Written by Maggie Brosky, first appeared in The Florida Speleologist September 2023 Issue
Those who know me know that I’ve been spending a significant amount of time in Warren Cave recently. On a recent trip, Alicia Bateman pointed out a section of the rope that she thought was concerning. Upon inspection, it was evident that there was a significant rub point a few feet above the rebelay. A 3-4 inch section of the rope was looking ‘fluffy’, and I could even see the clean white core when the rope was running through my bobbin.
The exposed core through the 11mm rope
We notified Dave Lizdas, the preserve manager, who agreed that the rope needed to be replaced. On Wednesday, August 16, 2023, Fletcher Jacob led Priscilla Perez, Dallas Simpson, and I on a trip into Warren Cave to inspect the damage and rig a new rope. We hauled Fletcher’s 150’ rope to the second pitch, where I was volunteered to go up first to make sure the rope was safe enough for everyone else to come up. Thankfully, the rope was holding up (that would have been a lot of paperwork for Fletcher and Dave), so the whole group joined me at the top. We schemed about the best way to avoid rope rub and concluded that a permanent solution required more supplies than we had on hand that day. However, we had everything we needed to replace the rope with something that would allow a group of cavers to safely climb the rope for a sport trip planned for the following weekend.
Maggie and Fletcher retying the new rope in
Fletcher clipped into a safe loop of the old rigging and started tying a double figure 8 on a bight (aka bunny ears) to hook into Andy Pitkin’s bolts, while I worked on the approach line. Once the top was set, the next task was to redirect the rope away from the rub point. We decided to tie an alpine butterfly knot in the lower rope and use a loop of webbing to pull the rope away from the wall it was touching. Fletcher went down first to set the rebelay while the rest of us carefully observed our handiwork to see if the redirect was pulled tight enough to avoid rope rub. Of course, it wasn’t. Once Fletcher set the rebelay, I retied the redirect (a couple times) and sent the rest of the group down. I cut the old rope off of the bolts and coiled it to give to Dave after the trip, and then headed down. The new rope is a much smoother ride and doesn’t instill fear in the hearts of cavers like the old one. I’m confident that whatever permanent solution we implement will allow continued, safe access to Warren Cave!
Comments Off on Cave Conundrum: Knot Your Average Day! Tackling the Great Warren’s Rope Swap
Five true go-getters from the FSS drove up for the April 21-24,2022 SERA Cave Carnival.
Background:
The National Speleological Society (NSS) was founded in 1941. The NSS is broken into 11 different regions depending on geographical region. The four grottos in Florida, including the Florida Speleological Society (FSS), are part of the Southeastern Regional Association which is known as SERA. SERA does an annual Cave Carnival in the Spring. The location changes every year, but this year it happened to be at the Little River Property in Menlo, GA-the same place as the annual TAG event. The FSS was not going to miss it.
THE STORY:
SERA was fantastic! Mike Gendreau, Carlos Rodriguez-Ortiz, and I (Natalie Volk) drove up Thursday morning. We met up with Sean Prior and Jeremy at Stephen’s gap. They had been exploring some smaller caves on family property earlier in the day. The long hike up to the sink was hot and humid, and a little too like the Florida summer for our taste. But, we were rewarded with cool cave breezes and amazing rappels.
Looking down.
Looking up.
Looking around.
Sean and Jeremy contacted a cave owner that said he had an old saltpeter mine on his family property. The owner said they were the first people in the cave since the Mine was abandoned soon after the Civil War. It was well worth going up early.
After hiking up the mountain with all this gear, the crew takes a little break, enjoying the beauty of the forest.
Entrance to Stephens Gap.
Natalie, ready to go!
First one down.
On Rappel!
The excited crew hikes down from Stephen’s Gap.
On Friday, Mike, Carlos, and I went to Signal Light Pit. We spent many hours crawling around in the back muddy tunnels, checking out the historic signatures. Sean and Jeremy met up with Scott Hurley for a trip to Cemetery Pit. The gang split up once again for caving on Saturday. We had trips to Lost Canyon, Howard’s Waterfall, Byers, and various pits bounces.
This is a 150 foot drop.
Inside Cemetery Pit.
The Cemetery Pit crew.
There were lots of good times around the fire with old and new friends. SEARA is awesome.
