Introductions

In attendance: Zeke, Mark, Jack, Louis, Stephan, Ken, Diana, Emily, Peter, Mike B, Lisa, Jeno, April

Program

Brandon Kowallis, cave photographer, gave us “6 Ways to Improve Your Cave Photography”. You can read an article written by Brandon in the August 2019 issue of the NSS News. Visit his website to see some of his photos.

Business

• Dues reminder
• Holiday party
• Diana has a really nice quality 4 season 2-3 person tent with 2 large vestibules that needs some TLC that is free to a good home.

Trip Reports

Ken and I got roped into a (ropeless) trip to Crossroads Cave by Miles Drake and his Terrapin Trail Club members. They all took to caving very well and had no problems at all. We were under for about 5 hours.
At VAR Mark got to hear a first-hand account of a couple people who spent about 20 hours in Crossroads once because they were lost. He went to Subway Cave and to Watersink. Watersink is fairly short and mazy. There’s a little squeeze followed by some nice clean formations and flowstone. Subway looks like a huge volume of water drains through it. There were some fossils and nice formations, too.

Upcoming Things

• Oct 29 – Perkins Cave survey (Ken)
• Nov 12 – Darwin Day
• April 21-23, 2023 – Orientation to Cave Rescue in Elkins, WV
• May 12-20, 2023 – Weeklong NCRC in Mentone, AL
• June 26-30, 2023 – NSS Convention in Elkins, WV

Introductions

In attendance: “Larry” (green), Joe (purple), Maria (purple), Stephan (mud), Louis (navy), Michael (orange), Matthew (red), Matthew L (cerise), Emily (cornflower), Ken (Zoom, no), Mike B (Zoom, slate), Lisa (Zoom, purple), Mark (Zoom, pumpkin spice), Peter (Zoom, green), Lauren B (blue), Lee O. (Zoom, yellow), Carlin (late)

Program

Dr. Hazel Barton gave a presentation on her research into microbial communities in cave environments.

Business

• Dues reminder
• A holiday party

Trip Reports

Stephan drove down some crazy long road in Idaho, but first he went to Lewis & Clark Caverns in Montana. It’s a really nice cave and he recommends it. He then visited Craters of the Moon and went into the 800-ft Indian Tunnel lava tube. It was good to get out of the heat.

Carlin went to New England with his family and caved in ME, NH, and NY. In Maine, they went to a sea cave called Anemone Cave in Acadia National Park. All the sea caves there were short. There was not much limestone in NH, but talus fields with granite caves. One of the polar ice caves still had ice in it. In NY, they went to Howe Caverns and another show cave that’s a hippie-esque UFO-ology vibe cave called Secret Caverns. The wild caves they visited were Bentleys and Spider Cave. Gavin gives caves a thumbs down. Spider Cave has a gorgeous entrance. I guess that makes up for the name.

Upcoming Things

• Oct 1 Sinkhole cleanout in Leesburg, VA
• Oct 6-9 TAG Fall Cave-in in Menlo, GA
• Oct 21-23 Fall VAR at RASS Field Station
• Oct 29 Perkins Cave survey (Ken)
• Nov 12 Darwin Day
• June 26-30, 2023 – NSS Convention in Elkins, WV

Introductions

In attendance: Zeke, Emily, Louis, Taylor O., Ken, Mike (new guy), Stephan, Martin (Zoom), Mark (Zoom), Peter (Zoom), Kyle Compare (Zoom)

Program

FSU PhD candidate Kyle Compare gave us an introduction to Karst Hydrogeology and told us about some of the research he’s been doing. Just like everything else, the stuff that water does is even crazier in Florida!

Business

• Dues
• Bugfest
• Darwin Day

Trip Reports

Breathing Cave – There were five of us, and we all agree that the hike was all uphill the whole way to the cave and most of the way back. Stephan posted a trip report. He’ll be more suspicious of obstacle names now that he’s encountered the nutcracker. Turtle hiking?
Crossroads Cave – Ken duped Zeke into going down some passage. Again.
Blowing Cave – Mark, Jack, and Stephan went to Blowing Cave. Afterwards, Stephan found online a paper than included an actual surveyed map of the cave. Mark appreciated the tilting of the rock layers and the mud. He wants to push some high leads and find a lot of cave. “Lots of pretty stuff in there, especially if you like mud,” said someone.
Perkins Cave – Mike the New Guy went to the ACC open house and enjoyed the Ghost Town.
Sink hole near Lexington – After a recon mission to this ginormous sinkhole from hell, the VAR conservation committee will probably not recommend a full day of 40 people cleaning it up. Also, there’s no indication of underlying cave.

