2006 Mammoth Cave Restoration Field Camp

By Shari and Preston Forsythe

With additions from Frank Henry Green, Larry Matiz, and Roy Vanhoozer

This was an excellent week doing volunteer work at Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky. We had 42 participants from twelve states. The maximum number of 45 had signed up but at the last minute 3 dropped out. Once again the ESSO Grotto had the largest number of cavers there. These are the states that were represented: Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

The cavers attending were: Kitty Albee, Julie and Mike Angel, Kevin Betz, Eric Buckelew, Larry and Linda Bundy, Dan Carlson, Bill Copeland, Bonnie Curnock, Ken and Corey DeJonge, Joe Diaz, Preston and Shari Forsythe, David Frazier, Tony Groves, Shawn and Patti Horton, Marti Jacobs, Karen Kennedy, John Kirk, Keith Kuhlman, Jonathan Lewis, Craig and Deborah Luehr, Dawn Margrabe, Larry Matiz, Paul Mihalak, Steve Petruniak, Everett Pulliam, Dana and Abby Rea, Beth Reinke, Todd Richards, Pam Saberton, Roy Vanhoozer, Mark Walker, Charles Waller, Sue Whittaker, Rick and Dan Williams. It was quite a group!

Sunday, July 23 everyone gathered throughout the day, socializing and awaiting our opening meal, prepared by our favorite camp chefs, Patti and Shawn Horton. It was good to see so many old friends. Many Restoration Camp cavers have been coming to this weeklong event for years. There is always room for new cavers, but it is a good idea to sign up in advance. Roy Vanhoozer is our NSS Restoration Camp leader and Rick Olson is the Mammoth Cave National Park representative. Both of these folks are fine people, easy and fun to work for and with. After we ate the first of many great meals, Roy and Rick gave us a safety briefing. We were ready to go to work.

Monday we worked in Cascade Hall via El Ghor removing creosote wood flood debris, electrical fixtures, and cable. The old boardwalk was basically removed last year but there will still be odds and ends of creosote debris floating around for several years, with each rise and fall of the river. This is a great opportunity to see Echo River. Very few go here anymore, not even CRF members. We worked hard and some people figured they walked 10½ miles in the cave on Monday. How many people do that on a regular basis besides Mammoth Cave Restoration Field Camp members? After supper many watched caving movies, some did some rope climbing, and others went kayaking on the Green River. The air conditioned bunk house felt really comfortable and after the hard work and excitement of the day, we slept well.

Tuesday we went to Echo River from the Historic Entrance and removed more creosote wood flood debris. Several cavers wore wet suits. With the aid of spotters standing above on the old trail, they removed debris from the river and from along the bank and passed it up to waiting hands. We put it in bags and carried it to Vanderbilt Hall. In the vicinity of the old boat docks the treated posts we spotted last year are now almost buried in sand. We still hope to get those out of the cave some day.

Tuesday evening Frank Henry Green and Keven Neff gave our group a hands-on presentation of torch making including a talk about the history of torch throwing on cave tours of yesteryear. The last torches were thrown in the cave on the tours around 1991. Frank had some of his home-made torch sticks and torch buckets for sale and several people bought these for mementos. Then, some of us got the opportunity to throw the torches out on the road. The sound of the torches swooshing through the air and the length of time that they burned made many of us realize how incredible this display must have been on a cave tour. But, too, we realize the burning torches added a lot of smoke to the cave, which is not at all natural. It was really special for us to have Frank and Keven come to camp and exchange memories about the old times and their years as guides at Mammoth Cave. Our group owes Larry Matiz a big “thanks” for inviting Frank Henry and Keven to talk to the camp.

On Wednesday some of us worked on lint clean up in main cave, others worked on removing old electrical stuff from the vicinity of Echo River and a third group removed trash and debris from the Ruins of Karnak area near and under the fire tower. We have a new respect for lint removal. This does make a difference as each half day that we did lint removal we picked up approximately 50 pounds of lint. Plus, we picked up a lot of small trash items like gum wrappers, flash bulbs, and small bits of paper.

That night Frank Henry Green, with Keven Neff as the tail gunner and comic relief, led us on the Violet City Lantern Tour. Frank and Keven really hammed it up the way old guides and old friends can do. Frank Henry has been retired for several years and we know he enjoyed telling us his stories once again. They liked to tell us the difference between The Scientific Truth and The Old Guide’s Truth as each applied to various features on the Violet City tour.

As we approached the Violet City Entrance Frank Henry gathered the group up close so he could talk to everyone. He presented Rick and Colleen Olson with a walnut torch stick engraved with their names on it, which he had signed. They both loved that. Then, he gave Larry Matiz a torch bucket with Mammoth Cave embroidered on the strap. Larry was so happy and we were all touched by these gifts. Next, Frank Henry requested that one of us lead the group in singing Amazing Grace. He called out for Dan Williams, who stepped up and did a wonderful job as choir leader. The sound was marvelous in the cave. It was a fine end to our very memorable Violet City Lantern Tour.

Frank Henry Green read a draft of this write up and in his e mail reply he said:

“I will always owe you all, because it was a kind of dream come true for me, a huge debt for asking me to guide the VCLT. I can not express in words how much I value having the opportunity to meet with you and have the pleasure of doing something that I love doing…I don’t think I properly passed along my thanks to the group as we were closing the tour at Violet City. I intended to say several things that I did not include:

1. One thing I attempted to include all the way through the tour was about [how] the Violet City Lantern Tour is in keeping with the ‘Tradition of the old guides at Mammoth Cave.’ One reason I love that tour so much is because of that rich tradition that has been handed down through the old guides for almost two hundred years. I sincerely hope that ‘Tradition’ came through.

2. My father was born in 1892 and he went through the cave as a young man sometime in the 1920’s. I remember him telling about seeing the ‘Old Witch’ at Standing Rocks. So, again, I hope some of that rich Tradition came through because to me that is part of what makes Mammoth Cave such a special place. So now that we have completed the tour, we have all become a part that rich tradition.”

We know that Frank Henry and Keven enjoyed the tour as much as we did. None of us will ever forget it. It was an honor to go on that tour with Frank Henry and to be a small part of the tradition that was a large part of his life. And, because he and Keven had taught us how to make and throw the torches just the night before, we could vividly imagine what that must have been like, the sound and light show in the cave. We, too, feel that Mammoth Cave is very special. Thanks again, Frank Henry Green and Keven Neff.

Thursday we went to Horse Cave to remove exotic vegetation outside the Hidden River Cave entrance. This was a lot of work, but not too bad, because there were so many of us on the job. One crew cleaned up the steep walls while on rope. Others trimmed ivy and other non-native vegetation along the walk and from around trees. The slope going down into the cave was covered with ivy vines so we pulled that out, rolled it up like a sleeping bag, and carried it up the steep stone steps to a trailer. We cleaned up a flower bed for the mayor, too. Dave Foster has done an amazing job here and we plan on supporting his projects in the future, especially the Pulaski County Pit clean up. Dave rewarded us with a trip deep into Hidden River to Sunset Dome, a fantastic room. The route to get to this room involved a very muddy and slippery ridge climb that was spooky and definitely not for everyone. A few weeks earlier the cave had rapidly flooded, the reason the mud was such a problem.

