ADAM HAYDOCK

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.

Sunday we met up with Bonny and Andy Armstrong around 1pm to head out into one of our favorite places in Utah, the Wasatch and Unita Mountains. This time we set out for Pine Pole Pit and Grave Cave.

We headed up and found our way to Pine Pole Pit which is around a 30ft drop into a sloping passage leading to a 50x20ft room covered in moon milk and some evidence of hypogenic quality.

Pine Pole pit is a great example of limestone solutional karst which might very well be a fusion with hydrothermal properties as we observed crystal formations and marbled sandstone like strata within the walls of the cave.

At the start of the drop, Andy rigged the main line, a traverse line, and a redirect like all with one rope using fat rabbit bowline knots which was really interesting to see.

I find it equally beautiful at the top as I do at the bottom but we were again surrounded by orange Indian brush, white columbine, purple pensteme, and blue bell flowers around us. Awesome!!!!

We de rigged and headed over to Grave cave

I do not recommend using the tree that is in there now as it is quite the skinny dead tree and will break on you if you try to climb down in it.

This is one of my favorite caves in the area and I would not mind coming back to this one if there was a lot of time to do so.

Please keep this cave pristine and respect the land around it.

The charm of the high Utah mountains have never let up on amazement for us, especially when it comes to the alpine karst regions that hold a tight belt around the peaks.  One cave in particular called Boat Box Cave, is a vertical drop with two pitches and a very unique feature at the bottom of the pit.  Elevation at the entrance of this cave sits at around 9400ft. which makes this cave one of the highest in Utah.

The entrance to the cave has a 35ft. vertical entrance with a log lodges in at an angle to the drop.  There is a 15ft sloping passage at a 45degree angle that takes you to another 30ft drop into water, lots of water!!!!  There was some moon milk on the walls but there was mainly limestone that harnessed the foundation to this system. I dropped down  to the second pitch where I got ready for a rap into water that I assumed was going to be in the 30s.

I threw some rocks down the pit and I could hear deep splashes with a low tone suggesting that the water rap will be deep. I got on rope and rigged some rope pads for the drop and made my descent to a small ledge where I could see the water itself. 

At first I was thinking that this would be a small lake but it appeared to me that this is now a fissure looking water feature rather than a circular shaped water feature that I had in mind. What was even more interesting is that the water was surprisingly clear with a measured depth and viz of at least 25ft from the left over rope that I used for the descent. The water was static in nature but it was deep, really deep. 

I disconnected from the rope and dropped into the water wearing shorts and a horse collar life vest that I realized looked like I just got done eating at all you can eat crab buffet.

The water was cold enough to make my ears disoriented which tells me that the water must have been in the low 40s or upper 30s. 

I took a few quick free dives to around a depth of 10ft and shined my 1000 lumen light into the blue with no sign of the bottom and a under cut looking feature in the submerged wall. 

I am confused as to why all of the other caves relieve the water from their depths in this region, but this cave.   there must be around 15ft of snow that gets dumped on this region, so there is significant water flow, but this particular cave holds water. 

A dive has been planned in the near future which will render more answers as to why this cave has so much water, could there be more dry passage behind a duck under, could it be a off set sinkhole to a underwater system, or could it be just a unusual "bowl" that seeps water at a rate that the snow melt recharges the cave after the snow dissipates?

 We headed up to the Anniversary Narrows and we were greeted with at least 10 no tresspassing signs and gates with a map showing us what we can not do, which is enter the narrows from the south which included an alternate route that was shut down recently as well. It appears that people can enter the narrows through the ridge of fire down the wash but unfortunately it will be suite the hike and take a lot of time in order to reach a set of narrows that are around 500ft in length.

Ichiban Cave or Ricks Spring

Locals used ricks spring to collect fresh water by the gallon which was later dye traced and found to be watershed from Logan river, Tony Grove Lake, and other unknown caves in the area. There are other springs in the area that also release large amounts of water including Wood Camp Hollow, which has been dye traced from Main Drain Cave, Benchmark Springs, Dewitt Spring, and the 1,400 ft. gated cave system properly named Logan Cave.  

Rick's Spring Resurgence, Utah

Ricks Spring is made up of Dolomite and has developed from cracks in the Limestone from weak points where the water has dissolved and worked it way through the system.  Some of the passage appear to be pheratic in nature but the dry portion of the cave appear to be solutional. 

