Orange Grove......The way in !

Once upon a time.......A long, long time ago.....when there were no gates or fees into PSSP,
one could almost dive any place they wished, so long as nothing was burned to the ground. A solo cave diver i knew, routinely geared up w\back mounted dbles {120s} & in front of classes would gleefully do a forward sumersault (15'-20') into the OG, just above the cavern entrance. Of course this was a different time, and now one doubts that it could even be attempted with park management lurking in the woods.

food for thought ! Ha !

mite have been the 'Muckman' !

later :roll:

ps: yes..Cisteen is a nasty entry into the dark beyond ! But then any new entry is
exciting.

Jumping from that cliff was often referred to as "taking the elevator", and was not uncommon before the current steps at Orange Grove were built. Of course, it is now frowned upon and, I believe, cause for ejection from the park.

Brian

Still the best way to get into Mayan Blue :mrgreen:

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Originally Posted by Benthic

Jumping from that cliff ... was not uncommon before the current steps at Orange Grove were built.

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I remember my instructor telling us that someone he knew seriously injured his back jumping off the cliff and he forbade us from doing it. I also remember making my way down to the water (where the steps are now) and looking up at the cliff, thinking, "It's not so high..."

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Originally Posted by Slüdge

I remember my instructor telling us that someone he knew seriously injured his back jumping off the cliff and he forbade us from doing it. I also remember making my way down to the water (where the steps are now) and looking up at the cliff, thinking, "It's not so high..."

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I jumped in a sink 2 weeks ago because that was the easiest way in....

Wanna guess what part of the whole diving process I DIDN'T think about? lol

My full cave course was filled with stories of "the good ol days" when my instructor and other well-known cave divers would jump, flip, swing and everything else into the water.

Sounds like a good time!

Ah yes, the good old days- before these pesky certification requirements.

I always want to jump off the high side at Madison, but when I'm there it's always when I've been diving a lot the past several days and I don't want to "shake up the bubbles". I don't know if this is a reasonable thing to worry about, but so far it's kept me from doing it.

Mike

We need certifications? I just bring my iphone and go on the forums to figure out what to do at a jump or directional marker. Sometimes I even search which deco profiles will give me less deco and switch to it during the dive depending on how good the users posting feedback is :D

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Originally Posted by CCR Josh

My full cave course was filled with stories of "the good ol days" when my instructor and other well-known cave divers would jump, flip, swing and everything else into the water.

Sounds like a good time!

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And some of them even jumped UP into the spring while it was snowing!! ;)

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Originally Posted by jj1987

I jumped in a sink 2 weeks ago because that was the easiest way in....

Wanna guess what part of the whole diving process I DIDN'T think about? lol

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Getting out ???

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Originally Posted by Slüdge

someone he knew seriously injured his back jumping off the cliff

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Back before the stairs I had a friend hurt his back just entering at ground level.

I brought him to the bottom, showed him how to clear the duckweed out of the way with fins to see the clear spot to jump in and then jumpped in.


He said: "don't worry I watched where you jumped." <sigh>


A 300# man leaping makes a horriable CLANG when his 80AL lands squarely on a big rock 1" under the water and he litterally BOUNCES forward into the next clear spot.

He busted a B/U light, hurt his back and missed a few days of diving. I always wondered if we should have gotten the 80 hydroed/inspected after that as well.

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Originally Posted by ScubaRob

Getting out ???

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Yeah, it was fun getting out of my doubles in the water while in a drysuit and then hauling them up the sink.

We camped there a few times in 84/85. It was a local swimming hole for the most part and quite a bit wilder. Olsen would be a mess with the mudslide and beat down vegatation.

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Originally Posted by stairman

We camped there a few times in 84/85. It was a local swimming hole for the most part and quite a bit wilder. Olsen would be a mess with the mudslide and beat down vegatation.

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So it was Telford with more entries..

Before the steps I was showing my dive buddy the best way to get in. You know, one of those "watch me" moments. I slipped and became almost very intimate with a cypress knob. I couldn't get up after I fell and I had to take one of my fins off and slide over the knob to get into the water.
I am glad there are steps now.
It a kid jumping off the rocks saying "watch me" that made me want to dive there. I was there on a bike ride and was just taking a break. When the duck weed parted I was hooked.

The steps are very nice...

That said, they are definitely not very nice to the cave.

Way back before the steps were built (complete with handicapped access!!) you had to truly want to get in OG to dive it. More than that, you had to know how to get in there so you wouldn't break an ankle or your neck.

Since the steps have been in place the cave that side of challenge has had so much traffic it is a shame. It has been trampled and trashed by every Joe, Dick, and Harry (and their female equivalents) that can haul their sorry no-buoyancy skills ass and tanks into OG...

Getting in there was a PITA, but the cave was so much nicer...

Ok, off my soapbox. Back to the original programming...

Dive safe,

Celia

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Originally Posted by amphipod06

The steps are very nice...

That said, they are definitely not very nice to the cave.

Way back before the steps were built (complete with handicapped access!!) you had to truly want to get in OG to dive it. More than that, you had to know how to get in there so you wouldn't break an ankle or your neck.

Since the steps have been in place the cave that side of challenge has had so much traffic it is a shame. It has been trampled and trashed by every Joe, Dick, and Harry (and their female equivalents) that can haul their sorry no-buoyancy skills ass and tanks into OG...
Getting in there was a PITA, but the cave was so much nicer...

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Not to nit pick but identifying underlying causes rather than just symptoms is what I do for a living...

You articulate the problem very well and it is not the presence or lack of steps in OG - it's the divers with no-buoyancy skills. A lack of steps may limit access to only the more dedicated sorry ass divers but the damage will still occur as more sorry assed divers are produced.

Getting in/out before the stairs was a PITA but after finding out that carrying a paralized buddy up the hill, no matter how small, was beyond my skill and strength I can never look at the stairs there as a bad thing.

Nice, wide, sturdy stairs with ramps wide enough for wheelchair races.

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Originally Posted by DA Aquamaster

the damage will still occur as more sorry assed divers are produced.

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Maybe we need to pressure the ones responsible.... just sayin'....

But it seems that usually sorry ass-no-buoyancy skills individuals are also lazy (the main reason for their poor skill set to begin with) so chances are they would not be entering there...

Dive safe,

Celia

But it seems that usually sorry ass-no-buoyancy skills individuals are also lazy

So if Idive Buford and friedman does that mean i have good skills?

I was camping at Peacock one night, and about 1am, it sounded like a war zone. People with semi automatic pistols shootin up a storm. Got up and looked around, a couple of guys were drunk off their ass, throwing beer bottles in P3, and blazing away at them.

Yeah, the good old days.

Where did Mike Bruic wind up?

I took the high dive into orange grove more than once along with the group I was diving with. Only one problem with a butt brick torn off the plate....Bet we did it 10 or 15 times the first couple of years we were cave diving...

Had to do it at Cenote Esqueleto / Temple of Doom near Tulum Mexico

The temple of doom was the highest giant stride I ever did and I was surprised how easy and enjoyable it was. But Mike sidemount seems like a bad idea for giant strides. I would do Madison in backmount. It would be fun. Has anyone did anything like giant stride with sidemount?

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Originally Posted by bullfrog

.... Has anyone did anything like giant stride with sidemount?

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Yep, I just make sure my tank necks are hard clipped first (which I do anyway when walking with the tanks).

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Originally Posted by bullfrog

Has anyone did anything like giant stride with sidemount?

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Sidemounted 108s, 2 AL40s, and my Magnus. It was only about a 6-7' drop to the water, though. Not too bad.

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Originally Posted by bullfrog

Has anyone did anything like giant stride with sidemount?

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I'm pretty sure I did one in to Peacock the weekend you showed me Waterhole III topside. Does that count?

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Originally Posted by kensuf

Where did Mike Bruic wind up?

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I was thinking of Mike too, wonder why? :roll:

Last I heard he was heading to Cuba. Never heard if he actually got there.

I was there ! !
1974-78....
We had no rules/regs/restrictions, other than our dive masters orders.....
I don't dive anymore, don't post here/anywhere, (this is my first post here = dive vicariously through you guys).....
It was great, and, never seen any emergency situations = good training .....
All those dive springs = just swimming holes at the end of dirt roads.
Just wanted to say, "Live your dream", best you can/ while you can ........
I miss it terribly ......

I never dove Buford, but Friedman is a whole other story.....ticks, worm hole entry...etc !

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Originally Posted by JE

I never dove Buford, but Friedman is a whole other story.....ticks, worm hole entry...etc !

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Man, those ticks were bad at Friedman

The flying bugs are just as bad at buford and maybe a longer walk

Wow it was really smooth how this thread resurected.

Have done the giant stride into OG from the limestone below the steps as water levels dropped. Didn't have top chokers, just bungee loops, but I wrap the valves into the creases inside my elbows. Mainly did that to give others room too gear up in the water and leave them the tank loops. Wouldn't do it from several feet up. But it was smooth.

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Originally Posted by FW

I was thinking of Mike too, wonder why? :roll:

Last I heard he was heading to Cuba. Never heard if he actually got there.

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Mmmm, I thought he went off to Canada with a mail-order Russian wife....

Dive safe,

Celia

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Originally Posted by bullfrog

Has anyone did anything like giant stride with sidemount?

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I do ten foot high strides all the time with SM AL80's. I clip them off to my chest drings first though.

I did an entry like that many moons ago when we used horsecollar BCs. I hit the water and my BC hit me in the face and bloodied me up pretty good. I surfaced just in time to stop my little brother from suffering the same fate and to ask him to retrieve my mask while I was assessing the damage to my mouth and nose!!!!

I've done it with worthington 108's. Getting them clipped while out of water kinda sucks. With lp45's it was like I barely had tanks on.

Steel tanks seem work better than AL's. More weight and rounder bottom I guess.

However, no cannonball off of OG for me.