On Friday there was more lint work on the elevated walkway inside the Historic Entrance as well as electrical junk removal from the Echo River. Another group went back to Cascade Hall to remove more creosoted wood and some iron pipes found sticking up out of the sand. We were basically finished with our work by lunch time so we took it easy that afternoon. Patti and Shawn prepared another incredible meal and Mark Depoy, (Rick Olson’s boss), and the park deputy superintendent, Bruce Powell, were both in attendance. Rick had great awards for all camp participants, things that we all treasure! Rick made plaques out of cedar posts that we removed last year, part of the old walkway, and fitted them with RED brass engraved plates that read NSS RESTORATION CAMP AT MAMMOTH CAVE JULY 2006. Each plaque is different and everybody got to pick one. Rick has been making these plaques for several years and everyone loves them. After the awards ceremony Dave Foster gave a presentation on the Pulaski County Pit cleanup. This is a very good project and if you have time, it looks like a great thing to join in on. Then, Jerry Fant, from Austin, Texas, inspired everyone with slides and a talk about caves near the Golondrinas area of Mexico.

Saturday was the day for our educational trips. Larry Johnson took three of us on a three hour tour of Colossal Cave. Very few people go into Colossal anymore although this was once a popular cave. We really enjoyed it. There is a dance hall area in the cave and those visitors of olden times must have been hardy souls to get to that point in their dancing shoes! We looked into the Hazen Cave Entrance as we were passing by, walking back from Colossal.

On Saturday the majority of the group took a long tour of upper Salts Cave going all the way to the Woodson Adair Entrance, taking side trips to the Corkscrew, Mummy Ledge, and Dismal Valley. Steve Petruniak, who has been doing the restoration field camp for over 16 years, said this was one of the best trips he had ever been on.

On Sunday we cleaned up Maple Springs and went home.

Shawn and Patti Horton were our chefs for the week and the food was wonderful. We cannot say enough about the great food, and the time and effort that they put into preparing it for us. Thanks again, both of you. Bonnie Curnock was at camp all week and her 2006 camp t-shirt was an instant hit. We will wear these shirts for years and years. Bonnie is noted for her humor as well! We also want to thank Rick Olson and Roy Vanhoozer for putting up with 40+ unusual individuals for a week. Things happen before, during, and after camp that need to be acted upon, and we know it is a lot of work for them. They have the knack for dealing with all of the people and the various situations and they don’t get too stressed out over it.

Mammoth Cave is a special place and we are privileged to be able to help the cave with our work. This is a real opportunity. No matter how many times we go through Main Cave we find out something new on each trip. Of course there are the ox hoof prints under a rock in main cave, but how many have seen the ancient Native American inscribed sun circles? Did you know that turnips and ox blood were used in the saltpetre boiling vats? Have you seen the new observation deck looking down into the Dixon Cave entrance? This gives a great view of the “original” entrance to Mammoth Cave.

The next Mammoth Cave Restoration weekend is Nov. 4-5, 2006. See you there.

2005 Mammoth Cave Restoration Field Camp

Another Great Camp at Mammoth Cave! By: Roy Vanhoozer, 8/11/2005

This year’s camp was destined to be special. With any luck at all the demolition of the bridge in the Echo River Passage would finally be completed. Then there would be a party on Friday evening to celebrate the bridge’s demise and John Vargo (the creator of the famed Vargo Tool used to pull up the bridge piles) would be present to enjoy it with us. The Green River was even cooperating; perhaps cooperating just a little too well. The water level in the Green River was the lowest I have ever seen. The ferry was closed and some camp members were actually walking/wading across the Green River in lieu of the 45 minute drive around! The water in the Echo River was also very low and this was very provident for the work we had to do in the cave.

Camp began with the traditional Sunday night welcome supper. This year we had 51 volunteers registered for camp. About 35 were veterans of one or more previous camps. After the sumptuous meal, prepared by Patti and Shawn Horton, our camp chefs (Thanks!) we had a short meeting to talk about the week’s goals, agenda and extracurricular activities. Rick Olson from the National Park Service then discussed safety, rules and working in the cave.

Monday morning we all gathered at the historic entrance and carried in the tools we needed. We brought a long tape and measured the remaining bridge: 130 feet. People broke up into the usual groups: one at the chop shop, the bridge crew, the carriers and a small crew that gathered sand to fill in potholes and mud slicks just below Lake Lethe. Demolition began and wood started moving up to Vanderbilt at a good clip. John Vargo was in the water and having a great time yanking out the boards and posts. At the end of the work day approximately 65 feet of bridge had been demolished and removed to Vanderbilt where it was cut up and bagged. After getting cleaned up and eating supper, we were regaled with caving videos by the camp’s movie maestro John Kirk.

Tuesday we continued the bridge demolition. Just after lunch the acting Superintendent, Bruce Powell and his staff visited the work site and chatted with volunteers and posed for pictures. Later in the afternoon we realized we were close to the last span of wooden bridge left. We decided to leave it for Wednesday so everyone working could be there to see the last piece come up. Tuesday night we had pizza and salad at one of the park shelters in the picnic area. Afterwards, most volunteers drove back to Maple Springs, but a small group went caving to Dogwood and Adwell caves in Hamilton Valley near CRF.

On Wednesday at approximately 2 PM central time the last bridge pile was removed by a beaming John Vargo and Larry Matiz! There was a lot of hollering and picture taking and everyone was ecstatic. Ken DeJonge took many pictures that will be on the CD he sends out and we will get some on the website also. Finally after all these years it was done. Thanks to the hundreds of volunteers, past and present who made this happen and who made a difference! Because all of you and the thousands of hours of volunteer restoration work, the Echo River is a much cleaner environment and will again become a thriving place for all the cave biota that once called it home.

Wednesday night we had hamburgers and hotdogs grilled at the picnic shelter at the park. Many thanks to the chefs, as this was a last minute logistical move because of the ferry closure. Afterwards, we went on cave trips to New Discovery and to Great Onyx which were much enjoyed by all. On Thursday, we went into the water of Echo River pulling up old wood, metal and PVC pipes and all kinds of artifacts. We had at least 4 boat paddles, old bottles, a 10 foot piece of logging chain, part of an old lamp, and an old sunken boat that the archaeologists will research. The low water in the passage made it ideal conditions for finding these artifacts and also removing wood and other debris. Thursday evening after dinner, Rick Olson showed us slides of his Castleguard Cave trip in Canada. An awesome cave where just getting to the cave is an adventure in itself.

