Adam and Jason change to clean gear at Mud Turtle Landing.
We headed upstream at a consistently fast pace and only paused about 6 miles from the entrance to deploy some more magic carpets to help avoid crawls on the Snowy River formation where it meanders under a series of low ceiling ledges. By rolling out these 12" wide poly tarps it's possible to walk on them over mud banks without changing shoes thus saving time and more importantly energy. Just past Finger Lake we changed back into dirty gear for the breakdown filled passage ahead. During the previous survey effort we had remained in clean gear and wore only dirty shoes and gloves in the hope that the breakdown would be temporary and we would soon return to Snowy River. Unfortunately the breakdown obstruction went on for quite a long distance so being in dirty clothing meant we could set packs down, sit down, use knee pads, etc. to be more comfortable. We surveyed up the large breakdown mountain that was scouted at the end of the last trip and down the other side. Jason was on point and opted to stay in the larger upper level passage as we passed a pit leading to a lower level bypass. We surveyed across a large breakdown room with leads heading off in the same general direction from opposite sides of the room. A steep fissure led down to an overlook of the Snowy River formation and Jason ran ahead to verify that it kept going.
Adam climbs down from the end of "Rough Country" back into the Snowy River passage.
We thought we had finally emerged from the zone of breakdown and had returned to the easy to travel and easy to survey subway tunnel that had been Snowy River, but this lasted just a few hundred feet before we intersected the upper level canyon again and breakdown interrupted the lower level passage.
Derek models Snowy dirty gear - rubber overshoes, thin over-pants and shirt, and the sketch clipboard protected under the shirt.
This next breakdown obstruction led us up into the largest room yet. It was over 100' in diameter with leads going north and south and lots of gypsum on the walls and floor. We named it Patty's Room after Patty Daw.
Adam reads instruments while Derek pretends to sketch on the north end of Patty's Room.
Jason sets station on the far end of Patty's Room.
As we crossed the room Snowy River appeared again far below and we were able to make a somewhat exposed climb to get back to the floor where we again transitioned to clean gear. We again lost the upper level canyon and were free from breakdown for awhile. Jason ran down the passage again to confirm the survey remained straightforward.
Jason skips down Snowy River on his way to setting the first in a long series of 100+ foot stations.
There were a few short obstacles requiring shoe changes, but the survey went much more smoothly for awhile. The passage was generally 30-40' wide and 30-50' high. It was starting to fit our definition of borehole.
Derek sketches while Adam changes shoes in good sized passage.
Adam reads front-sight on the outside of a Snowy River meander that is decorated with stalactites and soda straws.
This large diameter passage continued for a couple thousand feet and we were able to both collect data and sketch at a faster pace. Mud banks were steeper than in other areas of Snowy River, so magic carpets would not have been of any use, so frequent shoe changes were needed to avoid extended belly crawls where the Snowy formation undercut the edge of the passage.
Jason sets another station off in the distance.
Jason plays hide-and-seek in more large passage.
It got to be after midnight, and we were all imagining the long trip back to the entrance, but we decided to continue surveying until 2 am. At around 1:30 I tallied the survey footage and we were still about 600' shy of a mile, and we started to discuss packing up. The next few shots rounded a bend and the passage opened up even more so we continued surveying past 2 am and the final shot of 212' took us past the mile mark. It was possible to look another 400-500' further down the passage from this final station with passage dimensions of 45' wide by 25' high.
Looking south down the final 212' survey shot. Snowy River is 10-15' wide through here.
The team at the final station.
We left at 2:45 am and wasted no time on the trip out. The additional magic carpets that had been deployed on these last 2 trips helped speed up travel and we made it to the entrance in under 6 hours, emerging at 8:30 am after 25 hours in the cave. The round trip distance we traveled is over 18 miles (29 kilometers), and we surveyed 5,314'.
As with the 1st week trip report, I want to acknowledge the efforts of the many other Fort Stanton Cave Study Project members that pioneered the digs, surveys and work trips that made this survey effort possible. We truly are standing on the shoulders of giants.
Derek Bristol
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