Posting from the Bradford Pothole Club's hut at Brackinbottom - fondly refered to as "The Dump".
My train arrived in Horton-in-Ribblesdale at about 10:20am yesterday (earliest I could get from Leeds) and Terry picked me up at the station as promised, came right over, quickly got changed. Saw a harness and jazz on the floor asked why it was there. Oh, for me? Wait what? What part of "does not know vertical/SRT" was not understood? I know most of the caves in the Dales are vertical but I was told there are some horizontal ones! Oh okay, it's an "easy trip no problems we'll help you" so that just makes it ALL OKAY. The first I heard was "it's only like 10-15 feet, very simple" which okay, that's about what I was doing in the tree so I just need to be shown how to use a stop which is what this kit was. I was explained "you just said you didn't know SRT, we figured you could still abseil, it's a through trip so you don't need SRT" so I guess a lost-in-translation somewhere?! But I was *okay-ish* with the 10-15 foot idea. I've wanted to try learning a bit about stops anyway, that's not that high, and they were saying something about being able to control my decent from the bottom? I dunno how that works but whatever, okay "only" that short of a drop can't be too horrible.
Oh wait. No. It's TWO pitches. a 20-25 foot and about a 40 foot. One of them they said was a bit tricky of a start too but no problem they are sure I could do it woo!
>_< so yeah well I found out that bit further up the longgggg hike up the mountain to the cave (they were also adiment I needed at least an oversuit so I ended up in this old kinda bulky one as it was the only one that would fit over my hips and I could seriously barely walk in it. I faceplanted TWICE just walking up the mountain to the cave entrance I ended up just taking it off once we got up there, no way could I do squat in that thing I was more in danger in it I felt!) but then also found out the first bit of the cave is horizontal - the pitches are decently far in and then it's like a tight crawl in water to get out. Cave name was....uh...Huron Pot. So geared up (the harness took some adjusting to get it on...and I think it would have needed further adjusting because it was not fitting well - either squeezing enough it made walking hurt and the leg loopypart kept falling down my thighs while walking). Got down into the cave (some climbing in narrow spots wee fun!) and then some tight walking squeeze areas then had to crawl a ways and then walking again in tight but not squisssshhhh through the squeezyness tight and then finally the first drop. I told them I wasn't doing the drops but they wanted me to wait until I got there to make up my mind (ha! I had already made it up. Borrowed gear that I didn't feel good in, a stop that I have no experience with, a funky start off for that first drop - you had to climb up over a boulder and squeeze through a space as you did it, it sprung on me so last minute that I was already flustered with the whole situation...NO.) It was a tricky enough start that found out later (I just hiked back to the car and changed and waited for the others) that one of the guys actually broke a rib on our trip - got caught on that boulder at the drop and it snapped. Got out fine and all no rescue needed or whatever. But still...I wasn't there as I'd already started to go back out but knowing someone experienced and who'd done this before broke his rib made me even gladder I didn't go along with their encouraging to just do it and held my ground of Nope!
So I got taken back out. Haha it was funny, the two peeps going back out with me were in front - and went the wrong way at the fork and I called up ahead to them "uh hey - don't we turn right here?" haha I was right! YAY! (sorry this amuses me, as it has happened three times - once in Ontario, once down in TAG, and now once in the UK where everyone just keeps going and I remember where we turn - each of the three times I was with people who had done the cave before often more than once even hehehehehe)
And I guess there was kinda a disconnect because there were supposedly some people who were gonna be here today (monday) and stuff, but by 7:40pm last night (sunday) this hut was empty and everyone had gone home and no one is going to be here. So I'm prettymuch stuck without transport and in almost middle of nowhere. Luckily Andy is awesome (met him last night after getting back in from the trip) and is setting up me staying with his friend Joe and we can all hang out so I won't be alone tonight like I was last night/so far today :)
So yeah...this part of the trip not super impressed, people seemed to barely know I was coming except for the person I was in contact with who thought people knew, but the people I talked with didn't know, or didn't know until like Saturday night which is too late to change plans and jazz. There has been quite a lot of disconnect and miscommunications as ya'all can probably gather!
Haha and now I have some of the people from the Craven (another pothole club - "rival" to Bradford) that I met while at the Wessex in Mendip saying seeeeeee haha next time contact us and we'll set stuff up! hahah (this friendly fun winding each other up rivalries between the clubs I find hillarious!!)