Cow Line Question

I don't have the map in front of me, so I apologize that I cannot reference the specific point I am going to discuss.... Upon turning a dive on the mainline I went to complete a circuit previously setup... I basically jumped off the mainline to a side passage that would provide me with an indicated "t" putting me back on the mainline on exit. The inital jump was heading with the flow (exiting) at approx 1400P. I noticed the arrows were pointing into the flow from the direction I was coming which would then have a diver heading back into the cave towards the mainline instead of exiting downstream following the "t" to the mainline... hope this isn't all too confusing. Why wouldn't the arrows point the other way, towards the closest exit route? I realize that if you didn't take the "t" you would dead end and have to swim back against the flow, but if a diver watched the line and saw the "t" there should be no issue.... thoughts?

Also, I notice that due to the high mineral content (i'm not a chemist, so pardon the improper terminology) in this system, everything gets covered in the black mineral build up... including the lines and arrows, making line tracking and catching important markers near impossible at times.... do they ever do any sort of maintainence? I nearly missed my "t" because the arrow was so black it blended in with the rocks!

-Matt

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Originally Posted by IowaCaveDiver

I don't have the map in front of me, so I apologize that I cannot reference the specific point I am going to discuss.... Upon turning a dive on the mainline I went to complete a circuit previously setup... I basically jumped off the mainline to a side passage that would provide me with an indicated "t" putting me back on the mainline on exit. The inital jump was heading with the flow (exiting) at approx 1400P. I noticed the arrows were pointing into the flow from the direction I was coming which would then have a diver heading back into the cave towards the mainline instead of exiting downstream following the "t" to the mainline... hope this isn't all too confusing. Why wouldn't the arrows point the other way, towards the closest exit route? I realize that if you didn't take the "t" you would dead end and have to swim back against the flow, but if a diver watched the line and saw the "t" there should be no issue.... thoughts?

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How were the arrows after you passed the T ? It could be that these were the correct arrows once when the circuit wasn't completed lined/connected. Could also be that there is/was a restriction at one point which would make going back to the main line a better choice of exit.

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Also, I notice that due to the high mineral content (i'm not a chemist, so pardon the improper terminology) in this system, everything gets covered in the black mineral build up... including the lines and arrows, making line tracking and catching important markers near impossible at times.... do they ever do any sort of maintainence? I nearly missed my "t" because the arrow was so black it blended in with the rocks!

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It's most likely due to the lack of traffic and rare replacement if any of the lines/arrows. Lines/arrow in busy systems get replaced pretty often. Think about how often the Hill 400 line is replaced. I personally like it when they are old dark and black. It gives you an idea of the age of the stuff and shows how little traffic an area gets.

I think you are referring to the tunnel that parallels the main line from just above Not My Fault and reconnects back at the Change Up. It first breaks off just after where the pull rope ends; the jump is off to the left around a corner as you're swimming in. This passage is a tight sidemount only passage. It drops down another Fault (It is Your Fault) after 100-200' or so. The passage parallels the main line and has one short jump (to the right as swimming upstream on the main line) at around the 1200' marker on the mainline (between the entrance and exit to the Gnarley Way Circuit on the left side of the main tunnel). This is probably where you picked up the circuit. If you keep going upstream another 100-200' you run into another tee. One line goes straight ahead about 20-30' and dead ends. The other way goes off to the left (as swimming upstream) and reconnects to the main line at the Change Up. When we did the new map in 2003, most of the parallel tunnel is on there except for the fault portion. The arrows were left pointing upstream since a lot of people dive Cow in backmount and if they went downstream toward the fault, they wouldn't be able to make it through all the restrictions in the upper portion of the tunnel.

sorry, i still don't have my map handy.... wish I could reference the specific circuit. I forgot to indicate what the arrows looked like at the "t".... upon hitting the "t" from upstream, the upstream line angles slightly left downstream towards the dead end and the "t" angles off to the right at about a 45... inches from the "t" heading also downstream, towards the mainline are two arrows pointing to the mainline. I was diving sidemount but don't recall any super tight restrictions, however Cow is a pretty low and wide cave for the most part. I agree with the "coolness" of a dark passage with old dark lines and arrows, and until this dive, I always enjoyed it, however I almost had a navigational issue so perhaps it was just a good experience to keep me ontop of my line awareness.

-Matt

Not sure if the map on the "Resources" tab will help you - http://www.tampadiving.com/sections/...D=16&region=FL