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SERA Cave Carnival 2002 By Bill Walker This year's SERA was hosted by the Smokey Mountain Grotto and was held in Jamestown, TN. I drove up on Thursday night with my daughter Caitlyn, Adam Scherer, and the Roberts -Sean, Becky, and Brandon. Driving all night, we made it to South Fork Stables about 5:30 in the morning. We parked in Vendor row to get some shut eye, so Adam and I threw a tarp down next to the truck and went to sleep. A few minutes after I lay down, a certain little girl was standing next to me, wide awake. She had slept all night in the back seat and was hungry, thirsty, and wide awake, so we took a walk around the campground as the sun came up. It was a really beautiful morning, but that wouldn't last for long. After everyone woke up we searched for a suitable campsite and ran into Brian Houha who had arrived a day or two earlier. We set up camp and Chrissy and Carla showed up. Then God opened up the skys and it started to rain. About 10am Charles Gibbs arrived with his son Chris. We set up a trip for Buffalo Cove and everyone jumped in their vehicles and took off. According to the topo, Buffalo Cove was less than a mile away, but we had to drive 5 miles into Jamestown and all the way back down the mountain to get to it. Charles drove his jeep so a few fortunate souls didn't have to walk the ½ mile in the rain from the parking area. The cave wasn't bad, but I don't think anyone was too thrilled with it. Sean and I go caving in TAG at least once a month, so we are becoming jaded. It's sad, but it really takes a lot to impress us now. After leaving Buffalo Cove, we drove up to Charles' cabin a few miles away and his wife had dinner waiting for all of us. The Gibbs have a beautiful Victorian style cabin on the edge of the plateau. Charles is really into wood working and has built most of the house himself with timber from his property. He even has the different types of wood labeled. The Roberts stayed at the Gibbs' house that night because their tent was flooded and their sleeping bags were soaked. We got back to camp and it started to rain again. I think the vendors were getting a little ticked off at the rain and the low turn out. There were several times that weekend when I really wanted to spend my money, but all the vendors were closed. Friday
Saturday we hooked up with Nate, Sarah, and Sequoia. They had done Buffalo Cove the previous day, but for some reason we didn't run into them until Saturday. We all decided to do Xanadu, the third longest cave in Tennessee. It started to pour. Xanadu is on the campground property, but off course like everything else, it is very remote. We drove down an old logging road, past the normal parking area and scores of soaking wet cavers walking to the cave. We drove about a mile downhill on some really slick clay. The second parking area we came to was situated just before the trail starts heading down the mountain. I attempted a three point turn and wound up sliding sideways for about 20 feet until I "parked" the Xterra in the bushes. It would be interesting getting out. We had been forewarned about the "hell walk" to the cave. To get to Xanadu, you have to walk all the way down the mountain and a little ways back up another ridge. This turns out to be about 1 ¾ miles and about 1000 feet of vertical relief. This is by far the worst death march in all of TAG. Did I mention it was pouring? I was really surprised by how well the kids did, though. Caitlyn(7) and Sequoia(6) didn't complain very much. Xanadu is a cool cave and the famous Sand Hills are very impressive. The main canyon passage snakes through the mountain interrupted by 13 huge, vertical piles of rock and sand. The ceiling of the passage reaches up to 110' high in spots. Check out the seventh picture below for a representation of the height of the passage. This picture is actually taken from the top of one of the smaller hills. Caitlyn did very well, this being her second trip to TAG. She impressed a lot of people with her abilities. She is really learning how to climb and handle herself in caves. She didn't want to hang out with her dad though; she stayed close to her two girlfriends Chrissy and Carla. Xanadu was basically closed on Friday, so I think most of SERA showed up on Saturday. Sean took a timed exposure (pic #8) of the herd moving through the cave. I would guess that there were well over 100 people in the cave that day. Half of our group did a through trip while the other half turned around at a difficult climb up. Sean took his crew back through so that he could break off from our group and take some photos. The trip back up the mountain was quite interesting. I didn't have the least bit of trouble with it because I'm in fantastic physical condition, but everyone else complained the whole way. (Yeah, whatever. I think I broke down crying three or four times.) Saturday
Most everyone left on Sunday, but The Roberts and the Gibbs family went caving in Kentucky. The first set of pictures is from Jerusalem cave. Notice the natural bridge entrance. The second set of pictures is from Blowing Cave. Sean said that the wind coming out of the entrance was shaking the trees in the cove. Charles told him, "Yeah, it's not really blowing that much today." Not too many people know of Blowing, so the cave is in excellent shape and the formations are pristine. Check the size of the passage in the last picture of the bunch; it's huge. Sunday
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