ADAM HAYDOCK

I have been Waiting to go to Cave Capers for a year now.  I had a group of friends that went down there last year and had a blast so I was eager to get down there and have a good time as well as check out some caves in the area. I got to Chris Parks house the night before and we woke up early so we could get a head start down to Capers.  We get to the fairgrounds and set up camp under the only shelter in the area in case it rained., (it rained BTW).  We had a list of places to check out and decided on going to Rothrock Pit cave.

We got to the entrance of the pit and it was right off the road, which was nice, but, the entrance was covered in Poison Ivy.  Great!!!

EB ALLEN : http://vimeo.com/26124496

MORE INFO ON THE EB ALLEN: http://www.fourthelement.com/adventures/thunderbay/eb_allen_3d_wreck.php

The Pewabic

We woke up early to get a head start on the lake as our initial plan was to go to the Viator 25 miles off shore.  We were able to fill the tanks and get back out on the lake to find 1 to 3's into our bow section of the boat.  The forecast called for 15 knot winds but we had a bit more than that out there.  We were able to get out of the bay and the waves seemed to lay down for us the farther we got out.  We decided to go to the Pewabic since it is a bit closer to shore than the viator and at 165 to the dirt, this wreck will be a good one to check out. 

Stearn of the Pewabic

The pewabic is one of the most historic shipwrecks of her time as her sister ship "the meteor" struck her bow/port quarter in 1865.  She was carrying 200 tons of iron and hematite so she sank rapidly taking 125 crew members with her.  The meteor stayed until day light to make sure they were able to rescue anyone else adrift in the water but she took a number of people down to a depth of 165+ ft.  She was a wooden prop ship and a unique one with her railing down the center and on the sides.  A beautiful shipwreck but a very historic one. 

Since she took down so many people, this shipwreck is considered a tomb and there have been sightings of bones found inside the ships lower deck and scattered about in the debris field. The hull is pretty intact but most of her upper workings have been removed by salvors and destroyed by the equipment used to bring up the iron ore.  5 divers lost their lives in the 1880s and early 1990s recovering the iron. Before the destructive efforts the divers claimed that her rigging and structure were still in tact, skeletons in the cabins, trunks were open with clothing and still hanging. 

We got to the site and donned our gear for a deep dive. We made a giant stride into the water and at the last second hear that we have drifted off the wreck. so we had to get back to where the anchor point was originally.   We made our decent down and at about 80ft my computer strap broke so I had to hold my computer in my hand so I would not lose it. I had to make sure I can time my decompression schedule. I was equalizing my ears and drysuit, adjusting my bouyency, and taking some pictures all at once. I was'nt able to get the best pictures but I was able to get a few decent ones of the deck, the hull, and the railings.

top deck of the Pewabic

we came back to the line and ran our deco schedules back to the surface to find clear skies and one last dive on the Eb Allen.

Article of the Pewabic: http://www.fohbc.org/PDF_Files/DonYates_Rundle.pdf

Video Of the Pewabic in her resting place: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Sm4UjhdFvE

Thunder bay scuba: http://www.tbscuba.com/

After we completed our de briefing we went over to see if the defiance was buoyed up.  This wreck is one I want to do get down to one day but at a depth of 185 ft, I am going to have to be a bit careful with that one.  We went over the location of the wreck and you could see some of it on the sonar.  Afterwards we skimmed across the rollers and as the sun started to break through the fog, we got to the new orleans location.  The Audubon and New Orleans were not buoyed so Joe had to drop anchor right next to the wreck.  He landed the anchor right next to both wrecks each time on the first drop! 

At a depth of 130 ft The New Orleans sank in 1906 she was carrying coal and ran into the William R Linn.  When both ships spotted each other they tried to avoid each other but adjusted courses into each other instead of away from each other.



Getting back out to Thunder Bay in Alpena Michigan was something I wanted to do the day I left Alpena on my last shipwreck trip in 2012.  This year I re connected with Joe at Thunder Bar Scuba along with my dive buddy Mike Apke to venture out on the wild waters of Lake Huron.  The First day we got up and I called Joe to make sure we had good weather to get out on the lake as the weather seems to change every hour out there. We grabbed some local grub and met joe out in rockport where we loaded up the boat and got out to the first dive site, The John J Audubon. 

The waters were erie with the fog patches rolling in and out at times blocking the suns morning glory.  We got our gear went through our start drill and got in the water without too much trouble.  We were backing air and carrying 50/50 and 100% oxygen.  I had the additional camera with me so with the drysuit on 4 tanks and a camera going down to a depth of 155 ft, i knew this was going to get interesting rather quick and focus was the main priority.

We down at depth and the first thing I noticed was this massive with a length of around 150 ft in excellent condition. She was hit by the Defiance in 1854 and they both sank a few miles apart.  The Audubon was carrying iron ore rails for the railroad so she was a valuable ship back in her day.  The artifacts of this wreck were spectacular to see. 

