Airman's Cave Trip #3 (4-27-02)

Well, we skipped a week of caving although I did show Sean and David the entrance to Airman's. The next weekend we actually were planning on going to Airman's but Mike Freitag said he knows of a better cave in Buda with formations and everything. So we said OK. Go here for that story. So the next weekend came and I had been calling everyone and trying to get as many people as I could together for a trip to Airman's. I ended up gettting Jim of course, Julio and Lucio (two guys I work with), Rosie (Julio's girlfriend), J.D. (Lucio's cousin), Rick Rod (a guy Mike works with who brought his video camera), and Cindy (Rick's girlfriend). So we all meet at the old 360 Greenbelt access parking lot.

We're a little early so we get our gear together. Eventually Jim shows up and then Rick and Cindy. Then we head off to the cave. Rick begins filming as we walk up. I start taking pictures as well. Lucio and J.D. check out the entrance. Jim begins explaining to Rick and Cindy about the cave. We all make sure we don't have to go to the bathroom, then we head in.

I go first. Then I tell Lucio he can come on through but before I can, he is almost right behind me! After him was Rosie who didn't have any trouble either. The Bat Waiting for the Others Rosie Coming Through the Keyhole J.D. was next, then Lucio, then Jim, then Rick and Cindy. It took a little while for everyone to get in. JD Coming Through the Keyhole Upon entering the first corridor, we found a bat hanging on the ceiling. It was real small and quivering which made it look like it was cold. I took a picture of it. When everyone got to the corridor, we were ready. So into the first crawl.

It was real slow going because we had 8 people, but it was probably better that way. Everyone had headlamps too, so that was a good thing. We actually had to hide some flashlights that Julio brought because they were just getting in the way. We got to One-Legged Man and everyone but J.D., Rosie and Lucio went around. At the Crossroads One-Legged J.D. Everyone else thought they were too big. One of these days I will try it. So we got to the Crossroads and then the 90-degree crawl, finally making it to the Aggie Art Gallery. In One-Legged Man

We rested for awhile at the gallery. My toilet was still there from last time. I tried making another sculpture but I couldn't think of anything so I just ended up making some flat man. Jim went down into William's Maze to check it out. He didn't go very far though. After about 15 minutes we left. My Sculpture In the Art Gallery The Entrance to the Aggie Art Gallery

We went through the Walking Passage which gave everyone a chance to stretch out. When we got to the beginning of Killer Crawl, everyone stopped. Only Lucio and I kept going. Inside K.C., I could barely reach around to pull out my camera to take a picture, and it turned out bad too. Finally we got to the end. Up the vertical passage and on and on until we got to Yoda's House. We finally got to the beginning of Karen's Crawl, the farthest I had been. We decided to keep going.

In the Walking Passage In the Walking Passage In the Walking Passage Karen Crawl is mostly a hands and knees crawl with some short walking passages. Along the way, we could see on the ground where people (probably the Bill Russell and Peter Sprouse crew) before us had broken through the ground to reveal a bottom passage parallel to Karen. It took about 30 minutes at most to get to Sherwood Forest.

The map looked like where we were at, so we had to be there. We went in a little ways checked it out, then decided it was time to head back. You Go Under That Rock Inside The Killer Crawl Inside Yoda's House

I don't know how long it took to get back. Maybe 1 hour to the beginning of Killer? Julio and Rosie were waiting for us there with candles lit. On the way back Julio's light went out, which wasn't good. We had an extra one for him though. Well, we finally got back and started through the keyhole. J.D. was on the other side waiting for us and helped us out. Man was I tired. I layed on the ground and rested a bit. Lucio went to go wash up down stream. We took a group picture and then headed back. The first thing we did was go get drinks. I got two 44 oz Powerades. Very refreshing.

Well, that was the 3rd time I went in. Next time we are gong for the Formation Room. If anyone has been wanting to go and thinks they can do it, email me. We should be going in about two weeks.

Lucio Karen Crawl Sherwood Forest
Sherwood Forest Julio and Rosie Rosie Coming Down from the Right Angle Crawl
Lucio Going Back through the Keyhole A Bad Picture Rosie, Julio, Lucio, Chris, JD
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