Binkley and Blowing Hole Cave

[SinkholePlain]

A three person survey team added nearly 3,000 feet of survey in a newly discovered upper level passage above Chuck's Sewer Tube in Binkley Cave Strike Section last weekend. Plotted survey notes show that surveyed passage in Binkley has now closed the gap between the two caves from about 2,000 feet to 250 feet. Surveyors explored about 300 feet beyond the end of their survey and found a huge mountain room nearly 100 feet tall and several hundred feet long(a big, big room in an Indiana cave). It is quite likely that the scooped passage actually has already crossed over a lower stream level known as Upper Travertine Trail in Blowing Hole. It appears now that a connection between the two caves is probably just a matter of time now that the previous potential drainage divide between them has been breached. If connected now, the combined cave system would be nearly 32 miles in surveyed length. Over 7 miles of new survey has been added in the last year and a half as a by product of the book "Fifty Years under the Sinkhole Plain", which re-ignited a survey project first started in 1958. It appears that considerable potential still exists for the new passage dubbed "Blowing Hole Boulevard". Cavers have long theorized that the strong sucking winter air movement in Binkley system entrances indicated substantial amount of undiscovered upper level passages in a cave system known for long underground rivers. The new discovery may be a glimpse of what may lie above the underground rivers. Access to the upper levels has long been limited by the thin-bedded nature of the St. Louis limestone in which the cave is located. Drilling and placing bolts in the St. Louis is a scary proposition so ISS cavers and the current project members have been building 16-20 foot scaling poles in 4 foot sections to help climb the domes and check for leads at the top.

Gary Roberson
Indiana Speleological Survey

[boogercaver71]

Great job guys

[Cody JW]

I would like to add that the survey trips into Blowing Hole one must negotiate cold water right at the entrance then travel a good ways in to reach current survey areas.A hardy bunch for sure.

[cavedad]

You deserve much of the credit for reinvigorating the survey. Just reading 50 Years Under the Sinkhole Plain made me want to drive out to southern IN every weekend to check some of the unpushed leads you enumerated in your book. If anyone reading this hasn't read Gary's book, you should, because it's a wonderful tale about some "regular guys" that had the tenacity to keep at it, even when things were at their most grim. Great work Gary, and congratulations in advance on the pending connection!

[MUD]

Keep pushin....sounds like the connection is imminent!