5/2/2012, 2:43PM Wallace Coffey"
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Bald Eagle on South Holston River
From Wallace Coffey of Bristol Bird Club:
"Sullivan County Bald Eagle nest digiscoped at 30x from 600 yards.
5/2/2012, 2:43PM Wallace Coffey"
5/2/2012, 2:43PM Wallace Coffey"
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
"Baby" Bald Eaglet
From Wallace Coffey, of Bristol Bird Club, with permission to share:
Most of us would simply
love to hold one of the cute
and fuzzy eaglets from the nest
upstream of Bluff City on the
South Fork Holston River in
Sullivan County, TN. It would
be wonderful to cuddle the little
creature, pet it and love it. So
a photo of a Virginia Tech
graduate student holding
one when we were at a nest
site to band an eaglet in Burke's
Garden, Tazewell Co. VA a couple
of years ago would encourage you.
Perception and reality can sometimes be just a large beak and
sharp talons apart.
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
CCV Spring Meeting
The Board of Trustees of the Cave Conservancy of the Virginias met the weekend of April 28 at the scenic Mountain Lakes Hotel near Pembroke, Virginia. There was pressing business to install a new roof at CCV's Water park/ bingo hall before major damage is done to the buildings. About $25000* was allocated for roofing. About $22,000 was granted to a project to publish the first of a series of waterproof regional field guides to cave organisms, starting with one for Virginia. The Butler Cave Conservation Society asked for and received $8000 for the purpose of buying the Robins Rift cave property. Robins Rift is at the periphery of the great hydrologically connected Burnsville Cove system. Three times Robins Rift has been opened and three times it has collapsed. This time the plan is to build a stable entrance. Not much passage has been mapped but it has a lot of moving air. Finally, CCV Chair Mike Ficco released $500 to a project to dye trace the resurgence of Mountain Lake, which has been largely empty for the last decade, although it appears to be filling back up now. All the likely nearby springs and streams have tested negative for the dye, which was dumped as close as possible to the apparent drain holes.
*Except as noted, all expenditures were split 50/50 with our sister organization, the Cave Conservancy Foundation.
2012-04-28; Scott County Survey
April 28, 2012: Paul and Lucas Gaskins and I started a survey on an unnamed and undocumented cave in Scott County, Virginia. I originally estimated it at 800 feet long, but since then we've found segments of old stream passage that run parallel to the main trunk. The trunk trends east through big breakdown passage and comes to a flowstone choke. A smaller north trending passage joins it there. This passage is substantially wetter than the trunk and has numerous active soda straws and small helictites. It may have a conduit to the surface, as I noticed fresh air when I came into a room with a possible high lead. At the back of this passage are some old signatures, including one with a 1776 date, and a lot of lewd mud sculptures of more recent vintage. On previous trips, we noticed several big brown bats and pips. This time, we saw a single pip and a single gray, which took off as we surveyed beneath it. Both looked healthy and WNS-free. We plan to finish the survey this Saturday. I expect it to tape out around 1200 feet.
Update: flickr pictures at http://www.flickr.com/photos/xcaverx/sets/72157629593888512/
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Sinking Creek Caves cleanup
Update: flickr pic at http://www.flickr.com/photos/xcaverx/sets/72157629593911614/
Worley Cave rescue of August 6, 2011
This is my long overdue report on last year's rescue. Most of the photos I took that day are at http://www.flickr.com/photos/xcaverx/sets/72157627261265981/with/6015830025/
Worley1 Cave is one of Northeast Tennessee's longest caves. With an estimated 35,000 feet of easy horizontal passage, it's frequented by Scout troops, church groups, and cave for pay outfits. On some days, over 100 people may be in the cave. July 17, 2011 was one such busy day when a young woman in a group of cavers and EMS personnel fell and damaged her ankle in a wet area called the Skating Rink. On August 6, perhaps even a busier day, a young woman named Kristi from Buffalo, New York, fell and suffered a trimalleolar and fibular fracture while climbing over flowstone in roughly the same area, about 2000 feet2 from the entrance She and her boyfriend John, who was on leave from Fort Bragg, North Carolina, had joined a tour group led by a local adventure company. The company had outfitted them with helmets and headlamps, but had allowed her to go into the cave wearing light tennis shoes. Kristi's ankle was splinted with materials at hand. John carried her, largely by himself, toward the entrance until another group ran across them and offered to help. They recommended backtracking and going out the stream passage to avoid the steep climb called the Devil's Staircase. This they did. In the meantime, a Scout group led by 2 experienced cavers, Gary and Clay, ran across them. Gary ran to the entrance and called me and the local authorities.
Local EMS quickly reached the cave and told me to put a hold on the caver callout that I had already initiated. Kingsport Fire and Rescue were on the road from a water rescue practice session. The Kingsport group, which is headed by a very experienced caver, had handled most of the heavy lifting in the July rescue.
