Trip Report: 4 December, 2004
Georgia Speleological Survey
c/o Brent T. Aulenbach
195 Windy Court
Lilburn, GA 30047-6442
4 January 2005
Buddy Lane, SCCi Frick's Cave Property Manager
40 Hidden Brook Lane
Signal Mountain, TN 37377-2063
RE: Georgia Speleological Survey 4-5 December, 2004 Trip Report for Resurvey of Frick's Cave, Walker County, Georgia
Dear Buddy,
The twelfth day of surveying in Frick's cave was held by the Georgia Speleological Survey (GSS) on Saturday, 4 December, 2004. There were three participants making up one survey team. Meeting time was 9:30 am.
Brent Aulenbach (sketcher), Scott Carmine, and Suzanne Du Blois made up the survey crew. Suzanne showed up late, so Scott and I entered the cave without her at 10:20 am. She arrived shortly thereafter and caught up with us in the cave. We went to the southwest branch of the cave.
On the way in we checked out a side passage that appeared to connect to an upper level passage surveyed on the last trip. After moving some mud, we were able to slip through this connection to the upper level. This bypass avoids a low wet belly crawl and replaces it with a low, muddy, sticky belly crawl.
Then we set up a large radio transmitter in a virgin dome area in the vicinity of Coulter Pit, a 66 foot deep cave with a 55 foot drop on the ridge above Frick's Cave. Doug Strait would then determine the location on the surface and the depth below the land surface using a radio receiver. The transmitter was turned on at 12:04 pm and turned off at 2:28 pm. Unfortunately, we later found out that the landowner of Coulter Pit requested that we wait until another day to do the radio location as there were hunters on his property.
We started surveying out of the 40 foot high dome area and connected into a known segment of the upstream streamway. Upstream ended in a too low passage. Downstream ended in a low pool with a nearby upward leading canyon connecting into the upper level survey near here.
Back at the dome we surveyed back through a narrow canyon and tied in the survey at the beginning of this canyon. We searched for leads in this dome/canyon area. The most promising lead was chimneying up the narrow canyon. While not difficult, I was not willing to risk slipping with my real muddy boots to explore its full extent. This canyon has some promise as evidenced by raccoon claw marks on the walls of the canyon.
Then we went back to a spot we dug open on the way in and completed a survey loop here.
We finished surveying at 6:10 pm and exited the cave a bit before 7 pm. It was a very productive trip surveying 374 feet in 32 shots and finishing up surveying the furthest out passages. Two loops were closed and these were of good quality (0.8% and 1.8% errors). The only passages now needing surveying is the low, wet, main streamway and some high, dry crawls along the main trunk passage at ceiling level. The cave surpassed the 10,000 foot mark and stands at 10,026 (after removing set-up and splay survey shots).
On Sunday morning I went into the cave on my own to resketch some of the main trunk passage that was originally sketched at 50' to the inch, or was not sketched with much detail. I invited a couple of people to visit the cave so I would not be alone in the cave. I ended up with more people than I had anticipated or needed. Alan Cressler, Annie Blankenship (University of Tennessee archeology student), Gerald Moni, Marion Smith, and Sharon Jones all ended up visiting the cave. Alan did some archeology documentation in the cave with Annie and Gerald. Marion and Sharon looked at historical signatures.
We entered the cave at 11 am. I sketched the last bit of stream trunk passage between the breakdown pile and the Junction Room below the Bat Room. I then found a large, low, flat room at ceiling level which I sketched, but could use a couple of survey shots on the next survey trip. I then sketched some passage upstream of the Junction Room. I was the last one to leave the cave, exiting at 3:45 pm. I then sketched a small alcove in the boulder pile in front of the Main Entrance. The notes from all this are attached.
There was one new participant on this trip. So far, 47 different people have participated on the project in twelve days of trips.
Brent Aulenbach was designated by the head SCCi Frick's Cave Property Manager as the SCCi representative for the trip.
I have been continuing work on rough drafts and electronically drafting the cave.
If you have any questions, comments, or problems, please feel free to contact me.
Respectfully Submitted,
Brent T. Aulenbach, Frick's Cave Resurvey Project Coordinator
cc:
John Hickman, SCCi Chair
John Klayer, GSS Chair
Attached:
Copies of all survey notes with survey data file from Compass
Line plot of cave from Compass with passages surveyed on this
trip highlighted
Cave survey statistics from Compass
Reduced station locations from Compass
Loop Closures from Compass
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Last modified: Tuesday, 11 January 2005 bta