Upcoming Things

• Survey trip to Perkins some time in the future
• Sept 1-5 – CaveFest (TN)
• Sept 17 Bugfest
• Oct 21-23 Fall VAR at RASS Field Station
• Nov 12 Darwin Day
• June 26-30, 2023 – NSS Convention in Elkins, WV

Introductions

In attendance: Zeke, Emily, Stephan, Peter, Ken, Lisa, Mike, Mark, Alex, Maria

Business

• Dues are now half-price! $7.50 for individuals, something else for families.
• The annual grotto trip will be the weekend of August 13 at RASS Field Station. The sign-up sheet will be e-mailed this week.

Trip Reports

Peter and Stephan went to try to unclog the Spencer entrance to Buckeye Creek Cave. The effort was unsuccessful, but they made a trip into the other entrance which was nice if you’re willing to get your reproductive organs wet. From there they went to the dry end of the cave and saw some incredible formations of hexagonal shapes. They also went to the Norman side of Bone-Norman Cave where they also got to walk in a stream passage.

Upcoming Things

• July 30 – Horizontal sport trip to Breathing Cave
• Aug 13 – Annual Grotto Trip
• Aug 20 – ACC short tours at Perkins Cave
• Sept 1-5 – CaveFest (Tenn)

Program

Gear Swamp! Swap!

Introductions

In attendance: Zeke, Emily, Stephan, Peter, Ken, Lisa, Alex, Diana, Louis, Carlin, Mike, Taylor O., and Ann

Business

• Yearly dues go to half-price at the beginning of July: $7.50 for an individual or $11 for a family.
• The grotto officers will have a meeting primarily to discuss the annual grotto trip scheduled for the weekend of August 13.

Trip Reports

Peter, Ken, and Stephan went on a sport to Hancock Cave. Stephan found it easier getting in than coming out. It probably didn’t help that he had formed himself into a spineless corkscrew at some point in between. They went to the top of Witch Glob Pit to see if anything had opened up near the surface; nothing had.

Mike and Lisa went to Gneiss Cave at Chimney Rock State Park. They appreciated the shade.

Mike and Lisa explored Blue Grotto, a sea cave in Italy. They had to lie down in a rowboat to get inside. The guides sang.

Upcoming Things

• July 30 – Horizontal sport trip (see Ken)
• Aug 13-14 – Annual Grotto Trip
• Aug 20 – short tours of Perkins Cave (offered by ACC)

Program

Louis conducted a casual interview with 2nd and 3rd generation cavers Taylor Orr, Carlin Kartchner, and Emily Graham.

Introductions

Program

We watched a short video about the properties of silks used by glowworms and spiders.

Upcoming Things

• May 20-22 – Spring MAR/VAR at Grand Caverns in Grottoes, VA (Pre-registration ends May 4!)
• June 3-5 – Orientation to Cave Rescue in Upper Tract, WV
• June 13-17 – NSS Convention in South Dakota
• July 8-10 – Karst-O-Rama in Kentucky
• July 15-23 – Cave Rescue Operations and Management Seminar in Covington, VA
• July 24-31 – International Congress of Speleology in France

Introductions

In attendance: Zeke, Mike, Emily, Lisa, Erin, Elise, Lee, Ryan, Stephan, Katie, Andre, Louis, Diana, Peter, Ken, Martin, Ann

Our break-the-ice question: If you realized after exiting that you’d left something in the cave, what would you go back for?

Business

• Pay your grotto dues! Only $15 for the year. Membership Info
• Mike will catalog the recent gear acquisition and post photos of the available used cave suits.
• Louis received an award for adopting a bat at Frick’s Cave. Carlin was not present to receive his award.

Trip Reports

• Katie and Andre visited Lost Cave in Greenbrier Co., WV. They saw signatures dated 1890 and a lot of much newer graffiti. Other features included a busy waterfall and some brief crawls and breakdown passages.

