Lost River - Karst Information Portal

intersection. The left-hand passage becomes
too tight while the right hand (up-steam)
passage is the way on into the cave. In 15
feet, a 12-foot-deep, flowstone-covered wall
is reached. A 50-foot-long rope is needed
to traverse the next three obstacles. These
obstacles are the traverse of the well, a
climb-down, and a climb-up. The rope can
be rigged off some flowstone along the left
wall. The flowstone traverse is about 10 feet
long along the right wall to a 3-foot-thick
limestone partition. It is a 10-foot, hand-line
climb to the floor of Fakers Dome. The dome
is 20 feet long by 10 feet wide and 20 feet
tall. Immediately opposite the climb-down
is a 12-foot climb-up into Chisel Crawl.
An old, mud-coated piece of Goldline leads
up to the crawlway, but it is best if the first
person free-climbs up and rigs the other end
of the 50-long traverse rope. Chisel Crawl
is a very tight, 7-foot-long crawl, which was
chiseled open in 1967 by Terry Crayden. It
opens at the base of the 20-foot-high Rappel
Pit. The crawlway continues on the other
side of the dome, and ends in 20 feet at a
balcony overlooking Calcite Dome. An easy
16-foot climb-down leads to the base of
this very impressive dome. The dome is 25
feet in diameter and is 85 feet tall. In wet
weather there are three waterfalls entering
the dome. The waterfalls have dissolved and
recrystalized some calcite, to give the dome
its name. This dome is also the “practical”
end of the cave. Only a short, very-muddy
crawlway at the top of the far waterfall leads
away from the cave complex.
The remainder of the cave is in the middle
and upper levels. The upper most level is the
entrance crawl. It continues past the floor
canyon for about 150 feet. At one point there
is a very tight squeeze through a formation
area. The crawlway ends at Calcite Dome.
It is an 85-foot free rappel to the floor of
Calcite Dome. Just before reaching Calcite
Dome one can climb up a small dome-pit
to the Calcite Dome Attic. From the top of
Crawford County Caves
The first drop in Beech Tree Cave.
Photo by Tom Rea.
Calcite Dome a 95-foot rappel can be rigged.
The middle level can be reached by doing a
difficult traverse called the Pearly Gates over
Turners Dome. There are two domes in the
middle level before it reconnects with the
rest of the cave at Rappel Pit.
This cave is a short, complex series of
domes, pits, and connecting crawlways that
form a challenging cave. Only two short
ropes (40 and 50 feet) and vertical gear are
needed to see the main portion of the cave.
References: IU SpeleoTymes V.3#2, 1971,
D.DesMarais
CHUG Preconvention Guidebook, 1973
CIG Cave Capers Guidebook, 1984
NSS 1992 Convention Guidebook
297