After two years of waiting, and 4 months of planning: meals, ticket sales, tee-shirt design, band, cave permissions, guide book printing, port-a potty rental, raffle, and area preparation–the March 4-6, 2022 weekend for the Florida Cave Cavort had arrived.
Steve with his morning coffee wondering about the days plans, and what is a cavort?
According to the Britannica Dictionary, a Cavort (kəˈvoɚt) is:
1) to jump or move around in a lively manner.
2) to spend time in an enjoyable and often wild or improper way.
How does one Cavort? Cavorting requires a good mood, lots of energy, and some running room. Children love to cavort, and so do parents when they win the lottery, or get together with other cavers.
The origins of the word are lost to history-as is when the first gathering of Florida Cavers was. Traditionally-the annual gathering of Florida Cavers rotates around to different areas (Tampa, Tallahassee, Gainesville) but in this area-it has always been known as a Florida Cave Cavort, and this year it was AWESOME!
Steve does the climb.
Steve and Sean at the top.
Screech Owl photos by Brian Hauha.
The Lake Room.
Passage to the Awful Earful.
Bat Cave Mouse.
Bat Cave Photos by Karen Lehert, Bat Cave mouse photo by Nicole Marti.
The perplexing entrance to Ocala Caverns.
Hang’n in the inner passages.All Ocala Cavern photos by Kat Newell.
Teddy and Jessie have some serious appeal at Catacombs Cave.
This Turkey just loves attention.
The Brier Cave Crew-Photo by Teddy Garlock.
Step 1: entrance.
Step 2: Don’t fall in the hole.
Step 3: Avoid the James Bond death room.
Step 4: Don’t touch fossils.
Step 5: Navigate the ledge.
Step 6: Have some good grimy fun.
Brier Photos taken by Teddy Garlock.
Now we’ve seen all these cave photos, lets see some Cavort’n going on.
The Vince Phelps Family BBQ did a GREAT job!
If you use your head, you don’t have to carry drinks all night.
Bats Illuminati.
Squeeze Box.
Photos by Nicole Marti.
Photo by Nicole Marti.
This was an awesome event! Great Caves, Great People, Great Band, Great Food, Great Raffle…This is just what we all needed. Thanks to everyone that came out. Also, thanks to all the following:
• Jerry and Shirl Johnson for the use of their beautiful farm.
A good work day takes the sting out of isolation. Photo by Nicole Marti
After two years of Covid precautions-things are moving forward. Two things that had been put on hold were the Florida Cave Cavort and a new pole barn. Fortunately, now the time was right. The forecast was for a beautiful day on February 26, 2022. It was only one week before the Cavort, but the supplies finally arrived and the crew was ready. FSS members Sean and Doug Prior enlisted the help of their father: Jimmy Prior, who has no interest in caving, but knows how to plan and build. The Prior family went to work like a smoothly oiled machine-while the rest of us helped or did whatever to finish up the site.
Bill and Mike assist from the ground level.
Sean, Jimmy, and Doug Prior bolting in the truss.
Photo by Nicole Marti.
As morning turned to afternoon-the barn had made a lot of progress. The father and sons ‘Prior’ team worked like clockwork.
Kat jamming on the rake.
If your going to have a fire-your going to need some water.
Photo’s by Nicole Marti
When Doug finished eating, he trimmed the trees rather than take a well deserved break.
Getting ready to raise the roof.
Bill lends a hand.
Who knows what they did prior to today, but today (Feb 26th) the entire Prior family worked their $#&*! off!
Thanks to everyone that came out and helped for the day. The Florida Speleological Society (FSS) and all Florida Cavers owe Jimmy Prior and his two sons Sean and Doug a huge thanks for dedicating an entire weekend to building the pole barn. Also, thanks to the River City Grotto (RCG) for doing a fundraiser and donating the money for pole barn parts and materials. We now have a great structure out on Jerry’s Farm for bands, camping, and climbing classes.
South Dakota is beautiful in the summer, Florida is ridiculously hot. So, why would two semi-retired gentleman voluntarily get in a truck and drive 2,000 miles from South Dakota to Gainesville, Florida to do hard manual labor for a week, without their family, and without getting paid a single dime. John P Schelten and David Springhetti did just this thing.
