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.
Mystery Passage is not the comfortable walk like the rest of Howe Caverns. Though it requires some crawling on your hands and knees, it was much easier to navigate than most New England caves I’ve traversed. Eventually I found myself able to walk through the narrow passage, arriving at the Great Rotunda with its 104′ high dome. This is where the adventure tour offered by Howe Caverns ended. Beyond this it would get more interesting for the serious caver.
Lake of Mystery
Following beyond the dome, was a body of water called Lake of Mystery. This was the obstacle that stood between us and the rarely visited portion of the passage. The water in the lake was knee deep and a chilly 4 2 degrees. What made things worse was the ceiling ahead that dropped to inches above the lake and crept closer as it continued. To clear this portion of the passage it would require floating on your back, feet first, with your nose and lips as close to the ceiling as possible. This is referred to as snorkeling.
Several cavers forged ahead to find how we could navigate our way through the passage. After several attempts, they judged the lake impassible due to the low airspace. Though I was disappointed, I felt I needed to go as far as possible before calling it quits. I stepped in the water and as I had experienced in the past, I felt the chill rush into my body and take my breath away. Once I was acclimated to the temperature, I took off my helmet and began to lay on my back. I moved forward until I came to a point where the ceiling rose up a bit. I gazed back and saw a sliver of light grazing over the water from the headlamps of the cavers huddled by the edge of the lake . As I surveyed ahead, I saw the airspace diminishing quickly. Having satisfied my goal, I turned around and proceeded to exit.
Not long after my exit from the icy water I learned that two cavers had made an attempt to push past the water obstacle, and were successful. In the Great Rotunda we patiently waited for their return. Over and hour later we finally heard the brave adventurers returning. We all enjoyed hearing them tell us of their trip to the other side. They mentioned of all the expected sights, but the most amazing was when they told of finding a signature from 1955 still scrawled in the mud.
Though we all did not make it to 4-way junction beyond Reynolds River, we had a great time. I felt very lucky to be able to participate in this event. I was able to meet cavers with a long history in the Northeast, that I knew by their names and many contributions. I enjoyed seeing old friends and making new ones. Most of all, we were able to raise money for the SCCAP and drew much media attention to the dilemma of the people of Schoharie.
Here are some links to some of the media coverage of the event.
http://online.wsj.com/article/AP3bb366b29a1f4bcaa7ea177c3c0dd2b6.html
http://www.mohawkvalleyexpress.com/news/02162012_howe
http://www.dailygazette.com/news/2012/feb/26/0226_explorers/
Here are some pictures of our trip. I will have the video footage up once it has been edited. Check out Aaron Testers blog Northeast Tromping for more pictures of the trip
~Michael
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