Pot Spring cave in backmount?

[allen]

Two recent posts say that the entrance to Pot Springs cave (Madison County, FL) has gotten larger. Is it now (2011) large enough for entry in backmount?

[Jerry]

No there is a large rockfall very near the entrance that requires side mount to get past.

[RN]

It always has been. The original exploration and survey was done in backmount. It will be a tight squeeze and might require a little rearrangement of sand and rocks but it shouldn't be that much of an issue.

[MedCop]

Sidemount would be best, but if you dig, scrape, fight, move rocks, etc you can do back mount.

[Kelly Jessop]

Sidemount would be the only way to avoid tearing up the cave. There are several tight areas that forcing backmount tanks through will cause damage to the limestone,plus one area that has a goethite ceiling that will permenantly damage this speleothem. I know the exploration was done on backmount,and this was in a era when there weren't 5 different manufacturers that make sidemount equipment,so there is no reason for a square peg to be forced into a round hole.

[MedCop]

Sidemount would be best, but if you dig, scrape, fight, move rocks, etc you can do back mount.

I should have made my post more clear....

You should NOT dig, scrape, fight, move rocks, etc to get into any cave in backmount. I was trying to discourage anyone from diving Pot in backmount by saying the above.

Pot is a more advanced sidemount cave, you will do nothing but destroy it trying to dive it backmount. Heck, even sidemount has an impact on the cave as the Pot system is more on the fragile side.

[RN]

Pot is definitely an advanced cave that requires the best of skills in the water. It can be done in sidemount or backmount but there are things to consider in each configuration. In backmount there are formations on the ceiling that must be watched. It's been a while since I've been there but from what I recall, the entrance didn't require any digging to get in, just the moving of some softball size or larger rocks from the floor. Nothing that was embedded, just stuff that has fallen into the entrance passage from the basin. Once inside the passages are narrow enough that any sidemount diver with less than exceptional skills will destroy the walls. The closest comparison I can think of is a smaller, narrower, more fragile Serpentine or Rocky Horror in some places. It is a soft limestone that will crumble away with the slightest touch. We don't have any authority over the location but this cave should at a minimum be an Abe Davis or Wakulla Bronze, but even that may not be enough experience. Anyone who is planning on going there please take these things into consideration. This isn't a cave to go and boost your ego in. Make sure your skills are up to the task so we can continue to enjoy this cave for many years.

[SuPrBuGmAn]

There are some arches and other features not far into the system that would be damaged in BM.

The guys who explored this in BM were not, by any means, large people in the first place. Most normal sized people, much less the typical cave diver physique, would do a terrible amount of damage at this cave in BM.




This is a SM cave, by any means, and shouldn't even be attempted by the novice SM diver.







BTW, people's cars have been getting broken into at that site recently.

[DA Aquamaster]

We've only been there once but it struck me as a very pretty cave. Some sections are rocky horror tight - but not beat to **** like rocky horror and it would be nice to keep it that way. So if you go, be honest with yourself about your skills and limitations and avoid it if your buoyancy is less than perfect and if you don't have a well developed sense of where you and your gear are located relative to the cave. Then go slow with the goal of leaving zero marks in the cave.

There are some horse trails in the area and the parking area reflects the presence of horses so watch where you step.

The general area is hunted during the fall and that may attract a different kind of local, but more traffic is probably better in terms of deterring theft whether it is hunters or horse back riders. Either way, don't bring more valuables than you have to and don't leave anything in sight.

[Kelly Jessop]

The guys who explored this in BM were not, by any means, large people in the first place.

Plus knowing them,they were not adverse to pulling off a set of 104s and pushing them in front of themselves,at least that is how they did another neighboring sink.