Friday we continued pulling wood out of Echo River. We will probably be doing this for some time to come. A large stack of wood, apparently unused and just dumped or maybe accidentally lost into the river was found quite a ways down the passage. It will take a lot of work to remove this material. We worked all morning and at noon we gathered up all tools and headed out, our work finished for this week. Vanderbilt is filled with around 900 bags of wood and a huge pile of cut wood waiting for bags (we filled all available bags).

Friday night was the party to celebrate the successful end of the bridge project. We had quite a few guests come to help celebrate. There were veterans from previous camps, Superintendent Bruce Powell, Bob Ward, Rick Olson and Rick’s boss Mark Depoy. Steve Ormeroid, Admin. Vice President of the NSS also joined us. A large group of John Vargo’s friends also attended to see him honored by the NPS and the camp. After a fantastic meal of ribs and chicken, we moved outside for the awards ceremony. Rick Olson presented every volunteer with a mug, an NPS volunteer hat and a cedar trophy he made. The metal mugs are emblazoned with the NPS and NSS logos and are inscribed ” 2005 Mammoth Cave Restoration Field Camp 17 years of blood, sweat and cheer.” Pam Saberton was awarded a special larger cedar trophy made by Rick in recognition of her dedication to the camp. Todd Richards was presented the “Sack Rat of the Year” award. This year’s sack rat trophy was a cast model of a cartoon rat in caving attire that was created by Eric Buckelew. Thanks Eric!

Next, a beautifully drawn and framed portrait of John Vargo by the preeminent cave artist and camp volunteer Bonnie Curnock, was unveiled and presented to John. He was very surprised and happy. The Superintendent then presented to the Restoration Camp a beautiful plaque inscribed “Mammoth Cave National Park recognizes the many fine volunteers at Mammoth Cave Restoration Field Camps held since 1989 for their exceptional public service and the many hours of conservation work in Mammoth Cave National Park. Given this fifth day of August, two thousand and five at the 17th annual Mammoth Cave Restoration Field Camp.” The Superintendent then presented a beautifully carved arrowhead plaque to John Vargo inscribed “Mammoth Cave National Park and National Speleological Society’s Mammoth Cave Restoration Committee honor John Vargo for dedicated service and exceptional commitment to cave conservation at Mammoth Cave National Park Given this fifth day of August, two thousand and five at the 17th annual Mammoth Cave Restoration Field Camp.” John was visibly moved by all this and everyone was glad to see him honored in this way.

There was one last award given. A German bicyclist named Katrin had shown up at Maple Springs on Monday night looking for a place to camp. She had bicycled down from Canada and wanted to see Mammoth Cave. The camp adopted her and she became a volunteer working in the cave for the rest of the week. A hard worker and a pleasant person, she made many friends and had a great time and even said she would come back next year. The camp purchased a Kemper map of Mammoth Cave and everyone at camp signed it. She was given the map, a volunteer hat, mug and cedar trophy as a fellow volunteer.

Saturday morning everyone assembled for the educational trips. This year was very special…. Floyd Collin’s Crystal Cave! After 12 years of not being allowed in the cave (since the disastrous trip and rescue in 1993) the camp was being allowed access to the cave again. 12 carefully screened volunteers were taken on an 11 hour trip to Floyd’s Lost Passage, the same trip that had resulted in the rescue in 1993. All other volunteers toured the upper part of Crystal Cave all the way to Scotchman’s Trap. Everyone had a wonderful time and thoroughly enjoyed themselves.

Thanks again to all the volunteers that worked in this year’s camp and made it such a pleasure and so much fun. I especially want to thank those that worked behind the scenes to make this such a great camp for everyone. Patti and Shawn of course…you are so good to us! Kevin Betz for his organizational expertise on the bridge, the beer run and keeping me straight at the awards; Larry and Linda Bundy, Rick Williams, Todd Richards, and Larry Matiz for coming early and helping get camp ready for us all. See you in November for the tower pass!

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2004 Mammoth Cave Restoration Camp

by Preston Forsythe, NSS 14161 LF and Shari Forsythe NSS 24794

“Out Of The Lowest Depths There Is A Path To The Loftiest Height,” Thomas Carlyle

Vanderbilt Hall is a key staging and work area for the week long camp. Here on April 6, 1907, the Chancellor of Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, dedicated this alcove on the side of today’s main Historic Tour route. This dedication event along with the above quotation is inscribed on a 2 feet x 6 feet x 1 ½ inch thick piece of slate. Later, this area was a men’s rest room. A true fact. Today it is the Chop Shop for our camp.

Sunday, Aug. 1st – Fourty cavers from as far away as Oregon , Wisconsin, Vermont and Florida assembled at Maple Springs International Science Center. We were surprised to see the improvements the Park Service had made to the complex: new tile floors and new couches in the buildings, a new large gravel parking lot, and best of all a relaxing patio. This was to be our home for the week. Everett had his popup camper to sleep in but the others took advantage of the A/C rooms and comfortable beds.

Monday, Aug. 2nd – A couple of days earlier w/o any warning or any heavy local rainfall, the Green River had risen 8 feet suddenly. There must have been a storm upstream. So we temporarily postponed our main project of tearing apart and removing the creosote boardwalk along Echo River, as the water level was only inches below the wood and the place was especially slippery. Since we had several new members at the camp Larry Matiz gave us an interesting classic tour of Main Cave, down behind Giant’s Coffin and on to Vanderbilt Hall. We then hauled previously cached feed sacks of wood to the base of the Historic Entrance steps. At noon we took our usual one hour lunch break. The group then drove over to the Collin’s Home. The Park Service had recently repaired the gaping hole in the roof where the chimney had fallen in. This was wonderful news. The old home of the most famous caver in the world, Floyd Collins, still needs more stabilization, many coats of paint, and foundation work to name a few things. It is satisfying to report progress is being made. We hope that in the future a fund will be started from caver and park service donations to maintain this home. But, this afternoon our contribution to the upkeep was to remove 25 old moldy, rotten mattresses CRF had used. I slept in that house on those mattresses many times and so did many other cavers, but to the dumpster they went. That night Patty and Shawn, our chefs for the week, prepared a delicious Chicken Cordon Bleu. Later we enjoyed the new patio and some watched caving movies in the dining room.

Tuesday, Aug. 3rd – Today we did the El Ghor “Death March.” We may have walked 8-9 miles inside the cave. In through the Carmichael Entrance, to the Snowball Dining Room and on via El Ghor and Silliman Ave. to Cascade Hall. The work involved hauling electrical fixtures from this old abandoned tourist route to the base of the elevator near Snowball. This junk must have added up to 3 or 4 tons. Those ballasts and cables are heavy. By 3 P.M. we were on our way to tour Dogwood Cave and Adwell Cave on or near the Hamilton Valley property of the CRF. Thanks to Pat Kambesis for letting us tour those wonderful small caves. That night we feasted on prime rib and chocolate sundaes. During the day, Karen Kennedy, a doctor in our group, aided a tourist who had slipped and hurt her arm near the Snowball Dining Room. Half an hour earlier another heavyset tourist had also fallen and broken or sprained his ankle. The Park is not responsible for injuries as the people are warned of the conditions before adventuring into the cave. The Park cannot refuse to sell a tourist a ticket even if they feel that the person is too out of shape to handle the tour. Not long ago one tourist took the Park to court because the tourist said he had slipped on ice. A cadre of guides with decades of experience in the cave had to go to court to testify that the average temperature varied from 54 to 57 degrees and there was no ice anywhere in the cave.