The commander on the scene allowed cavers Gary, Clay, and myself, with Randy, a local EMS member, to take the Ferno stretcher and rescue kit in to the victim. We had gotten about 20 feet into the cave when Randy tripped and dislocated a finger. Rather than waste more time, though, he toughed it out and we found Kristi's group, recently emerged from the stream passage, about 1300 feet from the entrance. Considering the pain she was in and the cold and wet, Kristi was very calm. Though she rated her pain 9 on a scale of 10, she was composed enough to try to take a picture of her rescuers. James, a cave guide from yet another group, had replaced her makeshift splint with a light foam model. Randy replaced the small foam splint with a much heavier one from our kit and then attended to his own finger. I was disappointed to find that the kit had no blankets or other materials for handling hypothermia.
By now most of the tour groups had evacuated. While James, Gary, and Clay stayed with John and Kristi, everyone else headed for the entrance. Randy and encountered the Kingsport group coming in with new kit and a wheel for moving the Ferno fast over the relatively smooth ground of the first 700 feet of passage. They reached Kristi at about 4pm and set up an IV, giving her some morphine. Once we started moving again, progress was very fast. The Kingsport rescuers dragged the Ferno where possible, making much better time than they would have by carrying it. At the Split Rock, they mounted the wheel on the Ferno and made even better time. James the guide led the movers step by step over the easiest path. Having spent 8 hours in the cave that day, Kristi was out at about 6:30pm and quickly taken to a hospital for emergency surgery.
Kristi was still unable to walk 2 months after the accident. When I communicated with her in April, 2012, she was walking but unable to do the athletic activities she is used to. Her ankle pins were almost due for removal.4
My takeaways:
1. Tour groups should require ankle-protecting foot gear of their patrons.
2. Rescue kits should include blankets.
3. With minimal assistance from cavers, Kingsport Fire and Rescue is capable of handling cave rescue in Worley and other horizontal caves. Since most of their personnel are very big guys, I suspect that they can still use help in tight caves.
4. Though we cavers are generally predisposed to self-rescue, in this case Kristi would have been better served has she remained at the scene of her accident.
1 Also known as Morrell Cave, with perhaps 5 spelling variations, after explorer John Morrill, who died in 1956. History of Morrell Cave, by Laurie Adams, reprinted in The 2008 SERA-VAR Guidebook, p. 35.
2 Distances are estimated from the Bailey map of January, 2007, ibid., p. 37.
3 Email communication with trip guide, March 9, 2011.
4 Email communications of October 4, 2011, and April 7, 2012.Worley1 Cave is one of Northeast Tennessee's longest caves. With an estimated 35,000 feet of easy horizontal passage, it's frequented by Scout troops, church groups, and cave for pay outfits. On some days, over 100 people may be in the cave. July 17, 2011 was one such busy day when a young woman in a group of cavers and EMS personnel fell and damaged her ankle in a wet area called the Skating Rink. On August 6, perhaps even a busier day, a young woman named Kristi from Buffalo, New York, fell and suffered a trimalleolar and fibular fracture while climbing over flowstone in roughly the same area, about 2000 feet2 from the entrance She and her boyfriend John, who was on leave from Fort Bragg, North Carolina, had joined a tour group led by a local adventure company. The company had outfitted them with helmets and headlamps, but had allowed her to go into the cave wearing light tennis shoes. Kristi's ankle was splinted with materials at hand. John carried her, largely by himself, toward the entrance until another group ran across them and offered to help. They recommended backtracking and going out the stream passage to avoid the steep climb called the Devil's Staircase. This they did. In the meantime, a Scout group led by 2 experienced cavers, Gary and Clay, ran across them. Gary ran to the entrance and called me and the local authorities. Local EMS quickly reached the cave and told me to put a hold on the caver callout that I had already initiated. Kingsport Fire and Rescue were on the road from a water rescue practice session. The Kingsport group, which is headed by a very experienced caver, had handled most of the heavy lifting in the July rescue. The commander on the scene allowed cavers Gary, Clay, and myself, with Randy, a local EMS member, to take the Ferno stretcher and rescue kit in to the victim. We had gotten about 20 feet into the cave when Randy tripped and dislocated a finger. Rather than waste more time, though, he toughed it out and we found Kristi's group, recently emerged from the stream passage, about 1300 feet from the entrance. Considering the pain she was in and the cold and wet, Kristi was very calm. Though she rated her pain 9 on a scale of 10, she was composed enough to try to take a picture of her rescuers. James, a cave guide from yet another group, had replaced her makeshift splint with a light foam model. Randy replaced the small foam splint with a much heavier one from our kit and then attended to his own finger. I was disappointed to find that the kit had no blankets or other