T H E M.AV.EBJCK B ll l l The monthly newsletter Of The Ft. lliorth mauerick Grotto

I H E t1 A ~ E 8 f' c ~ B II l l

Copyright 2000 Maverick Grotto.

The Illauericli Bull is the monthly newsletter of the Maverick Grotto, an internal organization of the National Speleological Society (NSS G-322). fhe editor invites all individuals and other grottos to submit articles, news, maps, cartoons, art, photographs, and other two- and three-dimensional goodies. If the material is to be returned, a self-addressed stamped envelope should accompany it.

~eprintinq Rrticles: Internal organiza­tions of the National Speleological Society may reprint any item (unless copyrights belong .to the author as stated in the byline) first appearing in the Maverick Bull if proper credit is given and a complete copy of the publi­cation is delivered to the editor at the time of publication. Other organiza­tions should contact the editor of the Maverick Bull at the address herein.

Exchanqes: fhe Maverick Grotto will exchange newsletters with other grottos. Contact the editor.

Complementary Ilemsletters: fhe Maverick Grotto will provide complementary newsletters to persons or organizations that provide cave access (i.e. landowners) or otherwise provide assistance to

cavers. fhe Maverick Grotto will provide one free issue to persons interested in becoming members.

Subscription Rates: Subscription rates are $15 per year for nonmembers and free for members.

Illembership Policy: Any individual with interests, beliefs, and actions consistent with the purposes of the Maverick Grotto and the National Speleological Society is eligible for membership. Acceptance of new members is based on payment of dues and a mandatory three-trip requirement with at least three dif­ferent grotto members. These three members shall act as sponsors. At least one sponsor must attend the meeting at which the membership vote is taken. A two-thirds majority vote of the members present will be required for acceptance.

Illeetinqs: Meetings are held the second f uesday of each month at Smokey's Ribs, 5300 E. Lancaster, Fort Worth. It is located less than one mile west of Loop 820. fhe time is 7 p.m., and the food is good.

Carbide: Grotto carbide is available at the meeting if prior arrangements are made. Carbide is free for the asking. Contact Russell Hill at (817) 220-7108

or Butch Fralia at (817) 346-2039 for more information.

Library: Support your grotto library. Russell Hill is accepting books, maga­zines, and videos related to caves and caving for our library. !hanks to Russell for his efforts in transporting the library collection to meetings.

Chairman Chad Fenner 3700 Wayland Fort Worth, TX 76133 (817) 292-7722

Uice-[hairman R. D. Milhollin 3434 Daniel Dr. Arlington, TX 76014 (817) 557-3442 rdmilh@tenet.edu

SecretaryrEditor Ed Goff 737 Bizerte Ave. Dallas, IX 75224 (214) 942-6024 egoff@rice.edu

Treasurer Sharon MastbrQDk 3412 Walton Ave. Fort Worth, TX 76133 (817) 346-2039 sharbu@flash.'net

[aue Rescue Call collect (512) 686-0234

THE MAV.EBJCKB u l l

marc:h minutes Uisitors Robert· Connel

Reports from Officers Treasurer·: We have $2,340.45.

Nf:ed programs and trip reports.

Rnnounc:ements Contrary to last month's announce­

ment, there will be no scuba show

featuring a safe-cave-diving exhibit.

Old business .. , There was a brief discussion of

Kendall County, where a steering

committee is trying to come up with

new ways of helping cavers.

new business R. D. suggested developing a meeting

The Pu22led [au er B11 [had Fenner

Last month's winner was Sharon

Mastbrook. She correctly figured

out that the hidden answer was

"Caving is li'ke a stroll in the dark."

As before, the first person to tell

me the answer to this month's

puzzle w[ll be so noted in next

month's newsletter:

Rpril 2000

contingency plan in case Smokies

does decide to close earlier.

Rites of Spring will be April 22 at

Jay and Shelia's. Coordinate

potluck food with James Savage.

Trip reports All participants enjoyed Karen

Perry's trip to McKittrick Hill.

R. D., Wayne, Jesus, James

Savage, and others went to

Slaughter Canyon, Helen's, and Wen.

R. D. and others went to Neel's.

Upcoming: Butch is still digging

himself a cave in Palo Pinto County.

Chad, Ed, Angela, and Shanon

are headed south to Mexico in April.

Karen is setting up a trip to Wind

on NM BLM land.