A Little Background:
Warrens Cave can be dangerous, which is why it is gated. The first gate may have been installed around 1890-1910 when Warrens was a show cave.(1) We really have no records of those very early years. In 1955, after a serious fall and rescue, the Florida Speleological Society (FSS) installed their first cave gate. They also gated the road to the cave the same year. The gate on the cave was ripped out soon afterwards. Then two more people fell and were seriously injured. In December 1959 the FSS built a steel gate with concrete anchors, this was ripped out within a month. There were several more gates through the years and a few more injuries. (2) On March 19 1968, Warren Ogletree fell with another large rescue effort. This hit the local papers. A law student fell in almost the same place less than a year later. (3) There was a movement to permanently close the cave. The owner Jim Cox fought the idea and so did the FSS. In the summer of 1969, Bill Oldacre designed a gate to last. Bill, with several FSS members used over a ton of concrete and steel to construct a unbreachable gate. This gate held. At the time the gate was to deter death and injury and was built like a Dungeon door. No one has fallen or has had to be been rescued in the last 50 years-due to that gate.
A Little Side Note:
John Schelten was the NSS president back in 1991. It was during this year that Warrens Cave and 4 acres of property was acquired by the NSS from the Nature Conservancy. John visited the property and saw the 22 year old gate and said it was good to go. John never dreamed he would be back 30 years later to replace that gate.
The original 1969 Bill Odacre Gate.
Times have changed:
A few years ago Buford Pruitt brought up the possibility of redesigning the Warrens Cave Gate to be more environmentally friendly. A gate that would allow bats to enter, allow the cave to breath, and allow rain wash and detritus to enter as is should naturally. Jason Meneely took careful measurements and designed a new gate. The new gate idea met with a lot of resistance within the FSS at the time, and nothing else happened-Until now.
The Process:
STEP 1:
Using Jason Meneely’s measurements and plans, David Springhetti built a gate at his home in North Dakota in preparation for the trip. Dave and John then loaded the gate parts and tools into a pickup truck and started a very long drive to Florida. Dave Lizdas is the chairman of the Warren Cave Committee. Dave and the FSS procured concrete, a mixer, and manpower.
STEP 2:
After David and John arrived they made a plan to remove the old gate and part of the deteriorated structure. They would then set rebar and build a mold to pour additional concrete-reinforcing what was already in place.
David Springhetti with the removed gate.
After gate removal.
After top section was removed.
David installing the new top gate.
David installing the gate and hardware.
STEP 3:
After the mold was made and things were in place, Dave Lizdas and Natalie Volk put out the call to cavers to come and help during the Weekend of July 17th, 2021. Concrete had to be mixed, hauled down into the sinkhole and poured into the mold before it could dry. This would be a herculean effort with critical timing and coordination.
John Schelton with Vince ensuring everything is ready for concrete.
Dave Lizdas proving a little direction.
Natalie puts her concrete mixing skills to the test.
Bill on the ready to fill the buckets.
Erik Amsbury lowers buckets with assistance from Kat.
The heavy bucket being lowered into the sink.
Once the concrete was mixed and the bucket filled. The bucket had to be strapped in and lowered into the sink. The strap was then removed and the bucket lifted to the top of the mold. The mold was knocked with a hammer to allow it settle, while the empty buckets were attached to the haul system and brought back up.The Herculean Saturday Cave Concrete Crew.
John and Dave stayed an extra couple of days to finish up before packing everything back up and returning to South Dakota.
Dave and John by the new gate.
WRAP-UP
John Schelton and David Springhetti are caving superheros! They are more than super-heros, they are awesome! Superheros are nice, but they only react spontaneously and have no follow-through. There is a light (bat signal?) or a cry for help-the superhero drops whatever they are doing and runs off. They do some heroic act and leave. They don’t even wait for someone to show up, normal superheroes have a limited attention span. Our two Caving superheros have planning, and follow through ability!
THANKS!
We are indebted to the National Speleological Society (NSS) for maintaining Warrens Cave and Indebted to David Springhetti and John Schelton for all the work they have done to improve the Warrens Cave Gate. We are also very thankful to everyone who came out to help with this project. Thank you ALL!
If you are interested in learning about the NSS or caving-please visit the NSS website, at: https://caves.org/
Just like Charles Dickens said in the very first sentence of ‘A Tale of Two Cities’: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…”
In spite of a worldwide pandemic, civil unrest, and political upheaval–four cavers got together without any fanfare to do a good deed.
