Vince, Jake, Brockers, Jon and Nick.
Following a brief discussion during the mid-week, we had made the decision to cross to the other side and revisit “An Unexpected Development” for a change of scenery and while it is still dry in the cave. I had packed a bag with ladder, rope, slings, and carabiners necessary for descending the rift.
So off we went. It was interesting along the way to find that a thin layer of calcite had been precipitated onto the floor and walls of the passage indicating that the water has a high level of carbonate in solution. Also noted were lots of moth and large fly wings scattered on the floor.
In “An Unexpected Development” the rift was rigged, and we all descended to the bottom. The tools that had been left there were collected together and the skips, these were hauled up the rift to be taken out ready for use elsewhere. A climb at the bottom of the rift up through jammed boulders of fractured calcite was completed, this led nowhere. The rift tidy we made our way back up and out.
On the way we stopped to look at some potential leads that had been overlooked when we had broken through in the extensions. At least two of them warrant closer attention and we plan to return to follow them up. A change is as good as a rest and so we will leave the Cold Gnarly North and do something different, for a while. Our prodding added about 10m to the length of this area. It had been a pleasant foray to the east-side.