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Permit: Unknown

Leader: Bill Gee

date: 27 July 2003

manager: None

Assessment: Carroll Passage

participant1: Charles Burns

participant2: John Walsh

participant3: Rick Kreumer

participant4: Matt Lyon

participant5: Colby Johnson

participant6: Monique Willart

participant7: James Harding

TimeIn: 8:40am

TimeOut: 12:15pm

Damage: Yes

Remote User:

Date: Friday August 01, 2003

Time: 06:30 PM

purpose:

Thank you trip for Mid-County Fire Protection District firefighters

details:

Guests also included Chris Bruns.

John Walsh is a long-time caver on his first Carroll trip. Colby Johnson is a CCC member on his first Carroll trip. John and Colby maintained the rear of the group watching for stragglers. The rest of the group was firefighters from Mid-County Fire Protection District.

I dropped the hole on rappel at 8:40. Almost everyone else rappelled in using their own gear. We did not loan any rappel gear, the firefighters brought their own. We also loaned only one or two helmets. Everyone was in by 9:15. We established a return time to the ladder of 11:30am, then left.

The route was down Carroll Passage to the Second Water Barrier, then to Thunder Falls and back to the ladder. We made reasonably good time going down the Carroll Passage. I pointed out formations such as the boxwork, some of the helectite formations, various soda straws, columns and draperies. Everyone was suitably impressed.

At the Second Water Barrier we went back into the rimstone dam area. I spent a few minutes talking about how rimstone dams are formed. We saw a carbide dump. I was asked what that was and spent 5 minutes talking about carbide lamps. John Walsh was using a carbide lamp and demonstrated how they work.

During the trip I commented several times on how an injured person on a litter would be moved through the cave. Everyone agreed it would be a hard job, much more difficult than on the surface. Several of the people on this trip were at the Weekend Orientation back in September 2002. They all think we should do a mock rescue in Carroll someday soon.

On the way back Jeff Page's group passed us going the other way. They had been to Thunder Falls first and were just heading out Carroll Passage. We got to Thunder Falls about 11:10. Everyone took pictures and looked out into the downstream room. The trip back to the ladder was uneventful. We were back at 11:40.

Most people kept their harnesses on, so gearing back up for the climb went quick. I was the last one to start climbing. As I stepped up to the ladder, Jeff Page's group started crossing the natural bridge.

Everyone was out by 12:15pm.

Many thanks to the surface support crew. Jeff Page and Terry Defraities ran the belay system for the first bunch of climbers, then after they went down it was turned over to Rick Hines. Rick started out on Entrance Control before taking over the belay. Firefighter Matt Lyon was one of the first people out, and he helped with the belays after he got changed. Teddy Marsan and Mike Hartley helped gear people up.

The firefighters brought a brush truck with them loaded with water. They used the sprayer to hose everyone down. Those people have too many cool toys!

I think there were other helpers but I am not sure who they all were.

Vandalism:

Carbide dump near Second Water Barrier

RestoNeeded:

There is a small carbide dump near the Second Water Barrier that needs to be cleaned up. It is just off the trail as you head into the room where the dry rimstone dams are.