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TAG Fall Cave In 2006 - D~N~A TAG 2006 trip report by Danny & Annette Brinton It was Tues Oct. the 3rd. The weekend of TAG was quickly approaching and we were lucky enough to have some extra time off so we made the drive to Pup’s place. Arriving right at dark we were immediately invited in for food, a place to stay and a cave trip that night if we wanted. The following morning Myrna and John Attaway gave us a tour of John’s nearly completed new house. What a place with a great view to boot. We were just about hired to stay and work on the wood floors but after a quick vote it was a landslide victory for Cedar Ridge Crystal. After a short but sweet trip in Cedar Ridge, Pup took the afternoon off and the three of us walked down the mountain for some ladder caving. The following day Pup took us to Hang’em High for the first three drops and some bore hole to the fourth drop. What a great bunch of cavers that welcome you in like home away from home.
We finally got to the TAG site late afternoon Thursday and found that Mike, Kitty, Bill & Laura were already set up and had gone off caving. As the weekend went on the site filled with FSS cavers. On Friday Mike and Kitty followed us down to Little River Canyon for some vertical. It is a nice 95’ rappel with easy access at a Canyon Rim overlook. What an exciting rappel free hanging 10 or 15 feet off the wall looking out over the canyon.
Saturday’s 7:00 am plan for a seven man team to Thunder Hole had dropped to a 3-man team by 8:00 am. It had boiled down to Bill Walker and us. Sooooooo - come hell or high water we were going (well maybe not high water) and off we went each just toting a little more rope than planned. We were able to do four of the five drops and had a great time. The water was way down (this was good) but each drop gets wetter and wetter. Finally pretty well soaked we all agreed that getting back to the bonfire was more important than making the fifth drop. We made it back in time to see Bill Birdsall receive the SCCI Stewardship award and enjoy the lighting of the bonfire. Kudos to Bill!!!
Sunday plans took us to Fountain Pit with Bill Foote and Laura. A short hike in lead us to the Fountain, which is part of the water supply for the town of Bridgeport. A unique part of the water system is the “fountain” located directly above the nice 100 foot pit named after it. After some head scratching on the rigging we sent Annette down as guinea pig to test it. Nice pit in a pretty setting definitely worth seeing.
Once again, lucky enough to have some extra time off, we set out on our own. Monday turned out to be a work day with laundry, van washing, phone calls and other stuff that couldn’t be postponed. By Tuesday horizontal was calling and Limrock Blowing was just around the corner. We went in and had a nice, easy four hour trip. Great cave for beginning cavers as well as anyone who hasn’t been there.
Wednesday it was up Scottsboro Mtn. to Scottsboro Mtn. Pit. What a great little 85 foot pit with a surprising amount of formations at the bottom. Good for a couple of bounces.
Thursday we took the Never out of Neversink. We had looked at it during our first year at TAG and me being afraid of heights never brought it up again. With such a big open air feel that pit can be intimidating. Well I guess it was inevitable and after much thought about the rigging I had done, there I was hanging over the edge. After a couple of bounces each and some pictures we de-rigged and took off.
On Friday we went to Pipeside and Stephens Gap. We had dropped Stephens Gap in the past but walked right by Pipeside. If you get over that way it’s worth the time it takes to rig and drop this little pit.
By the time Saturday rolled around we just wanted a day off and decided to do some driving/sightseeing……… what do you mean there is a cave right here along side of the road??? Two hours later we emerged from a fun, easy, borehole walking trip into Whitesides.
Sunday found us up at Foster Falls recreation area for an easy six mile day hike along a canyon rim with some beautiful scenery.
After listening to the weather report Sunday night and hearing predictions of two days hard rain heading into the region we decided to call it quits. It was a great TAG for us with perfect weather and great friends to spend time with. We missed seeing those of you that didn’t make it to TAG and the campsites we just didn’t have time to visit. We also missed having our friends around the last week we were there, it was like skipping school by yourself. We hope you all enjoyed your time at TAG.
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