Wednesday, Aug. 4th – This was the Echo River boardwalk demolition day. The river was 6 ft below the boardwalk. Can you believe the river level fluctuates that fast. At least 7 cavers, lead by Kevin Betz, worked at the end of the bridge. Many others hauled boards first to Lake Lethe Rise, a staging area, then on further to the Chop Shop. The work at the Chop Shop was lead by Craig and Beth. Here there is electricity available to run the two electric chain saws to cut the timbers which can weigh up to 120 lbs into bagged manageable loads of 20-25 lbs. Everyone was busy. Dana did take time out to show us Stephan Bishop’s signature not far behind the Hall. I speculate that Stephan was exploring low passage and left his mark before continuing his search in another direction that lead to his greatest discovery-Mammoth Dome. Next door to Vanderbilt in another alcove which was once the old women’s restroom, is the signature of Leo Hunt, 1928. That night Rick Sanders, a seasonal ranger, entertained us with story telling. I must say he pulled us right into the mind’s eye.

Thursday, Aug. 5th – Another day down at Echo River. Over the two days we disassembled 50-60 ft. of boardwalk. It started at 1500 ft. 5 years ago and now only 100 ft. remains. By the end of the day all the tools were removed from the river level and many bags of wood had been stacked at the base of the Mammoth Dome Steel Tower. In the afternoon the group went down the side passage off of River Hall, known as Carlos Way. This had been a breakout I helped explore and survey with CRF around 1974-75. One passage lead to the floor of Bottomless Pit. This was pure excitement. Here we were at the bottom of Bottomless Pit! The purpose was of course to clean up the cave’s most famous Wishing Well. Many picked up a dozen or so coins and a small amount of trash. Later we showed Sean Ryan from Jersey City the Sand Cave. Then, it was another great meal at Maple Springs and more patio time.

Friday, Aug. 6th – We carried and wheel barrowed 639 bags of creosote wood out of the cave and loaded them into the park dump truck. This was 3 truck loads hauled to the dumpster. My estimation of 25 lbs/avg. bag x 639 bags = 8 tons. What an effort! That afternoon in a short recon for passages that may need our clean up attention, I spotted Gorin’s signature, circa 1815. He was an early owner of the cave, and possibly the white father of Stephan . That night the Park Service volunteer office had a fish dinner catered for us. This was followed by a celebration awards party by Rick Olson and Roy Vanhoozer.

On Sat. there were a couple of educational reward trips, a short and a longer trip. That night a lucky 12 cavers were lead by George Corrie in through the New Discovery Entrance to see Paradise. Only a few people each year are taken in New Discovery. This is one of the best decorated sections of the cave.

I am sorry that I have not been able to mention everyone’s name in this write-up. Special note should be made to Bonnie and her artfully done camp T-shirts. The ESSO Grotto of Eastern Ky. and southern Ohio had the largest number of cavers represented at the camp. This is an excellent way to see Mammoth and help the cave out. By the way do you know the Wild Cave Tour now costs $46/caver. Look how much you save by coming to camp. And, to top it off gas and food costs are reimbursed under a grant from the National Park Service to the NSS. An excellent week of caving. Next camp is the weekend of Nov. 6-7, 2004.

I’ll leave you with this quote from the sign at Houchins Narrows.

The Twilight Zone
You are journeying from the light to dark, descending into a sunless world where the weather is changeless, and time seems frozen. This is the middle ground between light and dark.

Or as Johan Ragner of Wisconsin said, “It takes a little bit of adjusting to get used to the above ground world. Life is much less complicated underground!

See you again real soon-underground.

2003 Mammoth Cave Restoration Field Camp

Roy Vanhoozer

Hi everyone, We had a great camp and got a lot done. 29 people attended, mostly grizzled veterans, but at least 4 new recruits. We were unable to work on the bridge in Echo River as the water was too high. A quick outline of what occurred during the camp:

On Monday, we did lint removal in Houchens Narrows and the Rotunda. This is the paved entrance area inside the Historic Entrance. 5 pounds of lint were removed from the Houchens Narrows (the area before you get to the saltpeter pits in the Rotunda). Another garbage bag full of lint was removed in the Rotunda. Interesting items found by lint-niks included a fluorescent light bulb, an M-80 fire cracker, coins, and a tinker toy piece.

On Tuesday, we went to El Ghor and Silliman Ave. to remove all bags and other debris from Pam’s Paradise to the elevator. (The elevator is out of service, so there is quite a pile behind it). When we finished moving all the bags up, we went to work removing the lights, ballasts, and wire from the old tourist trail. We started about 1.5 miles down trail from the Snowball Dining room. It was quite a day with a lot of walking and hard work. A small group also went in the Historic Entrance to assist scientific research by a biologist with the NPS. This group conducted cave radio depth location by means of a cave radio they brought with them. The NPS was very appreciative of their efforts. After supper, a small group of 6 RFC cavers went on an educational trip to Dogwood and Adwell Caves.

On Wednesday, we returned to Silliman and continued taling down light fixtures. We then moved all the lights, ballasts, and wire already taken down to Rhoda’s Arcade. Breaking early for the day, we went on an educational trip down Marion and Dan Ave. (If you get off the elevator and turn left you are going down Marion Ave.) There are a lot of histotic signatures in Marion, and a great deal of gypsum in Dan Ave. It was a very enjoyable trip.

On Thursday, we went to Long Cave to remove the remnants of an old concrete gate. A team of cavers with sledges broke apart large blocks of concrete in the entrance, while others carted the waste up the hill to a dumptruck. When we finished this project, the dumptruck was full, with Rick Olsen impressed by the effort of the RFC cavers. After supper, John Benton conducted his slide presentation on Floyd Collins for the camp. Bonnie Curnock unveiled her t-shirt creation for the camp. A beautiful shirt with cameos of camp members such as Larry Reece, Norm Rogers, John Vargo, who really helped make the camp what it is today.

On Friday, we went to Great Relief Hall and cleaned out the debris in the cave passages behind the bathrooms. There was quite a bit of lumber, a lot of trash, and some concrete. All of it was removed to Vanderbilt. We broke early to get back to camp for the NPS provided picnic and the awards program. Larry Matiz was given a special award by Rick Olsen in honor of all his past efforts in the camp.

Saturday, the educational trip was Welcome Ave. which runs from Cascade Hall to Ganter Ave. and was the old high water escape route.