Jennings Cave gets a lot of local visitation and a lot of trash due to many disrespectful visitors. In February the FSS got together to do a little house cleaning of Jennings Cave and remove debris, trash, and a dryer that had been thrown down the entrance. We found that we could hardly access the cave because some local folks had pushed a giant rock into the cave entrance on the top of the debris pile and the dryer.
This rock was really big and wedged in tight. So, when you have a REALLY big problem, such as a giant rock wedged in a cave entrance, what do you do. Well…you go home and think about it, or maybe talk about it with fellow cavers.
While everyone was sitting at home–Dr. Jeff Karr, the brothers: Jeremy and Russel Atayo–got together with Derick Penkava from the Tampa Area Grotto (T-BAG) to finish the job. Jeff, Jeremy, Russel, and Derick brought out some heavy equipment and were able to remove the BFR, debris, and smashed dryer from the entrance of Jennings. This was a lot of work for four people, but they pulled it off and cleared the entrance. The Southeastern Cave Conservancy in addition to Cavers from all over Florida are in in your debt.
Jeremy and Russel remove the BFR.
Jeff and Russel by the remains of the removed dryer.
Facing fears of the Corona Virus reaching us, a small group decided we would go caving at Warrens Cave before we are all stuck inside. Warrens is Florida’s longest cave at 4.5 miles. Because of the many long small passages, it has gotten a terrible reputation of shredding cavers to hamburger (which it can do). This is NOT a beginner cave. However, if you have experience, know Single Rope Technique (SRT), how to navigate tight squeezes, and have a good cannoning technique, it’s a nice cave to visit.
Warrens has been known about since the 1830’s. Warrens Cave is on old maps as a stage coach stop, so passers-by could feel the cool air coming out of the ground. It has also had tragedy with a few deaths over the years by people falling in the entrance. Warrens Cave is currently gated, managed, and cared for by the National Speological Society (NSS), with assistance from the Florida Speological Society (FSS), Entrance is granted for recreation and scientific study for NSS members only.
Today, we spent a little time cleaning up the property, and headed underground.
Warrens Cave is now a preserve owned by the National Speological Society (NSS). Bill Oldacre was responsible for this, so upon his death we installed a nice plaque to honor him at the cave site.
Carlos climbing down into the beautiful sink.
Kick’en up some dirt at the Speak Easy.
There is a gate at the bottom of the sink to protect the cave and also to
prevent anyone from falling down the large vertical pit on the other side.
Warrens has never been known for a large bat population, but just in case
the door has a small hole (resembling a speakeasy) to let bats through.
The gate also keeps detritus from going in the cave, which has to be removed
before opening the gate.
This was Brit’s second vertical drop, and she did outstanding.
This was Ben’s ki-zillionth drop, Ben did great also.
A look from the bottom of the drop. In total, the drop is about 60 feet. Once at the bottom, you have 300 feet of walking passage, then you have to climb up about 40 feet to get to the remainder of the cave.
Sofia completing the first squeeze. Sofia does a lot of international caving, mainly in Columbia where the caves are very large. This was a bit different for her.
Once you get a little ways back it is nice to look around at the walls. Warrens does not have any major formations but many of the fossils are covered in calcite, making them shine and glisten.
An example of the walls of Warrens.
The Sand Room.
The Sand Room is a good resting point. You can see everyone needed a rest. The box and large water bottles are for emergencies and back exploration. To get to the back of this cave requires a 14-16 hour commitment. You can see even reaching the Sand Room requires a LOT of energy.
Of course once in, you have to get out. Dave demonstrates the best way to pass through the Red Streak squeeze. It is called the Red Streak because it is about 150 feet and takes a bit of DNA every time you pass through.
Another type of sporting passage in Warrens Cave.
There are also big areas in Warrens. The large wooden beam was brought back here to help navigate a pit (not seen). There are three levels to the cave.
The photographer makes it in a photo…YEY! (Photo by Soofia Oggioni)
If this cave (or any cave) looks fun to you, please contact the Florida Speological Society (FSS), right on this very website (CONTACT), or Email: fss_cavers@yahoogroups.com
Attend a meeting, get on a beginning cave trip. If you like caving, go on another trip. Get EXPERIENCE and be SAFE. Getting involved with a Caving Grotto, such as the FSS, is the best way to truly enjoy the wonders that the underground has to offer. We all love the outdoors, the environment, and being underground.
Leave nothing but footprints, take nothing but pictures.
