Vince, Nick, Brockers, Jake, and Tav
The team assembled and all underground, digging today in the NE extent, in the AUD area. It was my turn to dig supported by Nick (who also was digging as there is plenty of space!), Jake was top of the slope hauling up the bags. Brockers and Tav were filling a few bags in Can of Worms (10no.).
I hadn’t been digging very long when a small hole was punctured through the thin calcite layer than formed the roof of the current dig. The ‘hole’ was expanded to allow my head to poke through and see whereabouts we were in AUD and then, satisfied with where we were the hole was made large enough to pass through into the passage beyond. The team all came forward to have a look, Jake and Brockers went to look at the rift at the far extent of An Unexpected Development. This part of the cave is seldomly visited.
Digging then continued, initially clearing the debris from the access route. Then worked around a large ‘stal’ boss and lowering the floor by digging the accumulation of ‘trampled’ sediment thereby creating more space to work in. It appears there are several phases of ‘open and closed’ passages separated by calcite flowstone (false floors) and sediment infill, these processes occurring over an unknown time span. Meanwhile, Nick was paying particular attention to a ‘lower’ false floor (?) and had pried loose some fragments calcite layering. Although the last bag of spoil had been filled, we could not leave the ‘wobbly’ rock so combined our efforts to remove it. It was past midday and time to clear spoil from the cave to the surface. Today, 64 bags were filled, hauled, and emptied, plus a few rocks, and another ‘hole in the floor’ or roof depending which side you are on!
To the Hunters’ for some refreshments!