Miscellaneous June 2017

 I guess I'm not too far behind if I'm wrapping up June! Here are a few photos that didn't make it into previous posts. We enjoyed eating at the new Kerouac's Cafe in Baker, Nevada. The food is delicious and service is great! We've returned several times!

For work, I went up high in the mountains to protect some limber pines from mountain pine beetles. They are part of a proactive white pine blister rust program. Several trees (both bristlecone and limber pines) have been selected and pinecones harvested. The US Forest Service is propagating the pine seeds and then testing them for white pine blister rust, a non-native pathogen that can kill whole forests. The idea is that some resistant trees might be found, then their pine seeds can be stored and grown and resistant trees planted to help when the rust eventually arrives. In the meantime, we have to protect those trees from mountain pine beetle, so we apply verbenone, a natural pheromone that the  beetles excrete to say that the tree is full of beetles and the incoming beetles should select a different tree. So cool! (Bristlecone pines don't seem to be affected by mountain pine beetles, so we don't need to put verbenone on them.)

The bristlecone in this study isn't part of the study, but it looks cool.

We had been having some warm temps, but on this particular day it was really cold. And there were still snow drifts. Bruce and Becca helped us get up the road, moving trees and digging through snow/ice drifts. It was an adventure!

To my surprise, Nevada primrose was already blooming.

The views from Mt. Washington were amazing.

I spent a week near Redmond, Oregon teaching cave rescue. We had a fun day on the cliffs. This was a different type of rock than what we used for the rest of the week.

That's because there are lots of lava tubes around Redmond.


We didn't actually go in many, but we played at the entrances of several, including doing a highline across this one.


We also had some zen time in the gym/exhibition hall, floating students across.


Back at home, we tried out a new (used) sailboat that my husband purchased. It's lots of fun, but also a little scary when the wind gets going.

I enjoyed a trip to an ice cave that has part of its entrance blocked by snow.

It had never been entered this time of year before, so we didn't know what to expect. We couldn't use the bolts at the entrance, so tied off to a tree and went over the snow.

The transition to snow to ice was abrupt. It was an interesting cave, but very difficult to get to. We installed a wildlife camera at the entrance, so we'll learn what else is using the cave.

We've also been spending time with the lambs. We figure if they get used to chaos here, they'll do better at the fair. So we invite friends over to play!

Desert Boy got some lessons on showmanship, but needs a few more! It will be fun to watch him at the fair. He's definitely gotten a lot more confident, and I can see why it's good to start with animals that weigh about 100 pounds instead of those that weigh much more (like steers).

Flagstaff Small Party Cave Rescue Class

Back in April I took some time off work and headed to Flagstaff, Arizona to teach a Small Party Assisted Rescue (SPAR) class for the National Cave Rescue Commission (NCRC). This was the sixth one I was teaching, the third as lead instructor. I had to figure out some logistics (like where we would train), so I met up with Ben the day before the class to go look at sites. It was crazy, we drove  out onto the flat desert and then suddenly we came to this big gash in the earth. It was an earth fracture, making a cave.

We descended into the very linear feature. Along the way we found rolls and rolls of barbed wire.

We also found some great spots for crack and crevice problems.

After exhausting that cave, we went down the fissure a ways and found another entrance. This one required a rope. The first boulder we wanted to anchor to had a rattling sound coming from under it, so we went to another one. I was hoping we wouldn't have a close encounter with the rattlesnake.

It was a fun drop, nearly all of it free hang. And fortunately we didn't meet up with the rattler back on the surface.

Later that night we had check-ins. Students have to know a variety of knots and some basic single rope techniques (SRT) before they can take the class. All 16 students who had signed up for the class made it in.

The next morning the classroom was the living room of the house we had rented. We like to have an expedition-style feel to the class, so we stay together and make food together, as well as train together.

The actual classroom time is short. Soon we were outside doing haul system reviews.

Then it was time for afternoon rotations. Here's the diminishing loop counterweight station. The big ponderosa pines made for great anchors. The idea with this rescue technique is that using a pulley and twice the amount of rope as the drop, the rescuer can climb and without too much effort, get both herself and the patient to the top of the drop.

At the releasable redirect station, the students learned how to do a haul up and over something. In this case, they were moving someone over the dumpsters.

We were at the USFS Flagstaff facility, and they had some nice covered space to work on convert to lower. This is a skill where if someone is stuck on rope (usually over a cliff or down in a cave), you convert the rigging to a lowering system. Of course, if they had just rigged with contingency rigging (e.g., a Munter tied off), it would only take seconds.

Another station was Traveling Haul, where you learn that you don't have to have a haul system at the top of the drop. It can be moving with the patient.

