Lost River - Karst Information Portal

along his dive buddy, Ralph, for his first trip
into the spring. Mark and Dave were going to
try to push the passage now referred to as the
Cold Water Passage; Ralph would go along
to see the first 300 feet. Dave and Mark used
three tanks each to make the push past the end
of the line at 750 feet. At 300 feet they left their
drop tanks. Mark took the lead and they made
it to the end in good time. By now the visibility
was about 5 feet. After okaying each other they
took off for virgin cave. A quick 150 feet later
they reached the end of their line, now 900
feet from the entrance. The way out was not as
much fun because the visibility was down to 2
feet; all they could do was maintain line contact
and bump along the wall and ceiling for 500
feet. The passage was still going north, with
an average height of 5 feet, a width of 7 feet
and a depth of 72 feet. On the way out Dave
and Mark, who are both getting cold, hit the
warm zone—it felt like bathwater. Mark and
Dave told Ralph what they found and planned
a second dive to try to find the source of the
warm water.
Dive time: 45 minutes. Depth: 72 feet.
New line: 150 feet. Total line: 900 feet.
Dive 16. September 17, 1995: The Discovery
of the Warm Water Passage
They decided that Mark would look for the
source of the warm water while Dave stayed on
the main line. They arrived at the point where
the cold water started and then backed up a
bit. Mark took the small reel and tied off to
the main line, then headed for the east wall.
In a few minutes he returned to get Dave;
he located the Warm Water Passage, which
is about 5 feet high and 15 feet wide, with
moving water. What a great find! They took
off down the new passage and quickly laid 100
feet of new line.
It was a very productive day, with 150 feet
of new line laid in the Cold Water Passage and
130 feet laid in the new Warm Water Passage.
The interesting part was that Dave and Noel
had been diving past this lead for four years.
Dive time: 34 minutes. Depth: 64 feet.
New line: 130 feet. Total line: 1,030 feet.
The Exploration of Harrison Spring
Dive 17. September 24, 1995
Noel and Dave planned to push the Warm
Water Passage today. While they were getting
their gear together, Susie, who came along on
this trip to help, went off arrowhead hunting.
Within 10 minutes she yelled back and held
up a nice 2½-inch-long point. It must have
been a sign of good things to come. Dave led
the way to the point where he and Mark had
placed a line arrow, to mark where the jump
should be for the Warm Water Passage. Dave
tied off on the main line and headed in to make
the connection to the new line. He missed the
connection and came back to the main line
to let Noel try; of course, Noel swam right to
it. At the end of last week’s line they tied on a
new one, with high hopes. Noel was in the lead,
with Dave tying off the line as they went. After
another 150 feet, Dave looked up to the left
and saw a big black hole in the ceiling. Farther
on the passage got lower, but it was still at least
15 feet wide. After 200 feet it was less than 3
feet high; 20 feet beyond, it dropped to 2 feet.
The floor and ceiling were very scalloped, with
lots of sharp edges—real gear eaters.
Dive time: 50 minutes; decompression
time: four minutes. Depth: 64 feet. New line:
220 feet. Total line: 1,250 feet.
Dive 18. October 1, 1995: A Shivering
Dive
Dave got there at least an hour early to
get a set of steps installed before the others
arrived. Noel made it down before Mark and
Ralph. Dave and Noel started getting their gear
together while discussing the dive plan. Mark
and Ralph finally came and agreed to do the
Cold Water Passage. They each brought a pair
of 100-cubic-foot aluminum tanks. Noel and
Dave were using 72s and 80s due to the low
profile in the Warm Water Passage. Dave and
Noel entered the cave first; the visibility was
great at 20 feet. The first stop was the black hole
in the ceiling, which turned out to be a room
10 feet high and 20 feet wide. At the end of the
line the passage was about 3 feet high and 20
feet wide. With lots of air, warmer water, and a
new reel with 250 feet of line, they were ready
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