Update of the Cave Next Door project---
(discovering the biggest cave in Oregon?)
It's been over a year since this has been updated. I think it got lost in the caverns of bureaucracy. So to satisfy the bureaucrats I would like to say at this point--and make it perfectly clear and plain--that this whole project is really just a figment of my imagination. Sometimes I wander around the forest and find myself in this quaint little village with a hole in the ground. I look down this hole and make everything up. What else can you expect from somebody who hangs out with giants? (But I do avoid dragons.)
So after a year and a half of wandering the giants' kingdom and trying to communicate, Charlie and David have found themselves back at the bottom of that imaginary hole. A thorough inspection of all the concrete work done up to this point has revealed no cracks, failures, or any sign of movement in the boulder jam that was cemented together. The sinkhole has remained stable through an earthquake and two rainy seasons. Material is still being moved from the bottom of the 80' shaft to fill around the culvert at the top of the shaft. All of this, of course, is inside the original sinkhole.
Last year due to bureaucratic delays and problems with communication, the hole was only dug 2' deeper. But--a management plan was worked out that seems to be acceptable to everybody. At least nobody has said, "No." I want to be positive and upbeat about this whole thing.
The process of putting an air-lock gate at the top of the culvert is continuing. Dirt from the bottom is being packed around the culvert filling in the sinkhole. Ten buckets were moved last week. In our prime, we could move 50 in a day! :c) Because of the amount of water, concrete work won't be possible, and any shoring will have to be done with timbers until the dry season. There is air space on 3 sides. The dig appears to be at the hour glass pinch point of the sinkhole. The rubble seems loose and hollow with good drainage, air on the ceiling/walls, and more rock than clay. Boy is it ever wet down there!
I am more convinced than ever that the water that flows into the shaft all goes into the cave. That the shaft goes right down the throat of the sinkhole. And into the CAVE!
Monday, January 28, 2013
Saturday, January 12, 2013
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Dig Update 1/30/12
A further note on the progress made to rediscover and construct a safe and permanent trail into one of Oregon's largest and known marble caves....
I hesitate to call it a dig since no digging has been done. Too bad too, (note: if you drew a line down the middle of the last 3 words and the two halfs would almost be mirror images--as in--oot bad too.) anyway--because the Mistress dig has been really dry and there hasn't even been a mile of snow to shoe through. Could have had another 5' dug down, and built. I have been working on getting a permit with the help of many people. I have drawn up a management plan, written some letters, and have been better able to define what the CND is all about. It is like building the same structure out of words and meanings that in the past 12 years has been built out of physical steel, stone, and sweat. An image of hopes and dreams formed while spending 1000's of hours in a 4'x4' hole wondering how far to go and what would be there, other than, of course, a big void underground.
Now in a physical sense that is all a cave is, with mineral and bio attributes of course. As a tree is just a bunch of hydro-carbons stuck together with all their attributes. Anything else that defines a cave or tree is some kind of cultural transparency laid over the physical for human reasons. Reasons we choose because we are homo-sapiens on earth and we seem to be the ultimate choosers on the planet. To which god shall we sacrifice to, so to speak, the smooth-tongued Mammon? Coy Minerva? Staid Science? The strong exotic one? The elusive unknown one? The one of "things as they really are"? And the eternal question: Do I sacrifice this for myself or do I sacrifice myself for this? And what is this other than a hole in the ground, or what I have made it to be? That is a question we probably shoule ask about everything on Earth we touch: What is this other than what I have made it to be? Is "to get an answer" reason enough to answer a question? A good question seems to be more common than a good answer. So some how, you have to sort out which question needs answering, and for that, you need good reasons for answering it. There cetainly have been plenty of questions to ask for a reason to dig. If I couldn't find a good one, I used a bad one.
These are the sort of questions that have suggested themselves, (how do questions do that?), over the years of digging into the unknown for unknown reasons. These are the sort of ruminations that have found their substance in the proposed management plan, a plan that emphasizes the gentlest possible touch on the cave to allow the cave an opportunity to speak for itself in whatever way a cave may speak. Just in case a cave is more than rocks in a void.
There is a growing body of evidence that plants feel and react to human emotions and actions. That might imply they would like more choice in the conditions of their lives, or at least someone to listen and help them out a little bit. Where did that garden keeper go? You know, the guy with the shovel and pruning hook? And if the Spirit has penetrated into the vegetable world, might it also have penetrated into the heart of matter? Yea, even be what holds it together?
