Report published in the May/June 2003 MSS Liaison newsletter
March 21, 2002 - Pulling a stop lever causes the pneumatic drill’s four foot long bit to stop grinding away the caves dolomite overburden and the sudden surplus of air pressure causes a blast of water and limestone particles to spray me in the face. I pause a moment while the air cleans out the deep hole I’m drilling and I look up the 80+ foot shaft to see my lifeguard Ron Lather and Bill Gee’s silhouettes outlined against a cloudy sky. Engaging the drill bit again creates a cloud of mist and pulverized rock obscuring visibility up and down the hole and even blocking my vision of the jackhammer drill one foot in front of me. Each four foot hole takes about 10 minutes to drill so I stand in the fog and steady the drill so it will dig down quicker and not wallow around in the hole. Another air blast and the hole is done. This time after the fog clears I cannot see the sky at the top of the hole 80 feet over my head. The human transport elevator has swung overhead cutting off my view. Not difficult since the shaft is only 36” wide. I tug on the rope attached to the drill and call out ‘DRILL UP’ and soon my teammates lift the drill for me and I place it for the next hole. I’m drilling eight holes in a circle that will later be filled with explosives and detonated to deepen the shaft towards the cave. I rotate a few degrees before setting the bit down doing a pneumatic dance and begin to sink the next hole. Soon I will have rotated 360 degrees standing in the hole and completing my circle. In the middle at my feet is the 9 inch pilot hole drilled into the T-junction area of the cave. Looking into the hole I can see the top of the talus pile in the cave only 40 feet away but try as I may I cannot fit in. Over a gallon per minute of water that has seeped in from the walls of the 80 foot deep shaft flows around me and into this 9 inch drain.
April 17, 2002 – Since I wrote this account of my experience helping to dig the new shaft 8 more feet has been gained and only 32 feet of 9 inch hole separates human sized objects from entering the cave. This is just a phase that will soon pass so I wanted to record it now for future record. Soon after entrance into the cave is secured a whole new set of challenges will await cavers as we learn to explore and protect this vast underground wilderness. Come join us for a party on top of the dolomite at the Spring 2002 M.V.O.R. hosted by the CCC in Camden County just north of Ha Ha Tonka State Park on May 17 – 19, 2002.