Proijram R. D. had the tv safely locked in his

truck-along with his keys. So an

Word ~umble Unscramble the following words, then use the circled letttls to solve

/\

the puzzle

1 s 1-r r~ ~ "'1 l.1 T~ 1 r. 1 jTTAA,,,SLC

I ~lo l~tl EPRO

impromptu demonstration of alter­

native automotive entry techniques

was given by visiting locksmith

Robert Connel. Sign this guy up! We

need members with skills like this.

Rpril meeting The next meeting will be Tuesday,

April 11, at Smokey's Ribs, 5300

Lancaster, at 7 p.m. The program

will be the first half of a video on

Movile Cave, Romania. (Second half

will be shown in May.) -

Ed-itor's blitherings We had an amazing amount of mater­

ial submitted for the Bull this month,

by several different folks. First time

ever I've had more than I could print in

one issue. This is great! Keep it up. -

Always gets cavers down.

Answer: (l)(D(l)(E)@@®@G)

j f: (\ 'f f Li. e Pa1Je J

T H E M A v E R f c K B ll l l

A calcium-laden stream cascades through the karst mountains of western Thailand.

Karst Paradise Cauing in Thailand B11 Tro11 Shelton

On March 11, 2000, I departed on an am­

bitious trip to Southeast Asia. I was

part of a group from Dallas that was

traveling to Thailand primarily for a live­

aboard scuba-diving nip into the Indian

Ocean's Andaman Sea, which is located

off the western coast of the Thai-Malay

peninsula. However, I also knew that

Thailand has many karst areas, so I was

looking forward to getting out in the

country as much as possible -ro visit

caves.

Having spent all the time we could

stand in Bangkok, Clay Dobson and I

rented a car to escape the city. Now let

me tell you, the traffic in Bangkok is

without a doubt the most insane, life­

threatening stuff you have ever seen.

Luckily, years of driving through Metro­

plex rush hour had prepared us well for

the challenges tha-t lay ahead. The

rental car company brought the car to

our hotel, and Clay completed the paper­

work in the lobby. Our mission was to

successfully find our way out of the city,

head northwest to national parks, go caving and hiking, then find our way back

to the hotel in three days. If you had

been witnessing the chaos that takes

place on the streets of Bangkok every

day, you would have been terrified at

these prospects. Rarely does any for-

eign tourist undertake such a daunting

task. But we're travelers, not tourists.

While Clay was getting a fitting for

the custom tailored suits he had made

(a common pastime for visitors to

Bangkok), I turned my attention to

speaking to as many of the hotel staff

as I could about how to get to Kan­

chanaburi. As luck would have it, our ho­

tel was strategically placed to make a

daring exit from the city. We simply had

to make a left out of the parking garage,

a right on the main street going over the

river, then a right at the next major in­

tersection, and that would get us to

T askin Circle. At T askin Circle, providing

you turned off onto the correct spoke,

we would find ourselves on the road that

ultimately turns into the westbound

highway.

Rpril 2000

THE MAV.EBJCKB u LL

With Clay at wheel, and me navigating,

we made it to T askin Circle, easily identi­

fiable by the huge statue of King T askin

in the middle. It is one of those great

circles that you find in foreign cities like

the end of the Champs-Elysees sur­

rounding the Arc de T riomphe in Paris.

We had the easy left turn to take; they

drive on the opposite side of the road

there. Once on Phetkasem Road, the real

test began, as Clay took on the local dri­

vers like he was in a NASCAR race. We

battled for our pole position on the six

lanes of divided avenue. Motorcycles

would squeeze through the tight spaces

between the sides of our car. and the

side mirrors kept getting pushed in. We

finally figured out that they were de­

signed to easily snap back out of the

way on impact, then there was a conve­

nient electrical switch you pushed to pop

them back out. Otherwise, they would

just get broken pretty much as soon as

the car left the showroom.

We slowiy ieft -che ciaus-crophobic

chokehold of the city, and started to see

the countryside. I was finally getting to

see the real Thailand. We passed ex­

panses of rice patties, banana planta­

tions, and palm trees. Sugarcane fields

and cactus farms quickly made me for­

get the horrors of the city. For the first

time in days, I breathed fresh air.

Our first stop was the town of Kan­

chanaburi, to see the infamous bridge

over the river Khwae. Contrary to what

was depicted in the movie, it's made of

concrete pillars that were brought from

Java and reassembled on-site, with steel

trestle spans. Bombed several times

during the war, it was rebuilt after the

war again. The real story is not about

building this one bridge, but about how

the entire Japanese Thai-Burma railway

was constructed by allied prisoners of

war during World War II, and by local la­

t7orers pressed into service. So many

people succumbed to the tropical heat,

diseases, and abuse from the Japanese

that it's known as the "Death Railway."

