Present: Toby G, Jamie G, Charlie H, Reece B, Sam W, Lexi M, Hana K, Blake S, Hannah Z, Harry G
Duration: 2 hours
It was an early start for the seven keen freshers and the rest of us. A classic 8 am start at the SU, standing in the drizzle waiting for Charlie to rock up in his motor, which still hasn’t received a proper name.
It was an uneventful cruise to Crackpot, although the roads never seem to get easier as a passenger. One day a rich alumnus will get a DUSA helicopter.
Following a speedy get ready, we boosted up the hill and to the cave entrance. Feeling nice and toasty from the walk, we had our little prep talk – ‘don’t get cold and don’t touch the formations!’ – before heading into the KneeWrecker entrance. With a few twists and turns, lots of crawling and only one wrong turn, we made it to the steam way. (Toby and I thought the Kneewrecker entrance is a bit unfairly named. My knees were absolutely fine – this might not be the case for the freshers. Kneepads are a wonderful thing.)
We headed left upstream (avoiding the unstable intestines downstream – we can’t scare the freshers too much on their first trip).
Along the ‘river cruise’, we passed through the column chamber and, no surprise, it had a rather nice column. Then we diverted up through a passage to the next chamber, this one felt like we had entered a fairies’ mushroom growth or something. The floor was covered in small calsite stumps.
Continuing on, we reached the end of the cave, all it boasted was a collapsed passage and a sump. For some reason, Toby didn’t fancy a dip to see where it went, it’s almost like he didn’t want to put his wetsuit to the test.
But there is no hanging around when a callout is approaching. So we jetted out of the cave and back to the cars at record speed, only staying underground for about 2hrs.
While changing, we were visited by four police dirt bikers (and their riders of course). What a scam, though. They are getting paid to whip around on dirt bikes. They should have gifted the bikes to DUSA. Maybe next time I guess.
Home time. Toby ditched us to tick off a black book cave. But who really had the best time when the rest of us drove back past Scotch Corner Services? I think I know the answer.
And to finish off, a wise point – giving a fresher two left wellies, each in different sizes is not ideal. However, it is alright if you only realise the blunder after getting back to the cars. (sorry fresher.)
All in all, a successful trip.
Jamie Gorton