forum8fox
07-29-2009, 11:41 PM
Well 2 weekends ago we decided to head out friday night to go caving again. We set up camp at the overlook of deep creek canyon and when we awoke we drove over to buffalo which is actually not on the rim of DCC un-like alot of the other caves in the area. However it isn't very far really. We drove to a dead end in the road (Trail head access for some trail) and headed off with the compass and printed out sat photo with gps marker point. You always have to wonder how involved finding the hole will be without a GPS but if your good enough you can get it down pretty well. Once we all knew the general direction of the cave we spread out as there was 4 of us with 3 photos (different zoom levels). I ended up walking right to it, no back tracking or confusion at all! Awesome. I should also mention we got my friends subaru down to buffalo just as a consideration for what can be done as far as that road and passability are concerned.
Buffalo was pretty amazing, of the 2 caves we visited I felt it was the crown jewel. Although we got kinda screwed on our second cave.
Anyway you can walk down or take the fun way down, I'm sure you can guess what way we chose...
(excuse my dirty lens, damn caves mess'n my expensive camera up)
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/buffaloandpremonition005.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/buffaloandpremonition006.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/buffaloandpremonition007.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/IMG_4039.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/IMG_4031.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/IMG_4045.jpg
We then dropped into the south pit where we saw this:
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/buffaloandpremonition009.jpg
We cruised around for a bit but never found the passages we were looking for on the map, so we came back up and as the first few members of our group ascended the others froze! Really cold air...
Anyway on the way back up the other 2 figured a way to get up with out having to ascend via mechanical resources. On the way up they spied a passage we had missed and so we ate lunch and went for a look at the other passage.
We found the Iceberg Room and made our way back to Buffalo Falls where we saw these amazing features:
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/buffaloandpremonition010.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/buffaloandpremonition011.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/buffaloandpremonition011.jpg
We then went back to a split along the way and explored it as it ran paralell to the path to "BF".
We ended up crawling through a bunch of rat $#*^ but it payed off with these images IMO:
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/buffaloandpremonition014.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/buffaloandpremonition015.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/buffaloandpremonition017.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/buffaloandpremonition018.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/buffaloandpremonition019.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/buffaloandpremonition020.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/buffaloandpremonition021.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/buffaloandpremonition022.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/buffaloandpremonition023.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/buffaloandpremonition025.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/buffaloandpremonition027.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/buffaloandpremonition028.jpg
We came back to the "IBR" and we ended up finding this awesome little family of Ice tites and mites on far from the berg!
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/buffaloandpremonition031.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/buffaloandpremonition032.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/buffaloandpremonition033.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/buffaloandpremonition035.jpg
We took off very satisfied at that point but not before Nate could pop his head in and check out the the north pit a little. We then decided we had a long drive ahead of us and we should take off asap to get the rough part of the drive out of the way before it got dark. Well we talked about leaving the subaru when it got too nasty and we lead the way with Steve in his truck behind us. Ended up that Nate didn't need to ditch the subie as it made it all the way to Premonition!
It was very exciting at times as we drove on thin spines above large ruts, zig zagged through steep rocky terrain, and crossed a memorable side hill with a rut on the down hill side that had seemed too deep for the subie. We ended up staying above it most of the time except once when the rear passange tire dropped into it. That was really exciting as it was twilight and it seemed like the road dropped steeply off a shelf! We got to camp just after dark, talk about timing!
3 other people were supposed to meet up with us that night but they were having trouble pin pointing our location. Some time around or just after midnight they found camp with some assistance (Steve and Nate found them and lead them into camp).
We woke up and had an omnious premonition about the clouds impeeding the view of our clear sunny Coloradical sky. We persevered and told those premonitions to take a hike, with us to the cave and see just what lies inside. It took a bit more effort then I thought it would but we found it and promptly rigged up a hand line (the easy way, as we were short on time).
I also found a cool antler along the path searching for the right hole on the right point...
The entrance was pretty cool, and if you walked through to the other side you could see an arch!
I also found the taliban!