Students worked in groups of four so everyone was hands on.

We had six instructors for the class, and as lead I rotated around to see how learning was progressing.

The little white boards were a big help.

Here's Andy lying down on the job, ha.

Following the first set of rotations, we had some free stations, where students could go where they wanted. Many chose to attend Mel's talk on carabiner evolution.

We had rebelay courses set up in a couple ponderosa pines, and some students gave those a try. You always know how well your vertical system fits when you do one of these!

All that got us ready for the next day's exercises, at a real cave. We again had students rotate through a variety of stations, basically expanding on concepts they had learned the previous day.

We were working with lava this day, so we had to be very aware of loose rocks. Lava tends to break off unexpectedly.

Traveling haul was again used, but in a more realistic scenario.

It's kind of fun to be a traveling haul patient, especially when there's a tether to the top rope grab!

The weather was perfect, and we could enjoy being out under the ponderosa pines.

My brother was taking the course, and we had a chance to climb rope next to each to get out of the cave. I couldn't resist getting a selfie!

Looks like my photos end here. The last day was the scenario day, where the students try out different techniques on the problems they're presented. We went to a different cave so they'd have some new challenges. Everyone did very well.

I've ended up spending quite a bit of time teaching NCRC classes, but I find that it's something I really enjoy. And hopefully what I teach will help someone who's in a bad situation.

If you're interested in cave rescue, you can learn more about training at the NCRC website. And you can read about cave rescues at the American Caving Accident website.
Cave safely!

Caving in Texas

 After I taught two three-day small party cave rescue classes, I had a day off. I usually don't when I go to cave rescue seminars, so I intended to fully enjoy it. What would be the best way to do that? Go caving, of course! Fortunately the past park superintendent was up to being our guide for the day. We started off with Gorman Falls Cave, which had been used several times earlier in the week, but I hadn't had a chance to go in. Here is Casey ready to lead the way down the first drop. It's three short rappels into a steamy cave.

Then you reach the stream below. I went upstream as far as I could to the sump, then downstream. This well shaft goes down to the stream, and I guess they drilled the well before they realized the cave was here. The cave was quite warm, and it felt good. It was a fun cave. Air has to be pumped into the cave before you go into it because it has high carbon dioxide levels, as do many of the Texas caves. It's good to go with someone who knows, as bad air could make your day a little problematic.

Next we headed to a cliff edge and found a spot between the pencil cactus and the prickly pear to rappel over the edge.

We swung into a cool cave that was highly decorated. I thought it was neat to see the old water line so distinctly.

Liz and John wanted a photo of them together on rope as they rappelled to the bottom of the cliff. They're getting married later this year.

At the bottom we walked a short way and got a view of the backside of Gorman Falls. The travertine that's built up along the cliff face is fantastic, and the green moss covering it gives it a great surreal look.

We had gotten permission and a key to go visit Gorman Cave, so we headed there next. There's a nice interpretive sign outside the entrance.

Kelby was our guide, and he explained how this used to be the most-visited cave in Colorado Bend State Park (which has 400+ caves!).  However, this cave has turned out to be a very important maternity colony. It also has bad air.

I immediately liked the cave, as most of it was walking passage. This wasn't how Texas caves were described to me! We followed the sinuous stream passage, stepping over pools of water and admiring a variety of formations. This was a neat speleothem right in the middle of the passage.

We passed the old gate, that had been back farther in the cave. We could smell and feel the change in air as we went through a thermocline. My pulse rate increased a tiny bit, but I didn't feel many other effects from the increased CO2.

We eventually got to crawling passage and found lots of little bones on the floor. What was going on? It turned out there were hundreds of dead bats. There was no sign of human interaction (the most typical reason that bats die). We put on our sleuthing caps and realized that last summer there had been massive floods in Texas. We found where the cave had sumped, and these poor bats had been trapped and died either from starvation or bad air.

Then it was time to head back to the lodge and hear all about the mock rescues that had happened that day. And to eat and celebrate! We had great facilities at Barefoot Fishing Camp.

 Volunteers prepared meals, and for this last night, we were treated to prime rib and bacon-wrapped asparagus. I don't eat this well at home! All the meals were fantastic. I thoroughly enjoyed them.

Celebrations ensued, and the next morning, when it was time to pack up and head home, it was a little slow-going.

I had a super time in Texas and thank everyone who made all the arrangements and made it happen. I was a little afraid that some Texas cavers might have read my mystery novel, An Un-Conventional Murder, and take offense at the fun I poke at Texas cavers. But nobody mentioned it. So maybe I'm safe to visit Texas again! :)