Thunder Bay Scuba: http://www.tbscuba.com/

Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/exploration-worldwide/sets/72157634308862503/

JOHN J AUDUBON: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luO17xuYOtQ

     Mike and I geared up and went through our START drills, entered the water and started our decent.  Mike noticed his camera housing starting to flood so he had to go back to the surface quickly and leave the camera on the boat.  Thankfully Mark brought his camera and he was able to take some good shots of the dives. Once we got to the bottom, the water temp dropped from the upper 50s to 44 degrees.  Its not so bad in a drysuit but when I use to dive wet, 44 degrees was like Han Solo being frozen in carbonite in the movie, Empire Strikes Back. 


Tom Shahaf on the Prins Willem V  (photo taken by Mark Shahaf)

             PHOTOS BY MARK SHAHAF-FACEBOOK PAGE:

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             SHIPWRECK EXPLORERS: http://www.shipwreckexplorers.com/

 Our last day was all about relaxation and enjoying some feet recovery from the 50 + mile hike that left our feet blistered and swollen.  This hot spring is located in the middle of a plain 10 miles from a small town called Meadow.  We pulled up and I quickly walked up to this 30-40ft water filled pit and was amazed to see how clear the water was.  I was also shocked to feel how warm the water was too!!!  Wow.  What a great place to relax and decompress from the strenuous week of hard earned scenery we had.  I brought a mask just for this spring to see if I could find the resurgence.  I held my breath and went to the twilight bottom of this sink to find only small vents pumping out warmer water.  I am very curious if this resurgence actually would go if there was a dig but that would open up a whole new can of worms, interest, and liability.  There was a small stream that took the overflow into another small insurgence too small for someone to fit into.  I followed a trail to another hot spring that was a bit murkier and cooler than the other one but still quite interesting.  The prairie around us had hints of stagnant water, and mineral deposits coated around the surface and small mounds of mineral deposits randomly scattered around the springs. This place was well worth the visit and I am so glad I was able to make it here.

Afterwards we made it over to the Tabernacle Lava Tubes which was a pleasant surprise for the last location we attended. We drove up and found a large lava tube entrance that had sky light openings and a breakdown field where the tube use to continue before the ceiling fell though. 

On the other side of the road was a continuation of this lave tube that had walking passage inside. nice!!

we grabbed our helmets and proceeded into the lava tube.  there was an easy climb down with walking passage that took us to a side passage with lava formed formations and some mineral deposits.  We also found basalt deposits that I found to be interesting as well as passage that seemed to keep going. 

I find it very interesting that there are hot springs with water at 85 degrees 1 mile away.  I wonder if the volcano or the geology underground is still active and also what if there is a hot spring inside a lava tube somewhere in this region?..super cool!!  I will have to do some more research and ponder this "what if", for the next return to Utah. 

Tabernacle Lava Tube Entrance

 

WILLIS CREEK

We continued down the canyon and had a REI adventure outing following us from behind which sounded more like a mobile speed dating event than a hike through the desert for an REI adventure.  Kinda annoying?  yes....rather amusing?....oh yea. 

WILLIS CREEK

We had hints of civilization around us as we walked back out of Willis Creek but it was nothing like Bryce Canyon,..... thankfully!  We got to the parking lot and found it pretty backed up from when we started so we set off to go to Bull Valley gorge.

WILLIS CREEK

We pulled up to Bull Valley Gorge and noticed the canyon below was deep!  nice, It would have been nice to rappel into this one but the canyon was easy enough to enter a mile upstream so we started there and started our circuit traverse.  We ran into another "group outing" and as I walked up closer to the 10-15 ft restriction, I noticed a Justin Beiber impostor hugging the keyed-in rock like he was about to fall into a pit or snakes.  The fear in his eyes lit up his aviator shades while his tour guide and 5 other friends of his coached him from the bottom.  As he was about to make his leap of faith,  ignoring the fact that there was a hand line and a log to ladder to walk down next to him, the tour guide grabbed his foot and stuck it in a hand hold.  Now maybe I was just too tired to deal with this shit but for a split second I thought about giving him a little "motivational push",...with my foot,  but instead I reminded him that there is a nice red hand line to slide down on.

CAR KEYED INTO BULL VALLEY GORGE

They finally made it down and we came down shortly after them to find that they were moving full speed ahead and we didn't run into them anymore.  nice..back to our semi serenity!!

BULL VALLEY GORGE

As we proceeded down we noticed the walls getting taller in this narrow passage and also noticed a Buick keyed into the top of the canyon, this must have been apart of the bridge that we saw at the surface.  That sent chills down my spine when I saw that,.. not because of the crushed car dangling 80 ft in between rock walls, but what the rental car company would have said if that was our car.

BULL VALLEY GORGE

We continued on the passage watching it open and close up as we continued down the canyon. 

BULL VALLEY GORGE

The canyon walls opened up a little bit and there was a place where we were able to climb out instead of backtracking which saved us some time.

BULL VALLEY GORGE

We found an exit point and climbed out on talus and scree till we got to the top of the canyon.  After a week of not showering, I was feeling rather sick so I stopped for a bit and had to take it easy for the walk back to the car.  It was a beautiful thing to get back to the campsite and into the waterfall for a quick shower and rest for the ride back to Salt Lake City the following day.  We had a couple of stops to make while making our trip back to civilization, the hot spring, and the lava tubes.

BULL VALLEY GORGE FROM THE TOP

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