It was an interesting trip but before I share the details I want to say that the total I was able to collect for the relief fund came to $400. With all of the other cavers, our total came to over $2000. After our run through the passage, the Howe Caverns Tour Manager Jeff DeGroff spoke to us about the many families in Schoharie who have received no support from U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and are still homeless. The money all of you contributed will help these people greatly.
Ok now to the cave crawl.
After work Friday I began the four hour trek to Howes Cave NY. The weather seemed to change with every hour. The highlights of the journey were forty five minutes of dense fog and low visibility in central MA, a snowy winter wonderland in the Berkshires and torrential rain with almost zero visibility outside of Albany NY. Once comfortably settled in my room at the Howe Caverns Motel, my night consisted of dining at a local pizza joint while absorbing the local culture and later preparing all my equipment for the morning.
Members of the trip – Courtesy of Aaron Tester
Saturday morning, we began to collect in the main main building at the cave. There was a mix of familiar faces and strangers soon to become new friends. I mingled in and out of different conversation as I waited anxiously for the moment the expedition would begin. At 10 AM we began our fifteen story plummet into the cave below. I was crammed into the same elevator I had taken over thirty years ago, but instead of being surrounded by casual tourists, this time my company was tubs of equipment and serious explorers. We were about to visit a place very few have ever seen and this thought was exciting and a bit scary too.
We followed a narrow brick lined passage that wasn’t part of the standard tour. In an article from 1885 this passage was known as the Devils Gateway. At its conclusion was the Silent Chamber and a nine foot drop to Fat Man’s Misery. Ahead, the passages would be no longer have modern amenities; we’d be to diving into the dark wet Mystery Passage.
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Howe Caverns
The expedition into the Reynolds River passage will be this coming Saturday. We have 20 cavers including some who I’ve only known through their name and long history of contributions to caving in the Northeast. This should be a fun and exciting weekend.
Though Most of the passage was mapped in 1965, hundreds of feet beyond the 4-Way Junction remain to be mapped. Seasoned cavers Art Palmer and Chuck Porter will map from the 4-Way Junction towards the pool at the end of the cave, while another mapping team will start at the pool and map out to meet them.
The map to the left was surveyed in 1965, the year of my birth, and drawn four years later. The circles along the cave passage with numbers show the height of the passage at that location. As you can see, some parts of this passage are very small. On top of that, the shade part are filled with water. This is why we’ll need to wear wet-suits for this trip. Though it might look tough to a non-caver, I it will be much easier than some wet passages I’ve had to negotiate in the past. Hopefully we will be able to add several hundred of feet of passage to the map when we’re done.
Helmet Cam
There are some spectacular formations in the passage, and very few photos exist, so some of us will be spending time photographing the cave. Howe Caverns requests the right to use photos taken on this trip. Since my adventure camera was long overdue for an upgrade, I went out and purchased a 14 MP Fuji S2950 camera. I also purchased a Pelican 1200 watertight case. In an attempt to capture as much of the expedition on video, I fastened a universal camera mount to my helmet so I can attach my Kodak waterproof HD video camera to it. Hopefully with the headlamp and extra lighting I will be carrying will be enough for the video.
As I mentioned before, each of us will be donating $50 – $100 to the Schoharie Relief Fund. Due to the generosity of my friends and coworkers, so far it looks like I will be handing them a check for over $300. I again encourage those who can spare a few dollars to do the same. You can find where to send the donation at the Howes Cavern Relief Fund webpage.
We will be entering the passage aroung 9 am and hope to exit by 5 pm the latest. The entire expedition will be about 6-8 hours. After we exit, we’ll be eating a hearty meal in the Howes dining area. Shortly after eating I will be making the 4 hour trip home.
I’ll be tweeting and sending picture to the website when possible. Once I’m home though, I probably will fall into a deep coma like sleep until the next day.
~Michael
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