Did I mention that Charlie and I visited the cave dig for a safety check? The foot or so of rain that came with the end of January finally brought the water table up, and the dig is dripping again. Not only water, but a 6" hole at collar level in southest corner dribbled a half dozen buckets of mud and gravel down the steps. The hole was plugged with spilings driven in. That is just part of digging an active sink hole. There were also a couple of freeze-cracked valves in the water line. We remvoed them for replacement. Since the snow had melted back and the rock pile was exposed, we got the rocks out of the weather and put them under roof in case, we got back to work before the snow is gone in the spring. If we get any snow that is.
Charlie took some more video with a new camera. He's trying to capture the experience of descending the shaft. Our photography is weak. We have very few pictures that do the project justice. This is do a lot I guess, because, when we get to the site, we just start digging and the tech end of things gets neglected. It's hard to be the photgraphic recorder of one's self. We need a dedicated techie and someone to escort buckets up and down the shaft added to the team. I wonder if those come with a Forest Service permit? If anyone reading this would like to tell the FS that you are in favor of what we are trying to do you can email Leslie Jehnings at ljehnings@fs.fed.us , and say so. Otherwise, these updates might get more obtuse.
.+
I hesitate to call it a dig since no digging has been done. Too bad too, (note: if you drew a line down the middle of the last 3 words and the two halfs would almost be mirror images--as in--oot bad too.) anyway--because the Mistress dig has been really dry and there hasn't even been a mile of snow to shoe through. Could have had another 5' dug down, and built. I have been working on getting a permit with the help of many people. I have drawn up a management plan, written some letters, and have been better able to define what the CND is all about. It is like building the same structure out of words and meanings that in the past 12 years has been built out of physical steel, stone, and sweat. An image of hopes and dreams formed while spending 1000's of hours in a 4'x4' hole wondering how far to go and what would be there, other than, of course, a big void underground.
Now in a physical sense that is all a cave is, with mineral and bio attributes of course. As a tree is just a bunch of hydro-carbons stuck together with all their attributes. Anything else that defines a cave or tree is some kind of cultural transparency laid over the physical for human reasons. Reasons we choose because we are homo-sapiens on earth and we seem to be the ultimate choosers on the planet. To which god shall we sacrifice to, so to speak, the smooth-tongued Mammon? Coy Minerva? Staid Science? The strong exotic one? The elusive unknown one? The one of "things as they really are"? And the eternal question: Do I sacrifice this for myself or do I sacrifice myself for this? And what is this other than a hole in the ground, or what I have made it to be? That is a question we probably shoule ask about everything on Earth we touch: What is this other than what I have made it to be? Is "to get an answer" reason enough to answer a question? A good question seems to be more common than a good answer. So some how, you have to sort out which question needs answering, and for that, you need good reasons for answering it. There cetainly have been plenty of questions to ask for a reason to dig. If I couldn't find a good one, I used a bad one.
These are the sort of questions that have suggested themselves, (how do questions do that?), over the years of digging into the unknown for unknown reasons. These are the sort of ruminations that have found their substance in the proposed management plan, a plan that emphasizes the gentlest possible touch on the cave to allow the cave an opportunity to speak for itself in whatever way a cave may speak. Just in case a cave is more than rocks in a void.
There is a growing body of evidence that plants feel and react to human emotions and actions. That might imply they would like more choice in the conditions of their lives, or at least someone to listen and help them out a little bit. Where did that garden keeper go? You know, the guy with the shovel and pruning hook? And if the Spirit has penetrated into the vegetable world, might it also have penetrated into the heart of matter? Yea, even be what holds it together?
Did I mention that Charlie and I visited the cave dig for a safety check? The foot or so of rain that came with the end of January finally brought the water table up, and the dig is dripping again. Not only water, but a 6" hole at collar level in southest corner dribbled a half dozen buckets of mud and gravel down the steps. The hole was plugged with spilings driven in. That is just part of digging an active sink hole. There were also a couple of freeze-cracked valves in the water line. We remvoed them for replacement. Since the snow had melted back and the rock pile was exposed, we got the rocks out of the weather and put them under roof in case, we got back to work before the snow is gone in the spring. If we get any snow that is.
