by Bumbalawski » Sep 2, 2010 10:06 pm
Flint–Mammoth connection
On September 9, 1972, a Cave Research Foundation mapping team led by Dr. John P. Wilcox, Patricia Crowther, Richard B. Zopf, Dr. P. Gary Eller, Stephen G. Wells, and Cleveland F. Pinnix (a National Park Service Ranger) managed to pursue a low, wet passage that linked two of the area's long cave systems—Flint Ridge Cave System to Mammoth Cave. This connection made the combined Flint–Mammoth Cave System the world's longest. (Flint Ridge had itself recently surpassed Hölloch Cave, in Switzerland, as the world's longest cave.)
On a previous trip deep in the Flint Ridge Cave System, Patricia Crowther, with her slight frame of 115 pounds, crawled through a narrow canyon later dubbed the "Tight Spot," which acted as a filter for larger cavers.
A subsequent trip fielded past the Tight Spot by Crowther, Wilcox, Zopf, and Tom Brucker found the name "Pete H" inscribed on the wall with an arrow pointing in the direction of Mammoth Cave. [8] The name is believed to have been carved by Pete Hanson, who was active in exploring the cave in the 1930s. Hanson was killed in World War II. The passage was named Hanson's Lost River.
On the September 9th trip, by following Hanson's Lost River, the six-person mapping team was led to Cascade Hall in Mammoth Cave, final proof that the caves were connected. John Wilcox emerged in waist-deep water to see a horizontal line across his field of vision, which proved to be a tourist handrail: the "One small step for man" quote for "conquering the Everest of speleology" was his exclamation to the others "I see a tourist trail!" Of all the many miles in Mammoth Cave, only a small fraction is developed with trails and lighting, so it was remarkable that the moment of connection took place in such a familiar setting.