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/buffaloandpremonition036.jpg
Some more of our crew of 7:
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/buffaloandpremonition037.jpg
The arch:
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/buffaloandpremonition039.jpg
The tunnel that was the main path of the cave was deep 'n' thickly laiden with rat crap at first. Luckily it was tall and wide walking passage so it made no differance. Soon enough we were rock walking and it was all gone. We were trying to find the passages our map depicted that lead to the helectite passage and the pandimonium passage. Well we found alot of dead ends. We also found a passage that looked like it was filled in with dirt just barely 4-6 inches high to squeeze through(for maybe 10'), I'm guessing some Grade A(hole) Eleiteist cavers filled it in but I could be wrong.
Anyways came back out for lunch and to see what the weather was doing and decided we had some more time to explore. We all split into 2-3 groups depending on the leads available. Nathan, Darwin and I were assigned to check any possible up passages. This involved some antics for sure. Nate looped a horn 15-20' up and hand over handed ther rope to the horn and continues to free climb another 5-10 feet of moderately steep slabby terrain. Above he fixes the rope on an archway or bridge type feature above his head in the narrow slot like constriction. We have him tie a couple knots for us and we follow up. Darwin and I are assigned to check any possible leads up in this new area since Nate got us up here. We didn't find anything but I had a really fun exposed vertical squeeze tube lead that I got to chimney up and check out for the group.
After chasing nothing but dead end leads and seeing nothing but barren walls; we decide to give up on the helectite and pandimonium passages, from the angle we were trying based on the map. We chased down some other passages that mostly were dead ends as we worked our way back to the start. trying to only check leads on our right side as that depicted a possible passage we might have missed or be able to use to get back to the goods. Well very near the day light we found a hole with a log leading up the 7' to it. We all (4 of the 7) went in and found a down climb over an exposed rolling slab, but if you stayed left, looked for holds and took your time it was not bad.
We found an great wealth of new leads alot of which did or will most likely dead end, however atleast 1 or 2 seemed like it could go for a ways like a main passage.
We ran out of time and drove home just before getting clobbered by a storm which would most likely make the road impassable for at least the subaru if not all of us. It was fun but a let down to not see anything worth mentioning or taking pictures of in Premonition. Next time we'll come back with a fleet of ATV's to speed up the approach. We'll also have small shovles and pales to dig out burried passages, and the option to check out the other promising leads we discovered.
I'm tired, Enjoy!
P.S. keep your eyes peeled for another Lime Creek TR Tomorrow night or Friday, that trip will shock and awe, I'm sure... :nod:
Buffalo was pretty amazing, of the 2 caves we visited I felt it was the crown jewel. Although we got kinda screwed on our second cave.
Anyway you can walk down or take the fun way down, I'm sure you can guess what way we chose...
(excuse my dirty lens, damn caves mess'n my expensive camera up)
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/buffaloandpremonition005.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/buffaloandpremonition006.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/buffaloandpremonition007.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/IMG_4039.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/IMG_4031.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/IMG_4045.jpg
We then dropped into the south pit where we saw this:
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/buffaloandpremonition009.jpg
We cruised around for a bit but never found the passages we were looking for on the map, so we came back up and as the first few members of our group ascended the others froze! Really cold air...
Anyway on the way back up the other 2 figured a way to get up with out having to ascend via mechanical resources. On the way up they spied a passage we had missed and so we ate lunch and went for a look at the other passage.
We found the Iceberg Room and made our way back to Buffalo Falls where we saw these amazing features:
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/buffaloandpremonition010.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/buffaloandpremonition011.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/buffaloandpremonition011.jpg
We then went back to a split along the way and explored it as it ran paralell to the path to "BF".
We ended up crawling through a bunch of rat $#*^ but it payed off with these images IMO:
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/buffaloandpremonition014.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/buffaloandpremonition015.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/buffaloandpremonition017.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/buffaloandpremonition018.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/buffaloandpremonition019.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/buffaloandpremonition020.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/buffaloandpremonition021.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/buffaloandpremonition022.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/buffaloandpremonition023.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/buffaloandpremonition025.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/buffaloandpremonition027.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/buffaloandpremonition028.jpg
We came back to the "IBR" and we ended up finding this awesome little family of Ice tites and mites on far from the berg!
