The expedition group consisted of cavers Doug Powell, Daryl Greaser, Thomas Coleman, Hans Bodenhamer, Philip Rydwalder, and Jason Ballensky. The main focus of this trip was the continued exploration and mapping of the caves around Turtlehead Mountain. Additionally another group of cavers joined the expedition part time to explore Virgil the Turtle’s Greathouse Cave. This group of cavers consisted of Ken Stahley, Landon Woodward, Clinton Ohlers, Richard Brown, Jim Chester, and Ron Zuber.
Within hours, via email communications, our caving friends in Central Kentucky were offering us places to stay away from Hamilton Valley. Chris Groves, John All and Lee Florea all offered to help. Luckily things to the west in the Bowling Green area were better and there was power. I had non-refundable plane tickets and needed a vacation, so I quickly committed to making the trip. Others also said they were coming and the trip was on. Sadly for this expedition we did lose a few good cavers and friends at the last minute due to the weather, jobs and other realities of life. But, we look forward to caving with them at a later date in this great cave system. We arrived on January 31 at the Nashville Airport and headed for Lee Florea and Amber Yuelligs’ house in Bowling Green. Lee and Amber were great hosts. We set up shop in their two back rooms (the former residence of Erin Lynch) and were very comfortable for our 8 day stay.
For our week of caving we focused on the Martin Ridge Entrance and leads in this part of the cave as we have for the past couple of expeditions. We started with two teams in the Cube and Waterfall room areas on February 1st. Paul Burger, Lee Florea and I headed for a low wet lead off of the main passage. Two shots in, it died. We retuned to the Waterfall Room. Clearly at least one of the many passages out of this room had not been surveyed. Within a few minutes we realized that upstream of the falls was the way to go. I checked out the passage and while it was small and wet, it did continue and featured beautiful bedrock and small waterfalls. A dozen shots in, Lee explored ahead, and Paul and I could hear him talking to someone! Our other team, composed of Jed Mosenfelder, Merrilee Proffitt and Leeanne Bledsoe had headed for leads in an upper level trunk, which had small streams. Perhaps we were downstream of this trunk? Sure enough in a few shots we emerged into a deep hole in the floor of this passage and tied into an old station. There was also a hands and knees lead at creek level below the main passage. The other team had also not had much luck with their first lead, which quickly ended in breakdown and which did not seem to have previously reported airflow. But, Merrilee had found a good wetsuit lead for future trips, which goes at least 150 feet into a blank spot on the map.
On the second we headed for the Hub Room, not far into the cave. Merrilee and Jed took on several mop up leads near Quinlan Creek. The first passage connected back to the main survey line in two locations, one noted on the map and the other not. Two other leads also connected and then got very small. Paul, John All and I headed south down the PA Survey. Alan Glennon and John Jasper had surveyed this passage in 2000, but we lacked the notes. Bob Lerch and Ben Miller had started a resurvey last summer. The passage is a small canyon, hands and knees to stoop walking in size with another stream lead just three stations in. We eventually figured out where Bob and Ben had finished up after 15 stations and started our survey. After 20 stations or so a small in-feeder converted the hands and knees passage into a narrow walking canyon. There we found a prominent survey station left by Alan and John. As it turned out, this is where they had stopped, leaving lots of new survey to be completed. We continued south along a very narrow canyon. John could not turn around and frequently could not turn his head. After 60 stations the passage again became a hands and knees crawl. We ended at station 63 where the passage gets much lower, but may continue as a wetsuit lead.
The next day we washed clothes and rested up for our trip to the pits in the central Death Ledge segment of the three part Dreamland Borehold-Yo Avenue trunk passage. Johanna Kovarik joined Merrilee, Paul, Jed, and myself for this trip on the fourth. Paul was the man of the hour as he hauled the 150 foot rope out there including through the wet crawl sections of Jasper Creek. It was a relief to enter the very spacious borehole after the crawl and within a few minutes we were at the pits. Since we had enough people for two survey teams, we crossed the attention-riveting Death Ledge to reach the fifth pit that appeared to “T” into two continuing passages. But after a check of this pit’s lip revealed loose rock and rough edges we retreated back to the first deep pit. Paul rigged and Jed and Johanna headed down into never seen parts of the cave.
Jed and Johanna found that in one direction the passage ended in a major climb after a couple of shots, while in the other direction three small and uncertain leads were found. Paul, Merrilee and I followed down the rope and we formed two leap-frog survey teams. Paul gave me a boost into one of the small leads in the wall. Here was the way on! I entered an unexplored breakdown room at the bottom of one of the other pits. There were two small parallel canyons on the right, but the primary way on was across the breakdown and down a tricky climb. Johanna found a way there via the canyons and a small hole in the floor. With a bit of breakdown gardening and the webbing rigging we were off. The passage headed to the floor of yet another one of the pits, the first one we had considered rigging, but it also continued. Jed and Johanna and I were out in front in a very tall canyon. Within two shots we were stymied by another tricky, slippery and muddy climb. I found a way down. A few shots later the passage closed down, but we could hear a stream. After a snack Paul and Merrilee joined us and they continued through a narrow climb to begin to survey the stream. We continued to tie-in. It was a beautiful creek with many waterfalls over bare bedrock. The way to continue at stream level was very narrow. I joined Paul and we climbed up and over the constriction to continue. Past yet another constriction we surveyed into a grand passage perhaps 12 feet wide and at least 75 feet tall. We ended the day looking up three climbable waterfalls and continuing passage along the creek.
A strong cold front had entered central Kentucky that day and as we exited the cave at about 3 am it was 8° outside. The entrance was a gale of frigid air!! My clothes froze long before I emerged into the dark bitterly cold night. We headed back to the car in two teams that both became temporarily disoriented in the dense woods, but luckily it was only a moment of confusion before we all found the warm car.
On the sixth Paul, Lee and Jed returned to the UB survey with the scenic waterfall creek at the bottom of the Death Ledge pits. The passage continued upward past waterfalls and bare bedrock to the northeast and continued to vary from wide and comfortable to frustratingly narrow. After 20 stations, Jedlee was filtered out. Lee and Paul continued for six more stations to a dome with four reasonable looking leads where they ended the day. The passage was named “Red Red Whine” for the UB 40 song and Jed’s comments on his predicament. We will return.
John All and I travelled to Gypsum Land on the sixth. This area is part of the greater maze above upper Quinlan Creek not too far into the cave. We completed two short mo-up surveys and found a very promising looking dig. The gypsum is impressive in this part of the cave with foot long flowers and hollow gypsum stalactites and stalagmites. At the north end of the complex, I pushed through a very tight formation squeeze to emerge into unexplored passage that soon connected into Eureka Pit. John could not fit and so we ended with several hundred of feet of new survey to be completed in the future.
We had planned to cave with Pat the next day, but she was sick and we were distracted by challenges at home. We all drove out to see her since she was back at Hamilton Valley, despite the lack of water in her home. The devastation along the east side of the park and the Hamilton Valley road was impressive. Vast numbers of trees were down. It will be decades before this are returns to its original appearance. State officials declared that it was the worst storm in the state in a century, and one hell of a time to try and go caving in Kentucky!
We owe a big debt of thanks to Lee Florea and Amber Yuellig who tolerated four grubby cavers and associated kitchen and bathroom clutter, late night arrivals, and dirt everywhere for our week of caving. We also thank the NSS Sara Corrie Grant Fund and the Hoffman Environmental Research Institute for financial support for the project. Thank you to our entrance landowner, Mr. Ricky Keith. And thank you to the cavers who came before us who were willing to share their notes and data, making our current work possible.
Photo by Joel Despain
Photo by Joel Despain
Photo by Joel Despain
Photo by Joel Despain
Photo by Joel Despain
Photo by Joel Despain
Photo by Joel Despain
Photo by Pat Kambesis
Photo by Pat Kambesis
Photo by Pat Kambesis
Photo by Pat Kambesis
Photo by Pat Kambesis
Photo by Joel Despain