Charlie took some more video with a new camera. He's trying to capture the experience of descending the shaft. Our photography is weak. We have very few pictures that do the project justice. This is do a lot I guess, because, when we get to the site, we just start digging and the tech end of things gets neglected. It's hard to be the photgraphic recorder of one's self. We need a dedicated techie and someone to escort buckets up and down the shaft added to the team. I wonder if those come with a Forest Service permit? If anyone reading this would like to tell the FS that you are in favor of what we are trying to do you can email Leslie Jehnings at ljehnings@fs.fed.us , and say so. Otherwise, these updates might get more obtuse.
.+
Monday, January 2, 2012
Poem: "Coming of Age"
As more caves are discovered and explored
And as the days of "busting virgin passages" are coming to an end;
As spelunkers become cavers, and cavers become women and men,
And we learn to treat these caves with the respect that they demand;
It becomes time to slow down, stop--even look around a little bit.
There might be more to these old friends than just the thrill of it,
These capsules of time, with secrets written in stone and whispering magic sands.
Getting to know one can be a lifelong undertaking
What with the mysterious forces that go into the natural making,
And the slow tedious comprehensions of cannots and cans.
Maybe it's the urge to settle down that tends to afflict old age;
You know--a new perspective from the rocking-chair, or by turning a new page,
Or, perhaps, the heart is just catching up with the hand.
And as the days of "busting virgin passages" are coming to an end;
As spelunkers become cavers, and cavers become women and men,
And we learn to treat these caves with the respect that they demand;
It becomes time to slow down, stop--even look around a little bit.
There might be more to these old friends than just the thrill of it,
These capsules of time, with secrets written in stone and whispering magic sands.
Getting to know one can be a lifelong undertaking
What with the mysterious forces that go into the natural making,
And the slow tedious comprehensions of cannots and cans.
Maybe it's the urge to settle down that tends to afflict old age;
You know--a new perspective from the rocking-chair, or by turning a new page,
Or, perhaps, the heart is just catching up with the hand.
Monday, December 26, 2011
2nd Wednesday in December.
I had a wonderful meeting with Roy Bergstrom (USFS), and he has guided me on the process of obtaining a Special Use Permit for the Cave Next Door project. I believe there was encouragement in that direction from Vicki Schnitzler of the NPS ORCA. So, from a world of boulder uncertainly and haphazardly wedged in plugged cave-passage that I had to put together into one solid wall that will conceivably even withstand an average earthquake, I go into a world of organizations, agencies, interest groups--both special and community--and try to gather as much interest and support as I can for the CND project. My hope is to encourage the USFS to issue that Special Use Permit!
This is such an opportunity! --To discover and explore an unknown pristine cave in real time with a WWW connection. --To learn to apply 21st century technology to the process of cave discovery while maintaining the natural pristine environment of the cave for future generations. --To teach and learn more about caves and how to care for them.
My mind races with such possibilities. If I can make a phone call from inside the cave, what other information can be sent from there too? How fast? Virtual tours made from 3-D lidar technology. Temporary trails that are taken out when the video mapping is done. Exhaustive inventory from the beginning of biota and minerals. Careful observations from an undisturbed environment that might yield clues to the past. The story of the caves history.
And these are just general questions and goals! What I'm thinking about are the actual physical processes and infrastructure necessary to achieve these aims. Materials, power, safety, Procedures, timing, safety. Absolutes, limitations, safety. All the time with maximum respect for the cave, each foot downward into the unexplored carrying its own surprises and challenges... Sounds like fun sitting here beside the fire, sipping on a hot buttered rum.
This is such an opportunity! --To discover and explore an unknown pristine cave in real time with a WWW connection. --To learn to apply 21st century technology to the process of cave discovery while maintaining the natural pristine environment of the cave for future generations. --To teach and learn more about caves and how to care for them.
My mind races with such possibilities. If I can make a phone call from inside the cave, what other information can be sent from there too? How fast? Virtual tours made from 3-D lidar technology. Temporary trails that are taken out when the video mapping is done. Exhaustive inventory from the beginning of biota and minerals. Careful observations from an undisturbed environment that might yield clues to the past. The story of the caves history.
And these are just general questions and goals! What I'm thinking about are the actual physical processes and infrastructure necessary to achieve these aims. Materials, power, safety, Procedures, timing, safety. Absolutes, limitations, safety. All the time with maximum respect for the cave, each foot downward into the unexplored carrying its own surprises and challenges... Sounds like fun sitting here beside the fire, sipping on a hot buttered rum.
Saturday, December 17, 2011
another oldie
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/04evi-iLB7U" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Opening the lid
Opening the lid
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