In preparation for the Little Brush Creek Cave trip that is scheduled for November 12, 2005, Rob decided that it would be a good idea to make a run out to the area and do some reconnaissance and play. We did Kaler's Pit first thing where we discovered that Jason's rope is actually a dynamic rope. We then went to Big Brush Creek Cave where we confirmed the report from Dave Herron that it is closed. There is supposed to be a bypass that leads to a 40' drop but we could not find it. We did not check the ice cave section; presumably it is still open. Onward up the streambed we found that Claustrophobia, the small caves further up, and Capture caves are all plugged.
We then drove over to LBCC to see Toothbrush Cave. Where there once was a sinkhole that did not go, there is now a much larger sinkhole with a sizeable cave entrance. The entrance goes in level for twenty or so feet and then changes to a ~45 degree angle. This slope in and of itself does not require a rope but the fact that it terminates in a 40 foot vertical pit does. We tied a 165' rope to a nearby tree outside and then tied a 120' rope to the end of that. The end of the 165' was about eight feet above the lip of the pit. Therefore, an approximately 210' rope should take care of you. The 40' pit drops you into large borehole passage; there are leads everywhere. We cruised all of the easy stuff and then left as it was getting late.
The Pizza Hut in town took care of the rest.
The status of the caves we saw on this trip are:
BBCC: plugged
BBCC Ice Cave: probably open
Capture Cave: plugged
Claustrophobia Cave: plugged
Kaler's Pit: open
LBCC: reported to be closed, not checked
Toothbrush Cave: open
| Photography | ||||
 Duane McCully and Jason Knight at Toothbrush Cave Copyright 2005 Robert Cranney |  Duane McCully in the Entrance of Toothbrush Cave Copyright 2005 Robert Cranney |  Entrance of Toothbrush Cave Copyright 2005 Robert Cranney | ||
 Duane McCully at Claustrophobia Cave Copyright 2005 Robert Cranney |  Duane McCully in Capture Cave Copyright 2005 Robert Cranney |  Duane McCully in Capture Cave Copyright 2005 Robert Cranney | ||
 Duane McCully at Kaler Pit Copyright 2005 Robert Cranney |  Kaler Pit Copyright 2005 Robert Cranney | |||