materials for handling hypothermia. By now most of the tour groups had evacuated. While James, Gary, and Clay stayed with John and Kristi, everyone else headed for the entrance. Randy and encountered the Kingsport group coming in with new kit and a wheel for moving the Ferno fast over the relatively smooth ground of the first 700 feet of passage. They reached Kristi at about 4pm and set up an IV, giving her some morphine. Once we started moving again, progress was very fast. The Kingsport rescuers dragged the Ferno where possible, making much better time than they would have by carrying it. At the Split Rock, they mounted the wheel on the Ferno and made even better time. James the guide led the movers step by step over the easiest path. Having spent 8 hours in the cave that day, Kristi was out at about 6:30pm and quickly taken to a hospital for emergency surgery. Kristi was still unable to walk 2 months after the accident. When I communicated with her in April, 2012, she was walking but unable to do the athletic activities she is used to. Her ankle pins were almost due for removal.4 My takeaways: 1. Tour groups should require ankle-protecting foot gear of their patrons. 2. Rescue kits should include blankets. 3. With minimal assistance from cavers, Kingsport Fire and Rescue is capable of handling cave rescue in Worley and other horizontal caves. Since most of their personnel are very big guys, I suspect that they can still use help in tight caves. 4. Though we cavers are generally predisposed to self-rescue, in this case Kristi would have been better served has she remained at the scene of her accident. 1 Also known as Morrell Cave, with perhaps 5 spelling variations, after explorer John Morrill, who died in 1956. History of Morrell Cave, by Laurie Adams, reprinted in The 2008 SERA-VAR Guidebook, p. 35. 2 Distances are estimated from the Bailey map of January, 2007, ibid., p. 37. 3 Email communication with trip guide, March 9, 2011. 4 Email communications of October 4, 2011, and April 7, 2012.
Worley1 Cave is one of Northeast Tennessee's longest caves. With an estimated 35,000 feet of easy horizontal passage, it's frequented by Scout troops, church groups, and cave for pay outfits. On some days, over 100 people may be in the cave. July 17, 2011 was one such busy day when a young woman in a group of cavers and EMS personnel fell and damaged her ankle in a wet area called the Skating Rink. On August 6, perhaps even a busier day, a young woman named Kristi from Buffalo, New York, fell and suffered a trimalleolar and fibular fracture while climbing over flowstone in roughly the same area, about 2000 feet2 from the entrance She and her boyfriend John, who was on leave from Fort Bragg, North Carolina, had joined a tour group led by a local adventure company. The company had outfitted them with helmets and headlamps, but had allowed her to go into the cave wearing light tennis shoes. Kristi's ankle was splinted with materials at hand. John carried her, largely by himself, toward the entrance until another group ran across them and offered to help. They recommended backtracking and going out the stream passage to avoid the steep climb called the Devil's Staircase. This they did. In the meantime, a Scout group led by 2 experienced cavers, Gary and Clay, ran across them. Gary ran to the entrance and called me and the local authorities.
Local EMS quickly reached the cave and told me to put a hold on the caver callout that I had already initiated. Kingsport Fire and Rescue were on the road from a water rescue practice session. The Kingsport group, which is headed by a very experienced caver, had handled most of the heavy lifting in the July rescue.
The commander on the scene allowed cavers Gary, Clay, and myself, with Randy, a local EMS member, to take the Ferno stretcher and rescue kit in to the victim. We had gotten about 20 feet into the cave when Randy tripped and dislocated a finger. Rather than waste more time, though, he toughed it out and we found Kristi's group, recently emerged from the stream passage, about 1300 feet from the entrance. Considering the pain she was in and the cold and wet, Kristi was very calm. Though she rated her pain 9 on a scale of 10, she was composed enough to try to take a picture of her rescuers. James, a cave guide from yet another group, had replaced her makeshift splint with a light foam model. Randy replaced the small foam splint with a much heavier one from our kit and then attended to his own finger. I was disappointed to find that the kit had no blankets or other materials for handling hypothermia.
By now most of the tour groups had evacuated. While James, Gary, and Clay stayed with John and Kristi, everyone else headed for the entrance. Randy and encountered the Kingsport group coming in with new kit and a wheel for moving the Ferno fast over the relatively smooth ground of the first 700 feet of passage. They reached Kristi at about 4pm and set up an IV, giving her some morphine. Once we started moving again, progress was very fast. The Kingsport rescuers dragged the Ferno where possible, making much better time than they would have by carrying it. At the Split Rock, they mounted the wheel on the Ferno and made even better time. James the guide led the movers step by step over the easiest path. Having spent 8 hours in the cave that day, Kristi was out at about 6:30pm and quickly taken to a hospital for emergency surgery.