Preparing for a dive in Rick's Spring, Utah

Ricks Spring has been a point of interest for locals, tourists and Cave Divers for some time now due to the interesting cavern like alcove and the boil of water that re surges from the ground.   Richard Lamb, Wendell Nope, and a team of Cave Divers have been mapping this system for over 7 years now and local certified cave divers come to the spring to enjoy a nice clear water dive.  

It is my understanding that the cave has been mapped for up to 2300 ft. of underwater and dry passage. The dry portion contains several side passages and cascading waterfalls.  The largest dry room in the cave has been mapped at around 260ft long, 40 to 50ft wide, and 50 to 70ft high!  With all of this water and large passage, I feel Rick's Spring has a lot more going on than what has been discovered so far. 

Richard Lamb, Adam Haydock, and Michael Thornton with a underwater camera, exiting Ricks Spring, Utah PHOTO BY: Michael Thornton

Richard Lamb, Michael Thornton, and Adam Haydock prepared for a dive in the ideal conditions Rick's Spring can offer, 50-60ft of viz, great sun light, "low" recharge, and a balmy 37 degree water temperature.  Richard set the primary line and we found that the permanent line was still in tact which was nice to see and gave us one less task to tackle. The deepest point in the cave is at around 65ft. in a meandering slopping hill like profile.  Surprisingly, I had a lot of gear issues from free flows to two leaky hoses which ended my dive early when I penetrated the cave upto around 500ft. I also had some challenges getting into the cave itself with the LP 108's as I no mounted them and pushed them through the entrance. The cave meandered up and down with some strikes in the strata and a break point where Logan river penetrated the cave and resurges back out the exit of the system. The water was a constant 38 degrees but really good viz with some silt percolation from the ceiling. There is so much more to survey and explore in this cave so I am looking forward to coming back very soon. The 2300 ft of both wet and dry passage has some water falls and continuing submerged passage that appears to keep going and my provide significant cave for this system.

Video of Ricks Springs:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4dDyPVBd7c

 Pinnacle Cave is a south Nevada Solutional fissure that has a 60ft free hanging drop with another 50-60ft of sloping stair step descent before reaching to the bottom.  This cave is surrounded by limestone mountains and begs me to wonder if there are more systems in the area than just this cave.

 Pinnacle Cave is surrounded by private property and other known mine claims which lends me to believe that this cave was spared from the scars that other mines leave after the abuse a claim can put through a cave.

 Once you reach the bottom of the system, you go through a couple of squeezes that must be approached feet first to avoid getting stuck, unlike some other videos and photos I have seen online. Once you get through the restrictions, you come to a formation room and continuing passage that apparently extended for over a 1000ft.

 I have seen a map made in 1972 that reports the survey to be 980ft in length but I have also read that the cave can go for over a few thousand feet, we did not get to see the cave in its entirety, but Laura and I got to enjoy a piece of the cave and its balmy 65 degree temps which was quite the change from the 30's and 40's we were finding in the Utah caves.

 There are two sets of bolts where people can rig from and the rock itself is quite solid but it will be beneficial to pad the rock were the rope lays to avoid rock abrasion and potentially creating a core shot in your rope or worse.

 we enjoyed a good few hours in the cave and look forward to coming back in the near future to practice a bit in the entrance and to explore the cave a bit more to see where the system extends out into. I also want to do some ridge walking to see if there are any other caves in the area.

 Pinnacle cave is near the Las Vegas area as I have found online, so this also has caused some concern with people visiting this cave without the proper training and equipment. Caving is different than canyoneering and climbing, so I highly recommend obtaining the proper gear and training before entering this cave.

 A rescue in this cave could be a cumbersome activity due to the restrictions that would need to be dug out or otherwise "influenced", consequently causing considerable damage to the cave and requiring a lot of personal.  Please practice safe caving practices and use the proper gear and techniques when visiting this cave.  

  For more information on visiting caves or safe caving practices, visit caves.org or join your local grotto.  They will be more than happy to help you and you will not only have a better experience, but you will also be able to visit multiple caves in the region.

To learn more about safe caving activities, caving in Nevada, or to learn how you can get involved and visit caves like these, please reach out to your local caving grotto, The Southern Nevada Grotto.  If you have any questions or you need help with reaching out to the right caving organization, please reach out to me directly.