It was a great week and I hope everyone enjoyed it, I know I did. Thanks everyone for making it such a fun time while we worked at restoring the longest cave in the world!

2002 Mammoth Cave Restoration Field Camp

by: Larry Matiz & Norm Rodgers

Larry writes

I would like to thank everyone for ALL the help you gave last week at camp. A BIG thanks for the kitchen help, you guys were GREAT! Mike says he would like to do it again next year and I hope he can.
I would also like to thank John Fry for all of his years leading us. John will be greatly missed. Rick Olson will be taking over for John until the Park assigns us a new leader.
I know Norm felt bad for not being able to be with us for all of camp. Every time I called Norm while at camp he was right there by the phone. 🙂 I could tell he wanted to be with us.
For those of you who couldn’t make the camp we collected a fund to send to the NSS in memory of Larry Reece. Thanks to all who gave, I know Larry would be proud of us. Nancy Friend took the money home and she will be sending a check to the NSS in memory of Larry Reece from MaCa Restoration Camp.
For our Educational trips on Saturday we went to Violet City for the easy trip and again to Argo Junction for the other trip. There was also a group who went to Roppel Cave via Weller Entrance. On Wednesday we got to go to Gothic Ave. after dinner.
A big thanks to all who stayed around Sunday and helped clean up the camp for the next group that was arriving later on Sunday. The group is trying to reintroduce the wild orchid into the park.

Larry Matiz

And from Norm Rogers

Greetings Everybody,

Another summer camp has come and gone. It doesn’t seem possible; time flies . . .
I want to thank everyone that attended. When I arrived at the cave on Friday, Chris and I went to the river via Mammoth Dome, while the rest of the group came through Fat Man’s Misery. Alone, we had a chance to enjoy the quiet of the cave, and a chance to walk to the end of the bridge. We were shocked at the amount of work everyone had done. It was incredible . . . like a dream. You know, when you wake up and don’t quite know where you are? It seemed like only moments before, the walk to the work site was another mile down the passage. We should have had to walk over three spans of rotting bridge, past the Sands of Sahara, and past the first boat dock before we could reach the work site. And now, we were just down the stairs and around the corner from the Lake Lethe Rise. Unbelievable! All that stuff is gone. All that wood. Those miles of electrical cable. Gone!
Not being at summer camp for the first time since 1989, was like letting go of a youngest child. I had to sit on the side-lines, unable to help, watching and hoping everything would go smoothly. My heart broke not to be there, but you did well without me. I knew you would. It proves this camp is not about Norm. This camp is about you people; the volunteers. Everyone of you make the camp great, and make a great project even greater.
I’ve never received so many good comments on the meals as I did this year. Brett and Mike really turned it up a notch in the kitchen. I understand they will be back next year. I hope so. I didn’t get any prime rib! I can’t thank Larry Matiz enough for running the camp. He is an inspiration to us all. Because of his leadership, I had three people volunteer to be camp manager in the future. That’s never happened before.
Volunteers of this project are the best. When I think about all the work that’s been done, all the miles, the grass sacks, the tower, the stairs, I’m over-whelmed. It’s uphill all the way to the entrance! It’s just unthinkable that people volunteer for this. Most of you are just now getting over sore muscles and getting your gear put away, and believe it or not, I’m getting phone calls and e-mails from people who want to attend the November 2nd camp!
God bless you all. You’re the best.
Norm

2001 Mammoth Cave Restoration Field Camp

By Larry Reece

The 13th Mammoth Cave Restoration Field Camp began on Sunday evening August 5th, 2001. This year promises to be a record year with about 40 people in camp on Sunday and a total of 50 people expected to participate by the weeks end. Following supper, John Fry the NPS Field Camp project manager and Norm Rogers, Camp Director gave an overview of what we would be doing in the cave along with the required safety instructions for the project.

Monday found a lot of new participants along with a fair amount of old timers eager to get into the cave and go to work. The project was organized the same as last year with work starting on the end of the bridge. Next the wood was carried to chop shop number one located a short distance down the passage from the bridge end. Here the wood was cut into shorter pieces to be hauled down the passage to the first staging area at Lake Lethe rise.

Chop shop number two was established at Vanderbuilt Hall where the wood was cut into smaller pieces and placed into plastic bags inside of grass sacks and stacked for eventual for removal from the cave.

We had people working at the bridge end, chop shop number one, hauling wood from chop shop number one to Lake Lethe rise, hauling wood from Lake Lethe Rise to Vanderbuilt Hall and cutting and bagging at chop shop number two.

Everybody seemed to find something to do without a lot of direction necessary. People swapped off and tried different jobs whenever they needed a change and everything seemed to work out quite well.

By Monday evening a new record was established with 107 feet of bridge dismantled and a whole lot of wood removed from the working face and moved to the various staging areas in the cave.

Tuesday morning the Green River was up 0.8 feet from the previous day but it had no effect on the work as the working end of the bridge was currently in the silt and away from any water at this time.

We had our only significant injury around 9:30am today when Brett Bennett snagged the ceiling with a long board he was carrying and twisted his neck. He was convinced to go to the hospital for an x-ray which disclosed that it was only a sprain so he assumed light duty in the kitchen for a couple of days. The only other participant injuries this week were scrapes, scratches and sore muscles.

Tuesday another 24 feet of bridge was removed before we ran out of grass sacks. There were reported to be about 900 grass sacks in the cave (all filled with wood). It was decided to move all accumulated wood at the working end of the bridge and chop shop number one to the rise at Lake Lethe. Part of the group also began moving bagged wood from chop shop number two at Vanderbuilt Hall to the staging area at Mammoth Dome.

Wednesday was to be a haul out day. The Green River was up another 0.6 feet at 4.3 but we wouldn’t be near the river in the cave today and even if we had been it was still low enough not to cause us any problems. The first order of business was to move all bagged wood from the rise at Lake Lethe to chop shop number two and all of the bagged wood at chop shop number two to the staging area at the stairs at Mammoth Dome.

When all of the bagged wood was at Mammoth Dome it was decided that we had enough people to chain gang the wood all the way up the stairs and up the fire tower to Little Bat Avenue. There are 42 steps from Mammoth Dome to the fire tower, 66 steps on the fire tower and 30 steps above the fire tower for a total of 138 steps. With people staged 2 to 3 steps apart we began the movement of 900 bags of bridge debris up the stairs and fire tower.

With occasional comments of “heavy” or “nail” the bags proceeded up the tower. After a while a sign reading “Mammoth Dome 192 Feet” was passed up the tower. Another hundred or so bags and up came a teddy bear, followed a few hundred bags later by a bra (owners name withheld to protect the guilty). Finally the call came to exit the cave for lunch with several hundred bags still at the bottom.

Following lunch everybody returned to the cave to continue the chain gang. Another hundred bags or so and up came a bottle of wine (actually it was blackberry juice not wine), I don’t know how it got up the tower without someone opening it and at least tasting it.

