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A JUNE TAG TRIP "Yes R.D., there's rattlesnakes on Sand Mountain." Brian Williams and Caren Beck ( Part 3) The next day was Monday and we thought it would be a good day to introduce the Vinzants to our old friend "Tumblin' Rock". Unfortunately, after the long drive over there we found no one home to let us in. Back-up plans were kicking in and we headed out of Scottsboro to Secret Pit and Kennamer Cave. Having been there before we knew where Kennamer was located but we had to do a little hiking to find Secret Pit. We did find it eventually. OK, we huffed and puffed our way up the side of the mountain till Matt located the pit. Really it was easy, just like RD said. "You just walk back from where you park, angle up the mountain a little ways....and there it is! You can't miss it!" This was a fun, classic TAG 155 foot pit. I enjoyed my climb with the frog since I was constantly serenaded by Woody and Brian as they sang, "‘She's a frogging machine" to the tune Dancing Queen. When they started singing, "She's Got Friends in Low Places"... I knew it had to get my ropewalker working! Next up was Brian and he knew I loved him when he realized I had made sure the rope pad was in place before he climbed. I think he had a bad climb as he was haunted with visions of severing the rope on a rock every time he took a stride. He even climbed slower... just in case! Everyone made it out and we headed back down the hill to the trucks to drop off vertical and gear up for a thru trip in Kennamer. Of course we never checked the bottom entrance to see if it was sumped or not. Here is a bit of advice, check it out BEFORE you get in the cave for the thru trip... oops. Onward we trekked through the cave wondering if with all the recent rains we would find the Orgie entrance sumped and have to back-track to the main entrance. That is a LONG way back with lots of CLIMBING! At least when we entered the cave it was sunny and dry! Surely it will stay that way! (yeah, right.) So we kept going. Just as I remembered Kennamer, there were good formations and some good passage and some brutal passage. There were some interesting conglomerate formations and some neat ceiling covered with orange stalactites that reminded us of what Woody's throat must look like when he wakes up in the morning. When we finally got down the last drop and made it to the stream exit, things got messy. The water was definitely up, not good, and it smelled, really bad (who let that cow in here!). It sure does looked sumped, not good. As the passage narrowed to a pancake squeeze Brian and I continued to try to find light and the rest of the group rested. Brian quickly passed on ahead of me as I picked my way through the biggest part of the small passage. Sully continued searching the waters edge hoping for a break. After some time I heard a heavy sounding body making its way back towards the group. It was Brian. I prayed he would have good news. Alas he did! And there was a victorious "Woo Loo Loo" sounded through the cold wet crawlway. (translated that means "Praise the Lord, I've found the way out"). We made it out just as the last bit of light disappeared. It was a completely different world compared to the one we had left as we entered the cave a few hours ago. We left a dusty hot dry world and this one was steamy muggy and wet! We washed off our muddy clothes and gear in a stream bed rock puddle like little birds enjoying a midnight bath. When we got back to the cars we realized that the solid looking ground our vehicles were parked on had recently turned to slush. In the process of getting out we ended up getting a little muddy again. Oh well, it's the usual state of affairs when you go to TAG. Ate at a Huddle House for a lack of anything better... "note to self... stick to the breakfast menu"! Tuesday we ridge-walked Sand Mountain and poked into a few holes and pits up there. While looking for a lead RD had an unexpected near miss experience with a local Timber Rattlesnake. We were expecting it, since he claimed that he NEVER saw them around here.
Brian and Sully had to move a few rocks and do a little digging to coax the snake out of its hiding place under a rock ledge for a brief photo session. Sully had fun holding the snake too (he didn't have much choice when Brian said, "here, hold this while I take a picture). After that little bit of excitement, we all dug on RD's lead which was only about 500ft up the mountain from the TAG house. It was amazing to see those guys moving these huge 800 pound boulders! After most of the day digging it looked better, but there was still water almost sumping the entrance. A steady stream of cool air came from a small opening. We didn't get in that day but we did get our share of ticks and poison ivy for a while.. and your share too probably. I'm still itching a week later! It started raining in the evening and looked pretty grim for doing wet caves in the area. After racking our brains for a cave to visit, we decided that the wimpy Becks would be happiest lounging at the TAG house and that the Vinzant - Williams boys would be happiest looking for snakes in their cool rapster punk rain gear (see Hoopties photo). After they returned it was dark and they STILL hadn't had enough adventure for one day! So off to Tally Cave they went (I think Brian was awake but he didn't look it). I heard that cave was a pretty odiferous one, at least it was while they were there, so I'm not sad to say I slept through the whole stinking ordeal! Inside the cave, they climbed down a ladder they called the "Jesus ladder". Because when Andy climbed down it, it pulled away from the wall and Andy yelled "JESUS!!!". That made a good laugh for the rest of the group. The cave ended up being much longer than originally planned. In one small passage an unfortunate little bat got caught between several of the guys. There wasn't enough room for the team to move out of the way. The panicked little bat hit Woody in the face, nicked Andy's head and then flew between Brian's legs as he crawled through the water. You could hear the laughter echo throughout the cave. Wednesday we headed home and the Vinzants stayed and did an 8 hour trip into Tumblin' Rock. On the road trip home we stopped just off the interstate and found some really rugged cave pants at the Well's Outlet Clothing Store near the FL GA border. Not even home yet and we are gearing up for the next trip ! Captions 1. Caren at Secret Pit 2. Woody coming down 3. Nice Lucifugus 4. On the bottom of Secret 5. Kennemar Cave entrance ravine 6. It gets bigger 7. Section of nice rust-colored formations 8. Don’t forget the rope for the though trip 9. Last drop near the end 10. Big pretties 11. "Mud puddle clean" 12. Drying out at the TAG house 13. Andy consults his GPS 14. Come on out Mr. Rattlesnake 15. I knew we’d find one ! 16. Working on RD’s lead 17. Sully’s lead 18. Matt’s lead 19. Woody being Woody 20. It blows cold 21. "Talley Ho" 22. Talley squeeze 23. It’s got good stuff back there 24. Near the end 25. "Gimmie FOOD" 26. Hoopties in da house
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