Rpril 2000

An estimated 16,000 prisoners of war

and 49,000 conscripts died during the

construction of the bridge and railway.

We continued on North, entering the

mountainous cave-bearing zone, just as

the sun was setting.

We were heading into an area of high

mountains that are known as the Ta­

Nao-Si Range. These mountains form the

western border of Thailand with Myan­

mar (Burma). Two great rivers, the

Khwae Noi and Khwae Yai, flow through

the mountains, eventually joining and

forming the Mae-Klang River. The moun­

tains consist of limestone, and the

rivers have carved great karst valleys.

They are absolutely loaded with wonder­

ful caves, unpolluted streams, and wa­

terfalls. There are a number of national

parks in this area, and we were primarily

going to be spending our time at Erawan

and Sai-Yok national parks.

We reached Erawan National Park

well after the closing time. We made it

through a couple of checkpoints, but fi­

nally were stopped at the final parking

area. There were no campsites or cabins

available, so we backtracked to the

Erawan Guest House. We rented a

sparse but clean bungalow for 1000

Baht-about US$26, and then went

across the road to join all the families

feasting on fried chicken's feet at the

local eatery.

We woke up early, and immediately

headed for a cave. Our first destination

was Phratat Cave, about 10 kilometers

up into the mountains. The mountains

were shrouded in mist, and as we climbed

higher, a layer of fog nestled down below

us, wrapping itself around the valley like

a river.Towering karst peaks poked out

of the shroud like islands suspended in

the clouds. We made 1t to the ranger

station t7elow the cave at a very re­

spectable 8:30 a.m. We paid 20B at the

nut, and a guine began escorting us up

the steep and rocky trail.

We hiked through a classic Southeast

i Asian alpine bamboo forest, to the

sounds of strange birds and cicadas.

After about an 800-meter climb, we

reached the impressive entrance. Large

formations bordered either side of a

large slotted entrance. It reminded me of

a Guads entrance in a way, yet there

was a markedly different feeling due to

the surrounding tropical vegetation. Our

guide lit a kerosene lantern, and we de­

scended into the cave.

Immediately, large formations and

beautiful decorations came into view,

and I knew that I was not going to be dis­

appointed. Cascading crystal frozen

waterfalls sparkled in our lights. The

Sai-Yok limestone formation is an ex­

tremely beautiful dark gray color with

white bands, giving it a marble like ap­

pearance. We entered into a giant room,

The hike to Phratat Cave

Paqe 5

I HE MAV.EBJCK B II 1 1

and I stood there breathless. The only

other time I have ever been in a larger

room was in Carlsbad Caverns. The ceil­

ing was perhaps 250-350 feet above our

heads. Massive columns lined the walls.

I saw without a doubt, the largest

stalactite of my life, perhaps 45-60

feet around. Huge fallen stalactites

were lying on their sides, and they still

towered above our heads as we stood

beside them.

This cave has it all: rimstone, flow­

stone, crystals. stalagmites. stalac­

tites, bacon, and draperies-you name

it. All were represented and in abun­

dance. We entered into another room

where huge t7ats were flying around and hanging on the walls. The Great Green

Leaf bats appeared as large as fruit

Fallen stalactite in Phratat Cave

bats, but since they were living in a cave.

I suspect that they are insectivorous.

Clay remarked that they were as big as

cats. I was taking lots of photos, using

our guide and his lantern as a light

source. We spent about 11/2 hours gaping at the marvels, then exited to the mid­

morning sun. The

hike back down

the hill was

much easier. I

got this feeling

tf1a-r; we were

going to spend a

lot of time hiking

up and down hills

over the next

couple of days.

Entrance of Phratat Cave at the top of the 800-meter climb

As we drove

back down the

mountain, I no­

ticed that what I

had thought had

been fog hanging

in a valley, had

really been a gi­

ant lake covered

in mist. Just up­

stream from the

park entrance

lies the Si

Nakharin Dam,

an impressive

hydroelectric

power plant

project. The

monstrous

Pa[Je &

Just an easy stroll to the entrance ...

300-foot high concrete dam impounds

the Khwae Yai River, forming the vast Srinakarin Reservoir. We had seen none

of this the night before, nor had I real­

ized that this giant lake was even there.

We parked our car in the parking lot near

the visitor center and spent; a few min­

utes looking around before our hike up to

the falls.

Erawan Falls formed as a large

stream flows down the side of the

mountain to the river. The stream would

be classifieJ as a large .-iveo- in Texas.

