With Jon, Nick, Jake, and Mike
The bags left hanging on the lines had dried very well and were shaken free of sediment and bundled up to be stored underground – Jake estimates there are about 380 bags now available for refilling, probably not in a single session though!
Jon was main digger for today and he led the way to the northeast and the area of An Unexpected Development with Nick assisting at the dig site. Jake hauled the spoil up the slope and Mike moved it across the chamber to the ‘hump’, I was on the other side puling the spoil across. A positional shift enabled the spoil to be moved to the bottom of the pot. And so, it continued. When a suitable pile dad accrued at the bottom of the pot another shift in positions the spoil was hauled out of the pot to the base of the entrance. Then back to clear the next pile of bags and rock. A time check and a decision to stop digging at midday and get the spoil cleared from the cave.
A total of 74 bags were filled, hauled, and emptied plus another 4 skip loads of rocks added to the spoil heap wall extension. It had been very dry underground today and the skip-runs all required the addition of water to enable the skips to move more freely. It was warm too.
Well deserved refreshments were enjoyed, as usual, at the Hunters’ Lodge Inn.