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''There I was''....

PostPosted: Oct 7, 2010 8:07 am
by puffadder
Lost in the dark.alone.Had to supress the urge to panic...Hello.I am muskrat1..or,Jim.,doesnt really matter which....This ''caving thing'',,while may not be new to me or my friends,it is different..and it is that difference that brought me here..I am 49,,originally come from Quincy,Ma...left there in 1979..went to ft bragg,and was in the 82nd from 79-90.2nd BDE.OR 325TH A.I.R. Been in Dahlonega,ga since 95 or so..went into EMS and was a paramedic in NC,and Ga.from 91-2000..During that time,did sections of the AT,and while in paramedic school..became a true climbing bum..was super sweet.divorced,aimless..somewhat young..so earned enough to make my way thru school,and go off...j tree,wherever..do some trad,etc..hoever,sometime in the 90s whitewater kayaking took over and i still do that.no more lead climbing,am done with that..Mtn biking..love it.So,in 2009.. instead of going up to the frenchbroad/nolichucky for our annual pilgrimage on memorial day..I proposed we do something different..Have been camping and climbing at crockford pigeon since forever,and have never once thought about pjohns.Or any of it.Never saw the fascination.The waterfall,and fixed ropes and all the other stuff..changed all that.Now,my little band of pirates and I are pretty much into this.. Hesitant for ayr about joing a ''clique''. its like being in the gca,or whatever..something about that takes away from the sense of exploration..but,I am a realist.. and also realize that i am interested in the science of caves..So,what began a s a little jaunt into pjohns under our own steam..fizzled..its one thing to prowl around,but i look for ''destinations''..so,like it or not..to find the waterfall..we needed experience... From there..I said..we have to go vertical.And we did..rustys was next,then signal light,then,case,cemetary.....Last week i joined the NSS. still waiting for numbers ,and then contacted gss..laid it out.2 days ago,i asked the boss if i could leave early from work.I made my mind up..am wanting to join dogewood..once and for all..ended up getting busy,could not go..Heres the point of all this..we have been dropping into pits,with no affiliation.I dont like that..feels like trespassing.we follow the tag closed cave list,and for now have been confined pretty much to scci caves..The next few weekends,we are going back to cemetary..improving ascent speed,before moving on..but we do not want to interfere with tag events..since for now my knowlege base is limited..could use a little beta.we know sharp mtn is a hot spot..but thats it.looking for intermediate drops.with destinations.i know beta cant be given out on here..thats a good thing..but until i can get time to get to a grotto meet,we are stuck...I am in fact,actively asking for forbidden beta....now with said,thats why i am here.as for ''There I was''..talking about bed this morning.did not want to go to work.playing hookey at my age.I ought to be ashamed.

Here I am..(pt ii)

PostPosted: Oct 7, 2010 8:43 am
by puffadder
People tend to get a little nevous about about outsiders..Case in point.Before guidebooks came out on climbing areas.beta was by word of mouth.Trust me,beta was tough to come by before the internet.Guidebooks are twin evils.They bring the crowds.they bring''outsiders''.life as you knew it..will change.so yesterdays hidden jewel,is now not even a whisper..Of my friends and I who do venture into the caves,I am the eldest,and have the most climbing experience.With that,I taught all...started with prussiking,and rappelling.at curahee and yonah.this is an ongoing,never ending thing.practice..never ends.cordage,what diameters work best,webbing..prussik,autoblck,klemheist.rappelling..carabiner wrap,munter hitch..good to know basic stuff..atc's..frescue 8..next..switch hands..stop..change over..I mean this is a pretty competent little group.2 of us are rescue techs in swift water,..so usage may be different but application of z drag doesnt.so everyone knows how to set one up..If these guys can ascend a rope on cordage or tiblocks,they can certainly do it with ascenders.I learned the frog..passed it on..I sent them to IMO..and I even sold my soul..and invested in a rack.Cant teach a new dog new tricks? bull.the rack rules.now ,we all frog.2 of us did cemetary in about..20 mts each.that is a rough guess.we are at ropes by 4,and out by 5..no problem.except we learned..i would not want to do anything much taller on that..so next up will be rope walker..This is all a neat learning curve.Technique is not enough.Knowledge is.caves are a fragile environment..to outsiders.Last week..who here knew touching a stalagmite could ruin it.? I didnt. I do now.and thats where guidebooks and grottos have their place.agree or no?.I know where ellisons is.Hell,anyone who has a good topo does too..does that mean I will gothere? I would rather ride atwood trail..ellisons is beyond me.and there it is..ellisons IS beyond me.for now.being part of a grotto is like being in a squad.you want to be in the squad or do you want to be the squad leader? The gunner carrying 80 lbs of crap..looks over and sees the delta guy in shades..''styling''.That delta operator however did not just grow there magically..Does anyone understand what I am saying? necessary evils.Anyone with desire enough can go to any cave..That is not only a little foolish,but you may inadvertantly be destroying eco systems,and things of which you may know nothing about..Som while I value independence and self efficiency..we need more education.That,above all else..is why I am here.

Re: ''There I was''....

PostPosted: Oct 7, 2010 9:41 am
by Squirrel Girl
Welcome to Cavechat... and organized caving, Oh stream-of-conciousness-one! :big grin:

Caving AND mountain biking. No two better hobbies, unless your caves are underwater! :kewl:

need beta..plain and simple

PostPosted: Oct 10, 2010 2:59 pm
by puffadder
My friends and I have picked up as our newest hobby..''this caving thing''. Sadly, 1 of my closest friends has dropped out. claims caving is not for him.ok..but tallulah is.cheoah..is.He did take a leader fall ..his 1st lead ever..ever..a 5.4..but its not the rating.Its the fact that while trying to place that all important hex behind a flake..if you dont clip..you will burn in..he burned in.about 20 ' .i thought he was dead.however,he was driving on..trained with us at curahee,over and over ascending ,changeover..He went with us to signal light and case..and it was case..he said to me..no more..i think the crux at the bottom really did him in.Ok,so that leaves me and 3 others that are committed.The central probelem so far is time and distance.the nearest grotto is over 60 miles from me,and they meet when I am at work.I tried last tues to get off work,but the boss said i couldnt..so until I can get the time to get to dogwood..,in all honesty will be when i get vacation hrs back..next jan..am looking for beta on caves.there are what 14000/?? are you kidding me? I am 50..be happy to see 4...time is now the enemy...whatso far,cemetary really does seem to be what we like.about 150-200 verticality.and miles of passage.and features something.I hear there are some cave s with petroglyphs..cool,or serious decorations ..cool..these are destinations...waterfalls....I in particular want to start developing further.multi drops..doesnt have to be one colossal drop..can/should deviate..rebelay..something intermediate level..look,dont have to tell me about the need for secrecy.shit am probably twice the age of most here..and I can tell YOU stories of how things can get very much fubared when gems become defiled.If there is anyone willing to talk..let me know..pyranhasx@gmail.com..i guess if you volunteer,we bring you..dont care for elitists..dont care for a very select clique we call grottonazis..snobs.This is fun,and serious stuff..The learning curve is widening