You reach seven different levels as you

hike steeply upward. The stream is

highly charged with calcite and as you

go higher, the water becomes more

milky blue. Massive travertine dams

have formed the dramatic waterfall

zones. Think about Oklahoma's Honey

Creek flowing through the Arbuckles on

its way to Turner Falls, and multiply it

tenfold.

The lower levels were shrouded by the

jungle and had monkeys playing in the

trees. We stopped several times at deep

swimming holes created by the continu­

ous plunging of the water over the

travertine dams. I climbed up under the

falls into the outdoor cave rooms formed

by the travertine. The water came thun­

dering down around me, and I let it pound

into my neck and shoulders. It was very

invigorating and relaxing. Clay tried to

touch bottom, bur could find no end to

the abyss.

At the end of the trail, you reach the

Rpril 2000

Tu E MA-V.EBfCK B n I I

Map-sign of Erawan National Park

highest pool. Here the water is so heavily

charged with calcite that is has turned

to the color of cream. We were now above

the jungle, and the whole area was com­

pletely bathed in sunshine. Before me

was a tall, narrow travertine canyon,

with perhaps 200-foot-high walls. It ap­

pears that at different times during the

millennia, water had cascaded down at

various points around the canyon, leav­

ing huge sheets of flowstone/travertine.

It was like an immense outdoor cavern,

with a giant amphitheater filled by the

sound of rushing water.

After the end of the long hike down,

Diagram showing elevation of cave entrance

we went back to the outstanding Thai­

food restaurant we had eaten at the

night before. For about US$1.50 a plate,

we had some of the best chicken with

cashews and pork-fried rice you could

ever hope to find. After consuming about

six plates between the two of us, we bid

goodbye to our hosts. We attempted to

drive north to the end of road, where

supposedly you could take a boat ride to

a tall waterfall dumping into the lake. We

pulled into a little village where we were

surprised to find a ferry.

Confused as to where the ferry was

going, we continued on. It turned out

One of many impressive formations in Phrarat Cave, Erawan National Park

Hpril 2000

Marbled Sai-Yok limestone

that the ferry was circumventing a sec­

tion of road that wrapped around a long

finger of the lake. The road quickly evapo­

rated into a construction zone, then just

deteriorated into a wagon road. Clay was

hauling ass trying to beat the sun (we

had no chance). and SLAM, we crashed

into a crater hole, immediately trashing

the tire. This was finally our signal to

turn around and head toward the other

park. We changed the tire as the sun

sank down into the lake.

We stopped at a small town south of

where we spent the night. and they had

a more detailed map on the wall than

the one we were looking at in the car. It

showed a provincial road crossing the

mountain range sooner than we had ex­

pected. I thought we were going to have

to drive most of way back to Kan­

chanaburi, but we now had our eyes

open for the shortcut. We turned off

the main road and made our way west

on a road that cut through one of the

few passes in the mountain range. We

had to be especially careful after we

saw the elephant-crossing sign,

because just like Texas deer, you've got

to be more careful about hitting an ele­

phant at night.

Editor's Note: Join us next time as

Clay and Tray explore Sai-Yok National

Park, meet Mr. Sum Lee-famous Thai

cave guide-take a ride downstream on

the Khwae Noi River to visit Lawa Cave,

and listen for the ghosts of Japanese

soldiers in Kaew Cave. '*'

Paue 7

THE MA.VEBfCKB n 11

To the bat c:aue B11 firanuille Greene

Reprinted with permission of the author

The Texas Hill Country is well-known as

a spring destination for Mexican free­tail bats, with more than 100 million of them roosting in the area's limestone

caves, under bridges, and in parking garages. Now the bats have been given a new roost, Texas-style, by J. David Bamberger, a lontime trustee of Bat Conservation International. The former chief executive officer of Church's

Chicken spent $250,000 building the world's largest man-made bat cave on his 5,000-acre ranch outside of John­

son City. Bamberger constructed the 8,000-

square-foot cave, which he describes as a "chiroptodum" (b,;it auditorium),

to give bats a safe home where re­searchers can study them in a con­

trolled environment. The ingeniously executed artificial habitat looks like a cross between an adobe igloo and a Star Trek set. Its three interconnect­ing, domed chambers are covered with Gunite, a swimming-pool coating with a nubby texture that's easy for bats to cling to, and the floor is strewn with fresh bat droppings, which act as a welcome mat of sorts. Not the kind of gift you'd want on your pillow, but the bats like it. They've already started to

move in, and there's room for more than a million more.

