike which took longer than we thought but it was a beautiful hike out!

It reminded me of the trail in coyote gulch with the large canyon passage and the maple and oak trees growing proud in the sand meanders away from the cut banks of the dry canyon.

Eventually we made it over to a confluence and headed left to check out the canyon and than went up canyon to head out back onto the petrified desert dunes.

We continued to walk through these massive canyon wall until we found a way to proceed up to the top through a section where the slope was not as steep which took us back out to the dunes.

What a wicked canyon this was and I was really impressed with the scenic views we had going through this place.  It was truly an amazing experience and it is a must do canyon for anyone looking to get away from the crowds it is pretty straightforward and, In my opinion, had some breathtaking views.

I am looking forward to coming back to arches to visit more of these beautiful canyons in the near future. I went into this place thinking it will be cool to check out and left pleasantly surprised as to the beauty of these wonderful places.

Capital reef is a National Park that might not get as much attention as Bryce or Zion due to its location being in the middle part of Utah but that is no excuse for its absolutely stunning scenery and geological history.

There are some amazing canyoneering routes to be tackled including the famous Poe Canyon and Pandoras Box Canyon. There are some excellent non technical hikes that include our history from when settlers moved into and through Utah and hikes into the desert and canyons that have beautifully varnished walls and a more fiery color with shades of yellow to go with the red and orange.

One of the amazing aspects that stand out for capital reef is that there is so much diversification in the geology that you will find all kinds of amazing colors and naturally sculpted rock faces throughout the National Park.

One aspect that I noticed is how there are more yellow fiery looking varnished walls at Capital Reef than places like Zion, Arches, and canyonlands.  There are so many reasons to visit Capital Reef but I want to focus on one, more remote section of the Park which is to the north on a 56 mile dirt road which takes the passengers to Cathedral Valley.  

  I set out on the 56 mile dirt road starting from mile marker 90, which takes you right to a dirt road and to the crux of the off road excursion, the river ford!

The river was a bit high and according to the ranger station, 14 inches was what we had to cross in order to get to the other side.  Furthermore there was some sand that people had to go over once I got across so I backed up the Subaru Outback and stayed right where it was a bit shallower, than made the crossing over the sand and onto the road! nice. it was pretty straight forward and the water was pretty deep.  I do not recommend a sedan to cross where I crossed but the Subaru Outback had no issues.

Once we got over we went around some washes and semi bumpy graded road which had some rocks embedded into the road which was not too much of a hassle to get around. Eventually I cane to a basin and the road was smoother to go a bit faster to cover the 26 miles I had to make to get to the valley overlook.

Continuing on and the road went up a bentonite mound that reminded me of a mossy looking Neapolitan ice cream glob, awesome!!!

Stopping to take some photos for a moment and continued on down the backcountry dirt road viewing the remains of a seabeds floor while observing the cattle getting closer and closer to the road. I made a turn around a corner and there was a heard of cattle walking the road and drinking out of the left over water from the snowmelt. There was other water in the area but this "road water" must have been the best kind around because they would not move for nothing.

Now we did not want to cause too much of a panic for the cattle and I also did not want to get into the sloggy sand piles riveted with waterholes on this portion of the road so I had to make sure that if I was going to proceed, I was not going to stop. I eventually proceed ahead, honking my horn while the cattle thankfully decided to get out of my way and I was able to continue down the road to the final stretch of the first half of this loop trail.

Making it up to the top of the overlook rim, the road becomes a bit more bumpy with large rocks, some of them sharp which can cause a 1000 dollar tow so be careful going through this area.

I was able to grab a bunch of photos before the sun went down which casted a beautiful hue the accentuated the color of the rock with brilliant orange monoliths darting out of the basin like sharp miniature mountains.  It was beautiful and a unique place that yet again Utah has to offer.

Once the sun set over the ridge the road continued on to another interesting geological feature tucked away under a monolith in a side trail, a gypsum sinkhole!!