When all of the bags had arrived at Little Bat Avenue we called it a day and exited the cave for an early supper and an evening Educational Trip to Great Onyx Cave for those who still had the strength to do more caving.

Thursday morning was overcast with a threat of rain. Todays objective was to move all the bagged wood from Little Bat Avenue to the base of the entrance stairs and then chain gang it up and out of the cave to a waiting park service truck for disposal. The bags were carried by hand and by wheel barrows that we had carried into the cave on Wednesday. Soon there was a steady stream of people hauling bags and pushing wheel barrows from the end of Little Bat Avenue to the stairs at the Historic Entrance.

When all the bags were at the entrance a chaingang was formed up the stairs and the bags were moved up and out of the cave. The bags were dumped into a waiting truck and hauled away for disposal. The truck had to make three trips to remove all of the material. This was all accomplished by lunch time.

We returned to the cave about 12:30pm to move material from the rise at Lake Lethe to Vanderbuilt Hall. Shortly after we resumed work a televison crew from a local PBS station entered the cave and conducted interviews with Norm and Chris Rogers. They then went to the end of the bridge for some filming of The bridge crew art work. Everybody was out of the cave by 4:45pm.

Friday was the group photo day and we gathered at the Historic Entrance for the picture. There were 63 people in the photo and 68 names on the camp roster including the NPS and SCA people. It was truly a record year both in the number of participants and the amount of work accomplished. This was a wrap-up day with some more wood moved to Vanderbuilt Hall and cut and bagged there. All the loose wood at the river level was moved to the rise at Lake Lethe. Tools were collected and stored at Vanderbuilt Hall or removed from the cave. Another week of restoration had come to an end.

Friday evening the NPS hosted a cook out for the participants and the annual awards ceremony followed the meal. John Fry announced that the total for the week was a record 178 feet of bridge dismantled and the majority of it removed from the cave.

Awards this year were: Sackrat of the year – Joe Marchese, Rookie Sackrat of the year – Alia Smith, Sack Pack 2001 – The Friend Family, Mule Team Award – Todd Richards and Jamie Winner, Lifetime Achievement Award – Larry Matiz, Comeback Sacker 2001 – Pam Saberton, Peoples Choice Award – Mike Domanski, runners up – Bonnie Curnock, Rick Williams and Ken De Jonge. In addition, special awards for the best laugh in camp went to Kristen Ringman and the street urchin award went to Kevin Betz. Special Monroe Brothers hats were awarded to Norm Rogers, Chris Rogers, Larry Reece, Steve Petruniak, Bonnie Curnock, Bob Ward and Joe Meiman.

Following a short speech by Lee Davis, Norm Rogers was given a mason jar of a clear liquid reported to have originated not too far from Mammoth Cave. Norm plans have the liquid tested upon his return to Peoria or maybe he said HE was going to test it? We can expect a report at the next Restoration Event in November.

Mary Lee Davis and Bob Ward handed out Mammoth Cave Volunteer shirts to all of the participants. Each person also received a souvenir piece of handrail from the bridge to conclude this years awards ceremony.

Educational Trips were scheduled for Saturday to Dixon Cave, Wondering Woods Cave and the Austin Entrance. About 25 to 30 people went on the Dixon Cave trip, 20 went on the Wondering Woods trip and officially 14 went on the Austin Entrance trip. A recreational trip outside of the park to Roppel Cave was enjoyed by another 4 to 6 people.

It hardly seems possible that we have been doing restoration work in Mammoth Cave as a group for thirteen years. The contributions of each of the participants is really appreciated no matter how large or how small. Every board, every bag, every piece of material moved and removed from the cave as well as the work of other park personnel and our cooks over the years contributes to the ultimate success of the project.

I’m sure I’ll look forward to making it fourteen years and I hope to see many of you there next year also.

2000 Mammoth Cave Restoration Field Camp

By Larry Reece
Sunday August 5th, 2000 was the start of the 12th annual Mammoth Cave Restoration Field camp. The first official event was supper on Sunday evening followed by the Camp Director, Norm Rogers, providing a welcome and outline of the project schedule for the coming week. Next John Fry, the NPS project administrator, gave us a welcome from the park service and covered the safety rules we were to observe during the project. Finally John Vargo explained the history and use of the Vargo tools used to bridge pilings. We had a record attendance with 43 people on hand for the start of this years’ camp.

The major objective of this year’s camp is a continuation of work started two years ago and is a part of the Mammoth Cave Historic Entrance Ecotone project. The removal of the Bridge to Echo River is being done for two reasons. The first is an attempt to restore the area to a condition approximating its original condition before modification by man. The second reason, and the more significant one, is to remove the bridge materials, which consist primarily of creosote treated timbers, from the water. The creosote is not a normal part of the cave eco-system and undoubtedly is causing some damage to the cave inhabitants. It is expected that after the project is finished the cave environment will be much better for its aquatic inhabitants.

Monday we entered via the Historic Entrance about 9AM. The majority of the people headed to the end of the bridge to see what it looked like. We stationed one group at Vanderbilt Hall where power was available. This area contained some posts that needed to be cut down to fit in the bags for removal. An electric chainsaw was used here to cut the posts. The Nelson family spent the majority of their time here cutting, bagging and stacking wood . The creosote fumes were quite strong from the freshly cut wood.

Two people were assigned as a repair crew to attempt to patch the holes in the existing bridge deck with pieces of plywood. As the bridge was another year older, there were several new areas that had been broken through since the last repair attempt. Hopefully the repairs will last until the repaired areas are removed as we work our way back from the river removing the bridge.

Another area was setup on a sandbank not too far from the bridge end where the bridge timbers could be sawed into manageable pieces. In this location we were using battery powered Sawsall’s since the power to this area had been shut off when we began the removal project two years ago.

We had three people in wet suits in the water that were dismantling the bridge piece by piece. An additional 4 people were at the bridge end and/or on the bank beside the bridge assisting with the removal process.

An additional crew was removing lighting wire, handrail and PVC water pipe from the bridge and along the bank beside the bridge.

All remaining personnel were hauling the removed material from the cutting station to the rise at Lake Lethe or from the rise at Lake Lethe to the storage and cutting area at Vanderbilt hall.

At the end of the first day approximately 37 feet of bridge had been dismantled.

Day two started on Tuesday with a group photo at the Historic Entrance and then proceeded much as it had on Monday. Productivity was enhanced with everybody now knowing to do and how to do it. We removed an additional 24 feet of bridge by lunchtime. It was then that we discovered that we had run out of haul bags. This put a major crimp in the project design. While we were out of the cave for lunch, Norm and John discussed the options and a plan was formulated.

The original plan was to leave the bags in the cave for the weekend trips to haul out. However, since we had six hundred bags of material in the cave on one side or the other of the river and no more bags available it was decided that a haul out was necessary. Step one was to move all accumulated material from the rise at Lake Lethe to Vanderbilt hall. Next all of the bagged material was moved to the steps at the base of the fire tower.