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/buffaloandpremonition031.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/buffaloandpremonition032.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/buffaloandpremonition033.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/buffaloandpremonition035.jpg
We took off very satisfied at that point but not before Nate could pop his head in and check out the the north pit a little. We then decided we had a long drive ahead of us and we should take off asap to get the rough part of the drive out of the way before it got dark. Well we talked about leaving the subaru when it got too nasty and we lead the way with Steve in his truck behind us. Ended up that Nate didn't need to ditch the subie as it made it all the way to Premonition!
It was very exciting at times as we drove on thin spines above large ruts, zig zagged through steep rocky terrain, and crossed a memorable side hill with a rut on the down hill side that had seemed too deep for the subie. We ended up staying above it most of the time except once when the rear passange tire dropped into it. That was really exciting as it was twilight and it seemed like the road dropped steeply off a shelf! We got to camp just after dark, talk about timing!
3 other people were supposed to meet up with us that night but they were having trouble pin pointing our location. Some time around or just after midnight they found camp with some assistance (Steve and Nate found them and lead them into camp).
We woke up and had an omnious premonition about the clouds impeeding the view of our clear sunny Coloradical sky. We persevered and told those premonitions to take a hike, with us to the cave and see just what lies inside. It took a bit more effort then I thought it would but we found it and promptly rigged up a hand line (the easy way, as we were short on time).
I also found a cool antler along the path searching for the right hole on the right point...
The entrance was pretty cool, and if you walked through to the other side you could see an arch!
I also found the taliban!
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/buffaloandpremonition036.jpg
Some more of our crew of 7:
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/buffaloandpremonition037.jpg
The arch:
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/buffaloandpremonition039.jpg
The tunnel that was the main path of the cave was deep 'n' thickly laiden with rat crap at first. Luckily it was tall and wide walking passage so it made no differance. Soon enough we were rock walking and it was all gone. We were trying to find the passages our map depicted that lead to the helectite passage and the pandimonium passage. Well we found alot of dead ends. We also found a passage that looked like it was filled in with dirt just barely 4-6 inches high to squeeze through(for maybe 10'), I'm guessing some Grade A(hole) Eleiteist cavers filled it in but I could be wrong.
Anyways came back out for lunch and to see what the weather was doing and decided we had some more time to explore. We all split into 2-3 groups depending on the leads available. Nathan, Darwin and I were assigned to check any possible up passages. This involved some antics for sure. Nate looped a horn 15-20' up and hand over handed ther rope to the horn and continues to free climb another 5-10 feet of moderately steep slabby terrain. Above he fixes the rope on an archway or bridge type feature above his head in the narrow slot like constriction. We have him tie a couple knots for us and we follow up. Darwin and I are assigned to check any possible leads up in this new area since Nate got us up here. We didn't find anything but I had a really fun exposed vertical squeeze tube lead that I got to chimney up and check out for the group.
After chasing nothing but dead end leads and seeing nothing but barren walls; we decide to give up on the helectite and pandimonium passages, from the angle we were trying based on the map. We chased down some other passages that mostly were dead ends as we worked our way back to the start. trying to only check leads on our right side as that depicted a possible passage we might have missed or be able to use to get back to the goods. Well very near the day light we found a hole with a log leading up the 7' to it. We all (4 of the 7) went in and found a down climb over an exposed rolling slab, but if you stayed left, looked for holds and took your time it was not bad.
We found an great wealth of new leads alot of which did or will most likely dead end, however atleast 1 or 2 seemed like it could go for a ways like a main passage.
We ran out of time and drove home just before getting clobbered by a storm which would most likely make the road impassable for at least the subaru if not all of us. It was fun but a let down to not see anything worth mentioning or taking pictures of in Premonition. Next time we'll come back with a fleet of ATV's to speed up the approach. We'll also have small shovles and pales to dig out burried passages, and the option to check out the other promising leads we discovered.
I'm tired, Enjoy!
P.S. keep your eyes peeled for another Lime Creek TR Tomorrow night or Friday, that trip will shock and awe, I'm sure... :nod: