Smoke Hole in WV

[FW]

...So I could dive the spring solo. But it would still be more fun with Forrest.

I hate to break this to you, but anytime I am going into an unexplored spring, I always do the first dive solo. If it is big enough, then I will do the rest with a buddy. No point in getting two people stuck.

[Squirrel Girl]

I hate to break this to you, but anytime I am going into an unexplored spring, I always do the first dive solo. If it is big enough, then I will do the rest with a buddy. No point in getting two people stuck.

Oh, I was thinking they probably would be solo dives. But this way there's someone around to fetch the other person's gear, should it come to that.

[FW]

Oh, I was thinking they probably would be solo dives. But this way there's someone around to fetch the other person's gear, should it come to that.

And/or rescue them

[Squirrel Girl]

And/or rescue them

If only...

[MichaelAngelo]

I hate to break this to you, but anytime I am going into an unexplored spring, I always do the first dive solo. If it is big enough, then I will do the rest with a buddy. No point in getting two people stuck.

Send me in first then you'd know two people will fit.

[Sludge]

Send me in first then you'd know two people will fit.

Or send me. If I can go through it, six of you folks can go simultaneously.

[FW]

Send me in first then you'd know two people will fit.

I dunno MA. I don't think two divers can fit through the entrance restriction at Cow, or the one at the bottom of the pit at Canonball

[MichaelAngelo]

I dunno MA. I don't think two divers can fit through the entrance restriction at Cow, or the one at the bottom of the pit at Canonball

or rock bluff.

[FW]

or rock bluff.

I forgot that one. You would make a terrible test dummy for entrance size

[firemedic1015]

With work commitments completed early and scattered thunderstorms ruining my plan of mowing the grass, I found myself with a free afternoon. In need of something to do, I set out to take a look at Trout Rocks Spring in the Smoke Hole area of Pendleton County WV. After a leisurely drive over Rt 33 through Franklin and the picturesque Germany Valley I found myself passing Seneca Rocks and had soon arrived at the reported location of the spring. There, on the side of Rt 28/55 I found two gravel parking areas on the banks of the North Fork, South Branch of the Potomac River that made for convenient parking.

Located in a narrow river valley to the northeast of Skidmore Mountain, north of the historic Champe Rocks the area of the spring is strikingly beautiful and appears to lend itself well to cave formation. Stratigraphically the area is comprised of Devonian aged, Helderberg Group Limestone that underlies a cap of Ridgeley (Oriskany) Sandstone also of the Devonian period. Tuscarora Sandstone outcroppings in a near vertical orientation cap the high exposed ridgelines to create the Seneca and Champe Rocks formations nearby.

According to the Springs of West Virginia, Trout Rocks Springs “has a measured discharge of 650 gallons per minute” making it a large spring. That publication also says: “…the spring is at or near water level on the right bank of the river. The temperature data would suggest that at least part of the water emerging at the spring may be river water.”

After entering the coordinates into my hand held GPS I set off to locate the spring and formulate a plan for laying hundreds of feet of line in what I was certain would be virgin passage. My search initially took me upstream in the river, carefully searching the river banks for any sign of a spring, spring run or surface boil. Finding none, I followed the GPS to the exact location of the coordinates which is in the center of the roadway. Carefully checking the road ditches proved to be equally futile, but I did notice an unfamiliar icon on my GPS screen ~ 300’ south of my location. Closer examination revealed that the mapping software in the GPS actually listed Trout Rocks Spring. This new bit of information got my hopes up thinking that I just needed to search a little further south. When I arrived at that location, I again found nothing that resembled a spring so I widened my search area. I looked up and down the roadway and then returned to the river to continue searching but found nothing. I did locate Canoe Shelter Cave, which is really just an alcove in a rock abutment at the river waterline with about 15’ of length and 8’ of height above the waterline.

Thinking I must be missing something, I carefully rechecked the area and then asked two fishermen who were passing by if they had any information about a spring in the area. Despite reporting that they lived locally, they were unaware of any spring on that section of the river. I thought maybe I should poke around in a deep(er) hole that I located on river left near the coordinates listed on my map so I donned a mask and plunged into the chilly water to look for any sort of spring vent but found none. While I was wet I also took a look around in the Canoe Shelter Cave and was unable to locate any passage. This was the first time in my cave diving career that a snorkel would have been useful.

To gain perspective on how much water I was looking for relative to the river I calculated it’s flow at ~ 120 cfs. (I later checked the USGS stream flow database which indicated ~98 cfs at Cabins WV at the time, not too far off for a field swag) A little quick arithmetic revealed that 650 gpm as noted in the Springs of West Virginia was only 1.44 cfs. Not much water to be searching for, even in this small river.

Ultimately, I didn’t locate the spring, or Canoe Cave, which is listed as being within yards of the spring. The only thing that I did locate, that even comes close to a spring, was a wet rock outcropping between the two sets of coordinates. In my mind the only real unchecked area is atop the rock bluff that makes up the road cut to the south west. I would have climbed up there and taken a look if I wasn’t lacking the proper foot wear for rock scrambling. I wouldn’t let my failure stop anyone else from taking a look to see what you can find. Someone better prepared for climbing around and bush whacking in the vegetation may locate the spring but I doubt that it is large enough to dive if found.

As an afterthought, it may be worth checking further south of the coordinates. I went at least 150 yards south of the southern coordinates but they could be off a bit.

-Zeb

Coordinates as listed by Danseur:

38.92655 N
-079.30933 W

Coordinates listed in my GPS:

38.92494 N
-079.30828 W

Pictures to follow as soon as I figure out how to use the gallery