A chaingang was formed up the steps from Mammoth Dome to the bottom of the firetower and the bags were moved up the steps. The area normally used to stack the bags became full and additional areas were used. This indicates that we now had more bags the bottom of the firetower than ever before. We had to clear the way for a tour that arrived when almost all of the bags had been moved up. After the tour cleared the firetower another chaingang was formed up the firetower and we started moving bags again. We quit for the day at 4:30 with about two thirds of the bags moved up to Little Bat Avenue.

Wednesday’s project was to get the material out of the cave. We started again on the firetower moving the remaining bags up to Little Bat Avenue. We had brought in four wheelbarrows to assist in moving the bags from Little Bat Avenue to the Historic Entrance stairs. The bags were all at the stairs by lunchtime. It was decided not to move them up the stairs until about 2:30 to minimize interference with the Discovery tour. Additionally the truck to remove the bags would not be available until 3:30. After lunch the group returned to Vanderbilt hall to remove the PVC pipe as some other materials that still remained there.

At around 2:30 we formed another chaingang up the entrance stairs and moved all the bags to the surface. John Fry then left and returned with the truck about 3:30. The truck was loaded, driven to the Boneyard, emptied, returned, loaded, emptied, returned, loaded and emptied a third time before the day ended.

A free private tour of Diamond Caverns was scheduled for 5PM and many of the field camp participants attended this tour. This is a well-decorated cave and all that attended the trip were pleased to see such a nice commercial cave.

Thursday was planned as a recreational caving day. Joe Meiman and Chuck DeCroix guided twelve people on a Colossal – Bedquilt through trip. The majority of the remaining people accompanied John Fry on a trip in the Carmichael Entrance and out the Frozen Niagara entrance following the half-day tour route. Several people took advantage of Dave Fosters’ offer for a free tour of Hidden River Cave and the ACCA museum.

Friday was to be a half-day working on the bridge followed by a clean up and tool removal after lunch. Well, it just didn’t happen as planned. The river was up. It must have rained some where upstream from Mammoth because the Green River rose about eight feet overnight. We all went into the cave to see if we could get to the work area. The bottom steps to the first, stainless steel, bridge were under water. The river gauge at this location indicated 11.5 feet. The gauge at Green River Ferry had been 4.1 feet on Tuesday. The water was too high to safely return to the work area and all of the tools and equipment left there were probably underwater. They would be abandoned until the river went down.

So with almost a day left and 40+ cavers looking for work we headed to the Elevator Entrance to work on the other side if Echo River. Material had been moved from Cascade Hall to Ole’ Bulls Concert Hall on the April weekend trip. We were to move these bags from Ole’ Bull about halfway out of the cave to an area now called Pam’s Paradise where Pam Saberton had broken her leg on the April trip. This was accomplished by early afternoon and work for this years’ field camp came to an end.

Friday evening we enjoyed a cookout hosted by the NPS followed by the Monroe Brothers annual awards ceremony. Sack Rat of the Year was awarded to Roy “If that’s your real name” VanHoozer, the Sack Pack award was given to the Nelson Family, a special Nancy Bag award was given to Nancy Friend and the Lifetime Achievement Award was given to Larry Reece. This concluded this years Field Camp. On Saturday trips had been arraigned for caves outside of the park for those who wanted more caving on the way home. Several planned to visit either Indian Cave or Roppel Cave.

The week after camp when the water had gone down some, Joe Meiman and John Fry went to the work area to retrieve the tools. The following is Johns’ account of this event. “At first glance it was a pretty bad scene. Both saws and both lanterns had been submerged, most of the tools were soaked and in the early stages of rust, and the drill was nowhere to be found. Fortunately 5 of 6 saw batteries had escaped to higher ground. Looked downstream toward Sands of the Sahara and saw a white case floating on the foam… the first-aid kit. Donned the wetsuit to go retrieve it and found a various assortment of plywood, grass sacks, garbage bags, a full roll of duct tape (in addition to the thousand and one uses it also apparently floats!), and the closed drill case with a dry drill inside. Brought all the critical equipment out of the cave immediately, hosed ’em down, cleaned em up, dried everything out, and charged the various batteries. Much to my amazement the saws and lanterns are working fine… at least for the time being. The only loss seems to be one battery which now sloshes like a can of Chicken and Stars soup. In the end, water was probably only 12-18 inches above the level of Chop Shop #1. Joe said he checked and the “flood” was not attributable to anything the Corps did up at Green River Dam. Just a quick, heavy rainfall upstream.”

So another years’ Field Camp successfully concluded. What will 2001 bring? Well, several hundred feet of bridge still needs to be removed so you can be sure we’ll be back if the river isn’t up. The smell of creosote lingers in my mind as a reminder that what we have done and will do has and will improve the habitat of those who dwell in eternal darkness along Echo River Trail.

Hope to see you all at Mammoth Cave next year.

1999 Mammoth Cave Restoration Field Camp

The 11th annual Restoration Field Camp at Mammoth Cave began on Sunday evening August 8th.

The continuing major project for the field camp is the removal of the wooden bridges along Echo River Trail in the cave. On Monday we started in to the cave with about 28 eager participants carrying tools and ready to attack the bridges.

Due to the limited space at the end of the bridge only a few at a time were actually able to work on dismantling the bridge structure while the rest carried bridge pieces down the trail to a work area where the decking and beams were cut into smaller pieces and bagged. The bags were then carried from the work area to a storage area near River Hall.

While some were dismantling the bridge, others were removing the PVC waterpipe along side the bridge and still others were removing the old electrical wiring. In total about 60 feet of bridge was dismantled and quite a bit more of the PVC pipe and wiring was removed.

The majority of the material was moved to the River Hall staging area with some left at a high area about halfway between the end of the bridge and River Hall. The intent was to insure all of the material was stored above the flood zone and that most would be accessible to those working on the weekend camps when the high water would prevent further dismantling of the bridge.

On Wednesday afternoon two educational trips were scheduled for the group. The majority went on the easier trip following the Violet City lantern tour route while about seven went on a seven and one-half loop trip at the elevator entrance to view a part of the cave no longer shown on tours.

Thursday evening we were treated to an after hours tour of Diamond Caverns which has recently changed owners and is now owned by a partnership of five caver families. They are Mr & Mrs Gary Berdeau, Mr & Mrs Gordon Smith, Mr & Mrs Stan Sides, Mr & Mrs Larry McCarty and Mr & Mrs Roger McClure.

Friday we spent the final day on the Cascade Hall side of the river moving material stored at Valley Way Side Cut to Ole Bulls’ Concert hall again to move the material above the high water line so it could be removed on the weekend camps when the water was up.

Friday evening we the NPS held a cookout at Maple springs for us and provided a great meal which everyone appreciated.

It was a week of hard work but it felt good to help in the restoration of a part of the longest cave in the world. There was lots of fun and fellowship and a good time was had by all.

The October weekend trip removed all of the material that was staged by the summer field camp participants.