This sinkhole was a 200ft sinkhole that ended with no passage to be seen. The solution in the gypsum must have evaporated creating a emptied out cavity thus the collapse of the rock above the cavity to fall and implode on itself creating this sinkhole.  I decided not to rap with due to the instability of the rock but it was really interesting to see.

The Sun set and the stars sparked the night sky with a ear ringing sound of silence which was a and pristine feel knowing that at one time the place I camped was the place that was at the bottom of an ocean at one time.

The following day, I kept driving down the road to visit the temples of the sun and moon as well as a extremely interesting feature called the glass mountain.  This mountain is a mound made of Selenite crystals which were the biggest selenite crystals I have ever seen.

Selenite hill looking at cathedral valley, utah

 Furthermore, I have seen some selenite's in caves out east but not to the extent and size that these crystals were. I am absolutely amazed to see just how a mound of selenite crystal is just placed here right near the temple of the sun.  Maybe Aliens dropped of some of the crystals due to a heavy spaceship? 

Entrada sandstone that is topped of with a cream colored deposit forming the Curtis Formation. A more greener iron potassium silicate composite in the Curtis is more abundant in the north here in the valley from the sea depositing the materials the works of wind and water eroding the deposits away creating what we se today as Cathedral Valley.

This loop trail was really interesting and pretty easy to drive as long as you have a 2 wheel high clearance car.  So far this is the most interesting scenic drives we have done in Utah and with the remoteness of the overlook and the desert along with the natural eroded monolith features, crystals, and other geological features, this place is incredible both day and night.

Waking up and leaving at around 4am to get into Idaho reminded me of going to Indiana for the weekend to go caving from Chicago but instead of visiting some limestone caves, I  headed to visit the second largest lava tube cave on the continental United States, Gypsum Cave. 

Lava Tube caves are a bit different in the way they are formed where lava flows cool and subsurface lava continues to flow until the flow of lava decreases leaving a hardened chamber tube that can extend for miles in some situations.

What is more interesting is that Dale Green, from Utah, brought ground penetrating radar with him on a survey and found that there were other tubes of similar length that were paralleling Gypsum Cave.

Gypsum Cave is around 2.6 miles in length which use to be the longest lava tube cave until a Lava Tube cave in Washington beat it out at 2.7 miles.

If there is a way to break into this parallel tube than that would make this tube one longest in the world.

Gypsum cave is unique in that it gypsum evaporating through veins and cracks in the cave that tarnish the walls white and create a mosaic of color in some of the sections of the cave.  The cave itself is very dry and dusty so it can help to bring a mask in some of the sections of the cave.

We met up with Steve Frye and some of the cavers from the Silver Sage Grotto in Idaho to visit these Lava Tube caves and what a treat it was to see this cave!

Officially we were in the cave to conduct a bat count and to collect specimens for study.  

We were able to obtain the key and visit this cave through the DNR and the Silver Sage Grotto is apart of the development and conservation efforts that protect these caves from WNS and vandals that might want to break into the lava tubes.

We enter this cave and go through a crawl which eventually opens up into walking passage.  over 90 percent of the cave is walking passage with ceiling reaching 20-25ft at times.

we continued to walk through this passage snapping some photos and understanding a bit more about the caves nature and how the Silver Sage Grotto protects these caves.

Stacy and Jeremy discussed with me how they have helped with gating the entrances to some caves and how the Grotto continues to maintain a good relationship with the DNR in order to protect the states caves from WNS and other intruders.  It was good to hear about the working relationship between the Grotto and the DNR.

We went onto a side passage and moved over to the chocolate room which required some stoop walking and crawling but took us to a room with some interesting folded walls and cracked floors that resembled chocolate on the floor.  

we continued on and worked our way back into the main conduit and continued until we got the end of the cave. We passed some interesting sections of cave and at times the floor was covered in a cream colored volcanic ash which was a couple inches high at time.

This cave was really interesting and it was a pleasure to go with a dedicated group of cavers from the Silver Sage Grotto.  We are looking forward to coming back in the near future and visiting a few more of the hundreds of documented lava tube caves in the region.