Upcoming Things

• Apr 23 Spring Restoration at Endless Caverns in Virginia
• Apr 21-24 SERA Cave Carnival in Georgia
• May 20-22 Spring MAR/VAR at Grand Caverns in Virginia
• Jun 13-17 NSS Convention in South Dakota
• Jul 8-10 Karst-O-Rama in Kentucky
• Jul 15-23 NCRC Nat’l Seminar in Covington, Virginia
• Jul 24-31 Int’l Congress of Speleology in France

Program

A video about The Formation of the Appalachians https://youtu.be/WROQIdM8YW4

Introductions

In attendance (via Zoom): Zeke, Robert, Peter, Stephan, Taylor O., Louis, Jack, Mike B., Emily, April, Jeramie, Skylar, Diana, Lisa, Michael E., Alec, Ken, Chris, John, and Hanna

Our break-the-ice question: While underground, what do you carry on your person (rather than in your pack)? A second light and food were the top responses. Pro tip: For a warm mid-trip meal, stow your sandwich in your suspension helmet.

Business

• Pay your grotto dues! Only $15 for the year! https://www.tritrogs.org/meeting-information/membership-info/
• A former TriTrog has donated a whole bunch of old gear to the grotto. Mike will be cataloging it with an eye towards what might be useful for loaner gear. In addition to the lights and helmets, there are some cave suits that the former member is asking $100 for.
• Our Spring Restoration project will be held in April at a commercial caverns that is probably closer than the one we’ve been going to. More details to come. [Ed., may be farther away. TBA]

Program

Peter Hertl’s presentation “Vertical Caving in Mexico” covered his trip from December to Sotano de las Golondrinas, Hoya de las Huahuas, Cascada de Tamul, and Sotano de El Cepillo.

Upcoming Trips and Events

• April ? Spring Restoration at ?
• May 20-22 Spring MAR/VAR at Grand Caverns in Grottoes, VA
• June 13-17 NSS Convention in Rapid City, SD
• July 8-10 Karst-O-Rama in Mt. Vernon, KY
• July 15-23 NCRC National Seminar in Covington, VA
• July 24-31 International Congress of Speleology in France

In attendance: Ken W., Emily G., Zeke VF, Martin G., Mike B., Ann O’N., Arthur, Louis L, Hannah S. and Luke, Stephan F., Ellen S., Joe J. Michael E., Pete H., Taylor T., and April N.

Arthur asked about sharing some photos from a possible cave and agreed to set up a time to meet at a coffeehouse to share.

Mike Broome shared a draft of the Treasurers Annual Report and answered questions about the computations. In 2021 the grotto paid $95 for web hosting services and $200 for the donation to West Virginia Cave Conservancy. Mike will post the Treasurers Annual Report.

Stephan claimed his pullover that was left at Ken’s on December 5, making his meeting attendance fully worthwhile.

The upcoming trips list was very abbreviated and only included the April 19 VAR conservation trip and the May 20-22 MAR/VAR regional events. Members were encouraged to add their upcoming trips to the TriTrogs Google calendar.

Pete H. agreed to share a PowerPoint presentation about his trip to Mexico at an upcoming meeting.

Pete described his trips to vertical caves in Alabama. He stayed in the lap of luxury at a lake house. His trip began at Balcony Sinks Cave with a 200-300 foot drop. At the base of the pit, the group climbed a fixed rope into a cave passage that eventually dropped into a stream. This led upstream into a sixty-foot wide room filled with flowstone.

Pete’s second day of caving took him to Natural Well Cave in a residential community with a small 15-foot-by-15-foot entrance and no water running in. He rappelled onto a bunch of fallen trees and travelled downslope from there. It led to a small crawling passage that eventually opened to a tall room (over 150 feet high) with a small waterfall. Pete offered a safety note about the trip out.

Pete’s final caving day led him to Stephen’s Gap Cave, a cave with a key-coded parking area. As Pete’s team hiked to enter the cave, they passed a stream plunging into a cave entrance. A little old lady could walk into the second entrance, but Pete’s team took the time to rig and rappel into the entrance down through the heavy spray of a waterfall. Through a series of rope pulldowns, the team descended into a fast-moving stream passage and soaked the cavers. They exited through the first cave entrance.

Zeke then led the TriTrog officer nomination process, and only a single person was nominated for each position. The entire slate was accepted by acclimation, and the other members offered congratulations to the new TriTrog officers:

Chair: Zeke Van Fossen

Vice Chair: Louis Le

Webmaster: Taylor Tibbs

Treasurer: Mike Broome

Secretary: Emily Graham

Zeke mentioned his plans to deliver a program about scenarios in the future.

Discussion turned to the cat formation in southwest Virginia before the meeting closed.