8MB PDF - Association for Mexican Cave Studies

Given the successof the Camp IV expeditionin 1986, therewas no doubt among theProyecto Espe1eolOgicoPurificacion caversthat there would beanother camp in 1987.It was only a matterof where. Since thenew connection to theSouthbound Boreholegave easier accessfrom Infiernil10, aremote camp could beput in from that entrance.Some goodspots were known nearthe Nile River, wherethere were also a numberof leads knownfrom earlier years.So it was that on9 March 1987 fourteencavers hoisted theirduffles and set off onthe trail to Cueva de Infiernillo. AftersPending the previous day in meticulous finalpacking, all were ready, in theory, fora ten day stay underground, the longest yetattempted in Purificacion. Expedition memberswere Dave Bunnell, Bill Farr, JimGoodbar, Jude Larkin, Dale Pate, SusieRaines, Terry Raines, Ron Simmons, TerriSprouse, Mauricio Tapie, Carol Vesely, JackWhite, Brad Wilson, and myself. Two ropeswere rigged on the entrance climb, and thelast cavers left the huge Infiernillo entranceat 12:30 p.m. For a group so largethe trip into the cave went remarkablywell. Duffles were hauled up the more difficultclimbs on the way to the confusionTubes, and all went well until the BreakdownMaze.Suddenly, we could smell gas leakingfrom a stove in someone's duffle. There wasa brief panic as carbide flames were extinguishedand the leak was traced to Jack'spack. That was soon remedied and we wereoff to the NetherhalL Climbing the longnorth s lope of theNetherhall with campduffles was a first,but it was no problem,and we made it up inthe normal time of 30minutes. At the WindTunnels I went aheadto choose a campsiteamong several candidates.The firstchoice was off of CommunionHall at theedge of a low-air lakethat connects to theNile River. The conditionswere good: lotsof soft sand, drinkingwater, and though itwas a bit low overhead,it was betterthan the year before.Soon we were allarranging sand andsettling into our newhome. I t had been onlya 12 hour trip from the entrance, and 15hours from the truck, which was quickerthan anticipated.61,181 METERS - AND GROWINGAfter duffle hauling, the followingday was naturally a bit slow. We startedout lead-checking near camp around CommunionHall and photographing the spectacularHorseshoe Bend of the Nile River. Mauricio,Ron, and I found a lead up a small cascadenot far from the Nile. Although we couldnot get all of the way up the climb, we didget into an upper level mud passage goingnorth and south. We mapped north for 150meters to an interesting looking pit, thenreturned to Communion Hall where we surveyeda previously known 50-meter-Iong loopover to the Wind Tunnels. OUr total surveyfor the day was 211 meters.Terri, Jude, and Dave mapped a shortloop off of the Horseshoe Bend, then went ashort way upstream in the Nile to a lead onOpposite: Peter Sprouse enjoys the water cascading over the flowstone in the DownstreamNile. (Dave Bunnell) Above: Hauling duffles up the flowstone-climb heleM' the ConfusionTubes. (Dave Bunnell)81