Kristi was still unable to walk 2 months after the accident. When I communicated with her in April, 2012, she was walking but unable to do the athletic activities she is used to. Her ankle pins were almost due for removal.4
My takeaways:
1. Tour groups should require ankle-protecting foot gear of their patrons.
2. Rescue kits should include blankets.
3. With minimal assistance from cavers, Kingsport Fire and Rescue is capable of handling cave rescue in Worley and other horizontal caves. Since most of their personnel are very big guys, I suspect that they can still use help in tight caves.
4. Though we cavers are generally predisposed to self-rescue, in this case Kristi would have been better served has she remained at the scene of her accident.
1 Also known as Morrell Cave, with perhaps 5 spelling variations, after explorer John Morrill, who died in 1956. History of Morrell Cave, by Laurie Adams, reprinted in The 2008 SERA-VAR Guidebook, p. 35.
2 Distances are estimated from the Bailey map of January, 2007, ibid., p. 37.
3 Email communication with trip guide, March 9, 2011.
4 Email communications of October 4, 2011, and April 7, 2012.Worley1 Cave is one of Northeast Tennessee's longest caves. With an estimated 35,000 feet of easy horizontal passage, it's frequented by Scout troops, church groups, and cave for pay outfits. On some days, over 100 people may be in the cave. July 17, 2011 was one such busy day when a young woman in a group of cavers and EMS personnel fell and damaged her ankle in a wet area called the Skating Rink. On August 6, perhaps even a busier day, a young woman named Kristi from Buffalo, New York, fell and suffered a trimalleolar and fibular fracture while climbing over flowstone in roughly the same area, about 2000 feet2 from the entrance She and her boyfriend John, who was on leave from Fort Bragg, North Carolina, had joined a tour group led by a local adventure company. The company had outfitted them with helmets and headlamps, but had allowed her to go into the cave wearing light tennis shoes. Kristi's ankle was splinted with materials at hand. John carried her, largely by himself, toward the entrance until another group ran across them and offered to help. They recommended backtracking and going out the stream passage to avoid the steep climb called the Devil's Staircase. This they did. In the meantime, a Scout group led by 2 experienced cavers, Gary and Clay, ran across them. Gary ran to the entrance and called me and the local authorities. Local EMS quickly reached the cave and told me to put a hold on the caver callout that I had already initiated. Kingsport Fire and Rescue were on the road from a water rescue practice session. The Kingsport group, which is headed by a very experienced caver, had handled most of the heavy lifting in the July rescue. The commander on the scene allowed cavers Gary, Clay, and myself, with Randy, a local EMS member, to take the Ferno stretcher and rescue kit in to the victim. We had gotten about 20 feet into the cave when Randy tripped and dislocated a finger. Rather than waste more time, though, he toughed it out and we found Kristi's group, recently emerged from the stream passage, about 1300 feet from the entrance. Considering the pain she was in and the cold and wet, Kristi was very calm. Though she rated her pain 9 on a scale of 10, she was composed enough to try to take a picture of her rescuers. James, a cave guide from yet another group, had replaced her makeshift splint with a light foam model. Randy replaced the small foam splint with a much heavier one from our kit and then attended to his own finger. I was disappointed to find that the kit had no blankets or other materials for handling hypothermia. By now most of the tour groups had evacuated. While James, Gary, and Clay stayed with John and Kristi, everyone else headed for the entrance. Randy and encountered the Kingsport group coming in with new kit and a wheel for moving the Ferno fast over the relatively smooth ground of the first 700 feet of passage. They reached Kristi at about 4pm and set up an IV, giving her some morphine. Once we started moving again, progress was very fast. The Kingsport rescuers dragged the Ferno where possible, making much better time than they would have by carrying it. At the Split Rock, they mounted the wheel on the Ferno and made even better time. James the guide led the movers step by step over the easiest path. Having spent 8 hours in the cave that day, Kristi was out at about 6:30pm and quickly taken to a hospital for emergency surgery. Kristi was still unable to walk 2 months after the accident. When I communicated with her in April, 2012, she was walking but unable to do the athletic activities she is used to. Her ankle pins were almost due for removal.4 My takeaways: 1. Tour groups should require ankle-protecting foot gear of their patrons. 2. Rescue kits should include blankets. 3. With minimal assistance from cavers, Kingsport Fire and Rescue is capable of handling cave rescue in Worley and other horizontal caves. Since most of their personnel are very big guys, I suspect that they can still use help in tight caves. 4. Though we cavers are generally predisposed to self-rescue, in this case Kristi would have been better served has she remained at the scene of her accident. 1 Also known as Morrell Cave, with perhaps 5 spelling variations, after explorer John Morrill, who died in 1956. History of Morrell Cave, by Laurie Adams, reprinted in The 2008 SERA-VAR Guidebook, p. 35. 2 Distances are estimated from the Bailey map of January, 2007, ibid., p. 37. 3 Email communication with trip guide, March 9, 2011. 4 Email communications of October 4, 2011, and April 7, 2012.
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