2000, What will it bring? The next field camp will be held on August 6-12 with more bridge removal and who knows what else. It will surely be fun along with the work. See you there?

1998 Mammoth Cave Restoration Field Camp

1998 marked the 10th annual field camp. Work continued along Echo River Trail with bridge removal the primary objective for the first two days. John Vargo had invented and manufactured two tools over the past winter that greatly aided the removal of the support beams of the bridge. Additional work in the Silliman Avenue area of the cave was conducted later in the week.

Several of the crew had to leave camp by mid-week due to prior commitments and the reduced number of people did create some problems in the removal of materials up the stairs and firetower at the Ruins of Karnak as well as at the entrance stairway.

An evening trip to Great Onyx Cave was scheduled during the week for those who hadn’t seen this cave as well as those who wanted to see it again. It’s always a nice place to visit.

Even though short handed, those remaining at camp accomplished a formidable task in the removal of bridge materials that had been accumulated so far this week. There is still plenty of bridge left for future camps and it would appear that the work is progressing on schedule.

This years’ camp was a success even though the manpower was less than desired. All who attended had some fun while working and many will return next year.

1997 Mammoth Cave Restoration Field Camp

August 11th of this year marked the beginning of the ninth annual restoration field camp at Mammoth Cave National Park. Over thirty volunteer-cavers from around the country gathered at the Central Kentucky cave for what turned out to be, by some accounts, one of the most strenuous camps to date.

The camp was the beginning of the restoration of the Echo River area of the cave. Although volunteers have worked in the Echo River area in past years, the Park Service has now made the decision to remove everything man-made in the River area that would affect the natural cave life. This decision, while ending a popular boat-ride tour of the cave, and ending all tourist activities in that area, is evidence of the concerns of the Park Service, that ecology and protection of natural resources is high on the list of priorities.

The Past:

The history of Echo River is a long one which captivates cavers and is of interest to any adventurer. First discovered by slave-guide Stephen Bishop in 1838, Echo River teemed with several varieties of cave life. Blind fish, with almost transparent bodies, along with white-blind crayfish and other creatures, fascinated Bishop and the tourists he would later bring. Along with its curious echo qualities and deep crystal clear waters, the river would soon become a favorite stop for several generations of tourists.

To make the River more accessible, bridges were built, along with wooden walkways and boat-docks. Miles of electrical cable was laid and lights installed. Throughout the years, due to flooding and age, the wood rotted, and other walkways and bridges were built directly on top of the old ones. The old structures were allowed to rot and collapse into the once pristine waters.

The presence of foreign material in the water and illumination of the cave passage caused changes in the natural food chain of Echo River. Also, fish from outside the cave, that occasionally were swept into the cave by high water, once would have died in the darkness of the cave and would have become food for cave creatures. Now, with the cave illuminated, the outside fish became predators instead of prey. The creatures which once thrived in Echo River were nearly decimated. Today, one can occasionally see a white crayfish, however, blind fish are rarely seen, and until restoration efforts began, the bed of Echo River was strewn with the rotting posts and planks of collapsed walk-ways.

In recent years, restoration volunteers have worked in the Echo River area. Although this was before the Park Service’s decision to completely restore the area, these volunteers were successful in removing thousands of pounds of debris from the river. Donning wet suits at times, cavers pulled rotting wood from the mud, then dodging herds of curious tourists, hand-carried it a mile and a half to the entrance of the cave. This usually included a “bucket brigade” up the 88 steps of the Mammoth Dome tower.

The Present:

This year’s camp was no different than those of the past with the exception of a commitment to begin complete restoration of Echo River. The work began Monday morning, and for some, it was hard work, indeed. The goals were to remove the metal steps at the last boat dock, remove light fixtures and wires from the boat-ride passage, and begin removing all electrical cable. Lara Storm and Rich Bell, joined fellow caver, Larry Bundy, in removing light fixtures from the river. Larry brought a one-man inflatable raft in which he paddled, while Rich and Lara clung to the sides to maneuver into position under each light fixture. The first day, they were successful in removing all the lights and wire along with several lengths of heavy chain. At times, they were barely visible from the boat-dock as they made their way to Cascade Hall, some 75 yards down the river.

Several people began the work of removing the stairs at the boat dock. The stairs were fabricated with aluminum steps bolted to heavy angle frames. These frames were, in turn, bolted to heavy metal posts seated in concrete, buried four feet in the sand. The top half of the stairway was completely covered by several feet of sand, causing workers to dig through the sand with shovels. The Coleman lanterns used to light the work area cast a peculiar glow over scene. Some workers dug while others unbolted steps. Some of the bolts had to be cut off with sledge hammer and chisel. The work was hard, but great progress was made just the first day, and by the end of Tuesday, the stairway at the dock of Echo River no longer existed.

While the stair work was going on, several volunteers began the work of removing the electrical cable from the cave. Near the boat dock, the cable, existing of five strands of number 4 wire, (heavy stuff) lay neatly exposed along the side of the trail. The cable was cut into approximately 30 foot lengths, rolled into loops, and tied, to be carried out of the cave. Further from the dock, however, in an area of deep sand, the cable had to be dug up by hand, sometimes from a depth of several feet. After coils of cable were stacked on the passage floor, still other workers, began the long haul to the surface.

All the material to be removed from the cave was staged at different points along the way. The pile of cable, wood, chain and other debris grew as the work progressed. The goal was to remove all material from the passage up to the end of the last bridge, at an area known as the Sands of Sahara. Incredibly, by the end of Thursday this goal was reached. All the material now lay at the bottom of the stairs at the Historic Entrance. The only items left were a few light fixtures on the ceiling, too high to be reached without ladders, a section of cable near the Sands of Sahara, and a few buried concrete footings at the river’s edge.

Friday morning, work began disassembling the far end of the last bridge. (Historical view.) Because of flooding over a period of time, the Sands of Sahara had crept down the passage, like a desert sand dune, toward the bridge, burying the end of the bridge under six feet of sand. A 20 foot hill of sand reached from the water below the bridge, bisected by its deck and hand-rails. No one knew how far the bridge extended under the sand and no one knew how long it would take to disassemble such a bridge, or if it could even be done by such a small group of volunteers. Workers dug furiously for two hours before the end of the bridge was found.

To prevent sand from slumping down on workers, it had to be constantly moved away from the digging area. Finally, the bottom of the support posts were uncovered, and wielding pry-bars and hammers, the end of the bridge was disassembled. When the lateness of the hour forced workers to end their labors, 10 feet of bridge had been disassembled and removed to River Hall. Workers considered this a great accomplishment because they now knew how to remove a bridge from Echo River. They now knew it could be done.

The Future:

The work on the Echo River restoration will continue. The Park Service would like to see all the wood removed from that part of the cave within the next two years. Also, a good portion of the steel bridge will be removed, which may present a greater challenge. However, if the past efforts of volunteers can be used as a barometer, the work will be completed on schedule.