Cavers from all over Florida were excited–calls were made, vehicles packed, plans were put into action, and anticipation was high. It was almost time for the annual Florida Cave Crawl. Flint River Grotto was sponsoring the annual event this year, and Florida cavers have been really looking forward. Cave divers were really excited, because this years event was going to be held at Jackson Blue in Mariana. For photos of Jackson Blue visit Sean Roberts Photograph page.
A few of us left on Thursday March 5th to bring equipment and help set up. It was very cold and windy (38 degrees F) upon arrival, but there were warm hearts to greet us.
Late night welcoming committee and work party.
A little help staying warm from ….
On Friday March 6th, Steve, Dan and myself drove over to Climax cave to explore the sink and the big rooms. Dan and I had never been to Climax and were very excited.
Steve does the drop.
Dan doing the second drop.
Remember Climax has big rooms, this is NOT one of them.
You see the nicest things in small out of the way passages.
Sa
Over 120 people arrived between Friday and Saturday. Camps were set up, caves were explored, trails were hiked, and the mill pond was canoed. One thing everyone noticed besides the hard work of Flint River Grotto, was the utter destruction that Hurricane Michael left 2 years ago. Trees being snapped by 160 mph winds is still very evident. The area may never be the same.
Court House Cave Lake (photo by Matt Fisher)
Court House Cave (photo by Matt Fisher)
Matt B. doing the squeeze to exit Court House. (photo by Matt Fisher)
Mike in Windy Column Cave. (photo by Connie Delfosse)
Amazing column in windy column cave. (photo by Mike Thomas)
Walking through the forest is sobering, even two years after the storm.
It just makes you want to think about things.
As the sun set, people returned to camp, got cleaned up, and got ready to party!
Flint River Grotto conducted an amazing raffle, with all sorts of goodies.
The amazing Frank Jones Band hit the stage and ROCKED OUT!
It ended up being freezing at night so many hung out by the campfire to stay warm. However, there were a few that wouldn’t let any grass grow under their feet.
:
2020 was an awesome year for the Cave Crawl. FIint River Grotto did an outstanding job: great company, great caves, great diving, great food, and Great music it just does not get any better.
If your reading this and are interested, contact your local grotto and join us for the next one in Williston Florida in 2021.
Several motivated members from the local caving groups answered, FSS president’s (Natalie Volk) invitation to come out to Jennings Cave on Sunday February 16, 2020 for a cleanup. Upon arrival, we noticed that an All Terrain Vehicle (ATV) road has been built right up to the cave entrance giving even better access for trash dumping.
Bill is ready to do battle with “trash dumpers’.
The issue is that people have been throwing trash and debris in the entrance of Jennings Cave for quite some time. Recently, someone dumped a dryer down the entrance pit (on top of the trash). We had a plan to remove the dryer. However, we found that some folks had expended a huge amount of effort to roll the Big Frick’en Rock (BFR) (that used to be in front of the entrance) down the entrance hole, on top of the washer and debris. We did what we could, but the rock has to be broken down to remove.
We found the entrance is still accessible with a bit of difficulty navigating over the ‘BFR’. Many of the helpers received training up top and completed their first vertical entrance. We found the Frog Pond is now about ankle deep in water. So, the water table has dropped.
To top off the day, we drove down the road to Mike and Kitty’s to relax, eat pizza, play Frisbee and swim in the beautiful Rainbow River.
Thanks to everyone for coming out. BIG THANKS to Mike and Kitty! It was an Awesome Day!
Photo’s and story by Philip Walker
The group gathers.
Worldly longtime FSS member showing new FSS members the ropes.
Steve inspects the “BGR” in the bottom of the pit.
Steve is thinking explosives may have to be used to remove this ‘BFR’.
A little Ninja rope training topside.
If anyone can get past the rubble at the bottom Cari can, and she does.
First drop for Brit, and she does it like a champ.
A heartfelt farewell to an unmatched friend taken before his time. I, as well as all others who crossed his path, instantly became lifelong friends with him. And we were the fortunate ones. He had many hobbies , one of which was caving. Les, myself and Irv Sterling spent countless hours in the 90s, digging leads and following air flow in a local cave. Les and Irv then went on to experiment with ground penetrating radar to try to connect passages. And Les , who always gave 110 percent, even conducted wind studies sealing off the entrance to find out how long the cave really was. A truly remarkable man who will be missed dearly as a friend and to the caving community. Rest in Peace Les.