The cave is open to the public, but by appointment only. To arrange a visit, or for further information, write to J. David Bamberger at the Selah Bamberger Ranch, Route 1, Box 102, Johnson City, Texas 78636. '*'

A 1998 BC! story on the cave is on­line at: http://www.batcon.org/ batsmag/v15n4-4.html.

Page 8

An American-Statesman article is

at: http://wingedmammal.com/ Chiroptorium.htm.

[BSP find? B11 R. D. ffiilhollin

Last month Ed Young, former ranger

and cave guide at Colorado Bend State

Park, began to explore for new passage

in Gorman Cave. Assisted by a few

cavers who had participated in the

monthly project at the park, Ed placed

bolts in an upper area of the main pas­

sage before the "Sig­

nature Room" and

looked into new areas

situated about 30

feet higher than the

main Dassavie, and .. I --'

was able to see into

what appears to be going passage. The

area he was working

was very muddy with a

thick coating of clay­

like consistency, so all

equipment came down

badly needing a bath.

He hopes to return to complete the bolt

placements next

month, and see ifthe

passage continues. I

had hoped to get

some photos of this

work, and had a per­

fect shot, but the trusty sherpas carry­

ing the strobes

decided to leave

the park early and

forgot to return

the strobes. These

pictures are from Ed's wife's digital cam­

era. '*'

Palo Pinto dig B11 Butch Fralia

Laurie Moseley, an anthropologist, and

Dan Potter, from the Texas Historical

Society, have visited the site. They ex­

amined the bones (also had a dentist

look at the jaw) and determined they're

from a male, 20-22 years old. One wis­

dom tooth was inverted 180 degrees

suggesting a toothache. Preliminary es­

timates of age are 2,000-4,000 years.

They are backed up by a group of sci­

entists from around the state and have

sent the bones to San Marcos to the

university forensic anthropology lab. At­

tempts will be made to determine age

and other information. After study,

they will be returned to the landowner.

They also assured the landowner that in

Texas, a\I such rcrriains fout;d on his

property belong to him.

They also contacted an Austin caver

and archaeologist, Logan McNatt,

about visiting the site. They were not

comfortable in entering the pit where

the bones were found. Logan was an in­

dependent archaeologist until accept­

ing a position with Texas Parks and

Wildlife. He complains that it cramps his

caving style because of its structured

schedules. He's used to caving and

working in places like Belize. Logan is

highly qualified and spent most of his

career doing field work. However, a

schedule that works for him and us has

not been worked out. He may look into

having someone local examine the hole.

Future trips will see cavers digging

and anthropologists screening and ex­

amining what comes out of the hole. As

the landowner puts it, "This will probably

be the only time in my lifetime that I can

be involved in something like this." '*'

Hpril 2000

T H E M A. V E B J1 C K B n 1 1 B-9 Hpril 2000, [olorado Bend State Park Project. Contact Terry Holsinger (512) 443-4241, trhli@sprynet.com

15-16 Hpril 2000, Hanel] Creek Caue, [omal and Rendall Counties, TR. Tentative date, surveyors needed. Contact Kurt Menking (210) 654-3014, kmenking@bcad.org

15-23 Hpril 2000, San Luis Potosi, me:Kico, qrotto trip. Contact Ed Goff (214) 942-6024, egoff@rice.edu

22 Hpril 2000, IIJind Caue, nm, qrotto trip. Contact Karen Perry rodp@swbell.net

29-30 Hpril 2000, Hiqh Guads Restoration Project. nm. Contact David Jagnow. (505) 332-4452, david@jagnow.com

5-7 mal] 2000, TSH [onuention, John HnoR Ranch, Fisher, TR. Look for details at www.caver.net/tsa.

13-14 malj 2000, Colorado Bend State Park Project. Contact Terry Holsinger (512) 443-4241, trhli@sprynet.com

27-29 malJ 2000, Hiqh Guads Restoration Project, nm. Contact David Jagnow. (505) 332-4452, david@jagnow.com

27-29 malJ 2000, U-9 IIJell Project, Crockett Co., TR. Contact Walter Feaster (915) 694-1824, waltfeast@marshill.com

Late June 2000, THG qrotto trip. Contact Michael Coulter camelot@wf.net

26-30 June 2000, nSS Conuention, Elkins, IIJU. Contact Kelley L. [)eem (304) 725-9812, deem@mammoth-geo.com

2-6 Juh12000. Small Partl] Self Rescue Course, Greenbriar [ountu, IIJU. Contact Joe Ivy (512) 292-1878, joeivy@interserv.com