Silt Monsters?

[skip]

Mike and I were in Little River last month (or the one before), and took a side passage that looked interesting, but was not on any of the maps I could find after the fact. It was tiny, low and skinny, with that kind of silt angie mentioned in the manatee thread - the kind that moves when you swim over it. I later found a map online, hand-drawn by Rick Gunter.

this little mud passage is not the mud tunnel, but is to the right of the main line passage, and is either directly across and parallel to mud tunnel, or a bit further down where the mud tunnel rejoins the main line.

On this Rick map it shows "PVC Stakes" where I think this little tunnel is, or a little further along, it shows "catacombs" and somethng that looks like "the nubie pancake," which could the little tunnel I'm talking about.
The handwriting and reproduction are a bit fuzzy.

We were following the mainline, when this side hole on the right caught my eye, being small and low, then I noticed a bit of old cave line (not gold line) tied off and running back into the dark. We made the jump there, entered the hole, and it ran parallel with the main tunnel, which we could see every so often through the swiss cheese holes in the wall on our left. The bit of old cave line we followed ended and it appeared that one could wiggle through the tunnel ahead (which got way too small for backmount, or so it appeared), and rejoin the mainline. Instead of trying to wiggle on through, we turned, recovered our jump reel, and continued the dive on the mainline.

Anyone know of this little muddy tunnel where the silt undulates as you pass over (like angie was talking about in the thread on manatee), where there's barely enough room for single file backmount? In terms of penetration it's somewhere around 300 feet in, or if the second choice is the one, then it's more like 450 feet in.

I suspect the old line is an old survey line - I think I recall seeing knots tied in the line at regular intervals.

By the way, this Rick map shows a lot of stuff not on other maps -Goethite graveyard, the ganeey room, syphon tunnel, syndrome shaft, shast gut tunnel (between merry-go-round and serpintine), etc. I most likely have some of the letters in names wrong due to poor quality of the reproduction.

Anyone know what I'm talking about?

-skip

[Angie Reim]

Some yes. Some no. There are other silt monsters in Little River. Wanna share Rick's map? PM if so. I've been doing some stuff in Little River (upper 1/2) and I have heard Rick mentioned more than once as someone that did a lot of Little River stuff. Sounds like he had a good time there. Thanks for the info otherwise. More stuff the check out.

Regards,

Angie

PS. Don't mess with silt monsters unless you are very comfortable. That's the kind of stuff that gets people in trouble. I don't like silt monsters. They take many, many years to develop --- meaning dead flow areas. It's like messing with slow growing or special cave formations. Bad mojo.

[Al]

I've been doing some stuff in Little River (upper 1/2) and I have heard Rick mentioned more than once as someone that did a lot of Little River stuff. Sounds like he had a good time there.

There was a guy named Rick who worked at Rennaker's a few years ago, and he told me that he spent 5 years mapping Little River.

Yeah, that would be Rick Gunter. Beautiful map, although there is some debate as to the accuracy of some sections.

[phreaticus]

It's called "jiggle silt", btw.....sort of gelatinous until you stir it up.......which seems to only require that you look at it funny to happen...

[Gary]

Anyone know what I'm talking about?

Yes, there is/was a PVC pipe sticking up to hold the line and then a split shortly after. The left split goes sidemount, winds a short way and through a belly rub to reach a Goethite dead-end "graveyard". If instead you go strait ahead at the split it goes a several hundred feet with decent flow and actually passes underneath and behind the drop-off from 60-90' in the main passage. If you are insane it is barely posiable (sidemount/no-mount) to squeeze thru a restriction at the "end" there and up a sand slide to come back up to the 60' level back near the start of the wormhole circuit. (if you don't get buried and die in the sand slide).

[Jay]

Some inccuracies aside, Rick's is the most comprehensive map of Lil' River I have seen.

Edit: Make sure you have a good copy or an original and READ ALL the notes before you try some of these passages.

[curtschu]

Where is this map is it available anywhere? Is Rick still around?

[skip]

I downloaded the map off the internet with a bunch of others. I'll check my office computer for the url's, if I saved them. It might be a few days; I won't be back in the office again until monday.

-skip

[DeWayne]

Where is this map is it available anywhere? Is Rick still around?

Rick was living in O Brien and selling the maps directly a few years back (I think I paid $30 for my laminated copy.) Contact Cathy at DO, she's the one that got me Rick's contact info back then I believe.