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dirkomatic wrote:I have a group of 7 going through on August 13. We're not going to stop and smell the roses, so you probably don't want to tag along with us, but maybe we'll see you there!
dirkomatic wrote:It's a good idea to be cautious, although if you do change your mind, the way is pretty well marked if you pay attention.
Hope you have a good trip!
Steve_S wrote:dirkomatic wrote:It's a good idea to be cautious, although if you do change your mind, the way is pretty well marked if you pay attention.
Hope you have a good trip!
Oh it is? Well maybe we'll give it a try then!! Thanks !!!
ohiocaver wrote:I'm not an uber-caver but I wouldn't term this as easy...then again,I've done it successfully only twice, and never from Norman. So my word of advice would be to do the connection from Bone. The Norman side is quite mazey and I find the connection much more difficult to find (okay, I've never found it). Bone is one room after another. Go to the back of Bone then backtrack one room. Look for a crack on the right wall. This is the beginning of the "quarter-mile crawl." The pinch is ahead through a tight belly squeeze. Once you get through the Devils Pinch you're on your own. Find the water in Norman, go upstream, and it leads out. Do you know Norman? In the water passage you'll eventually come to a big waterfall (maybe 20' and usually flowing fast). Backtrack a few feet and, on the right as you came upstream, is a short upclimb and crawl parallel to the waterfall, that leads to the big exit room. Go up the breakdown to the exit (which should be obvious if it is light out). If you climb up into a room with big columns and formations (Totem Pole Room), you went back downstream too far. The exit climb is between Totem Pole Room and the falls.
dirkomatic wrote:ohiocaver wrote:I'm not an uber-caver but I wouldn't term this as easy...then again,I've done it successfully only twice, and never from Norman. So my word of advice would be to do the connection from Bone. The Norman side is quite mazey and I find the connection much more difficult to find (okay, I've never found it). Bone is one room after another. Go to the back of Bone then backtrack one room. Look for a crack on the right wall. This is the beginning of the "quarter-mile crawl." The pinch is ahead through a tight belly squeeze. Once you get through the Devils Pinch you're on your own. Find the water in Norman, go upstream, and it leads out. Do you know Norman? In the water passage you'll eventually come to a big waterfall (maybe 20' and usually flowing fast). Backtrack a few feet and, on the right as you came upstream, is a short upclimb and crawl parallel to the waterfall, that leads to the big exit room. Go up the breakdown to the exit (which should be obvious if it is light out). If you climb up into a room with big columns and formations (Totem Pole Room), you went back downstream too far. The exit climb is between Totem Pole Room and the falls.
This is completely accurate. I agree, I wouldn't call it easy either... But it is manageable if you have a group willing to help look for the way. I went under the assumption that you had done the trip before and were at least aware on how to find the pinch and the exit at the waterfall as described by ohiocaver. Look for markings throughout the cave after the pinch. They are infrequent, but they usually exist.
dirkomatic wrote:Steve, not sure if you're still planning on this trip or not, but wanted to let you know that ours was successful. I was paying attention to the markings the entire way... The markings through SOB after the (disappointing after the expansion) pinch are frequent, much more than they used to be. Doing a self-guided through trip is possible and not extremely difficult if you maintain awareness, look intently for markers, follow the arrows marked in carbide (most in spray paint are accurate, but a few are misleading) and go the opposite direction of those arrows marked with a "W" or "B" (assuming you are coming from the Bone entrance.) Be aware that the recent flooding has eliminated some typically evident footprints and made some parts of Norman quite slick and treacherous.
Have fun!
Steve_S wrote:dirkomatic wrote:Steve, not sure if you're still planning on this trip or not, but wanted to let you know that ours was successful. I was paying attention to the markings the entire way... The markings through SOB after the (disappointing after the expansion) pinch are frequent, much more than they used to be. Doing a self-guided through trip is possible and not extremely difficult if you maintain awareness, look intently for markers, follow the arrows marked in carbide (most in spray paint are accurate, but a few are misleading) and go the opposite direction of those arrows marked with a "W" or "B" (assuming you are coming from the Bone entrance.) Be aware that the recent flooding has eliminated some typically evident footprints and made some parts of Norman quite slick and treacherous.
Have fun!
Thank you very much!!!! I'm glad your trip was successful!! A few people coming down with me still want to do the trip so I'll pass all the info along. I'll let you know how they make out! The rest of use are hitting McClungs and Boar hole instead. Thanks again for all the information! Steve
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