Despite working in the dark of the night we were able to rig up
and get down pretty quickly. We didn't take as many tools as last time. Plus, we
left some in the hole so we wouldn't have to haul them out and back in again. I
did manage to get two more batteries for the drill for a total of four. Also a
few more masonry drill bits. Even with the dog we made good time getting down.
Then something bizarre happened that I can't quit explain.
The dog began
exploring as soon as we let her off the rope. She was in hog heaven, sniffing
and darting about around our feet. She would run from one person to the other as
we made our way back to the work site. At the point the cave splits into four
passages the dog seemed to run out of juice. She just stuck right by either B or
me. That seemed kind of odd. As we progressed further into the cave she would
only stay by B. She seemed edgy. Like she saw something she didn't like. As we
approached the short drop-off before the hole, she stopped and would only come
further after we coaxed her. The hair on her back stood on end. Finally, as we
got to within 20 feet of the hole she began to whimper, and hide behind B. Her
tail was between her legs and she was cowering down on the ground. Strange! I
have seen her square off with dogs twice her size, but now she acted as if Satan
himself was lurking in the darkness. I figured there must have been animals that
used the cave as a home, and Whip smelled their scent. Too bad it upset her,
because there was no way she was going into the passage.
We decided that
with this new development (the nervous dog) one of us would work while the other
stayed with the dog a few feet away from where we normally rested. We got right
back into our routine of drilling, hammering, etc. With our extra supply of
batteries we were able to really push hard on the drill and not have to worry
about using up the batteries. This did not make our work any easier, but it did
speed things up a little bit. Progress was still SLOW. I really didn't mind,
though.
My journal goes on for a
while about the progress we were making. The entire time we worked, Whip did not
move. She just laid there on a rope-bag, shivering. She would whimper from time
to time. One thing I didn't think about at the time was that she would not take
her eyes off the hole. We should have been more observant of this intuitive
animal.
We were on our fourth battery
when the second bizarre thing happened to us. B was working. He had just
finished drilling a hole and was getting ready to hammer the bullpin when he
stopped working and looked into the hole. I was kicking back, almost asleep, and
hardly paying attention to B. He had a light by his side to illuminate the work
area. I could see in the eerie glow a puzzled and intense look on his face. He
looked over at me and shook his head. I asked him what was up. He said that he
swore he just heard a strange noise emanating from the hole. He said it sounded
like rock sliding on rock. Sort of a grinding sound. I assumed his ears were
just ringing from the drill (he didn't wear any earplugs this trip). He assured
me he heard what he said he heard. I didn't have an explanation, so I went back
to dozing. B sat in the quiet of the cave for a long time before he resumed
work. Also, he would stop from time to time and just listen. B is very grounded
and not one to pursue some imaginary sound. I believe he heard something, but
I'm not too concerned about what it was. I assume we will figure it all out once
we get through the passage.
The final battery lasted another hour or so.
We were sitting around talking about our progress when I decided to see if I
could get my head through the hole. My head easily fit, but there was no way my
shoulders were going in. As I was kneeling there contemplating how close we were
I noticed something that B overlooked: The wind had stopped! In all of the times
I've been in the cave I have always felt the wind blowing. The last time we were
out working on the cave the wind was blowing worse than ever. Even earlier we
remember the breeze cooling us off. But now, nothing! B said he did not know
when it stopped. The rumbling had ceased, too. BIZARRE!
This plain old
cave was becoming mysterious. We talked for a long time in the dark of cave. We
debated what could possibly be causing these unusual events to occur. I think
part of the reason we were sitting in the dark was because we were both too
hammered to move. We could come up with no reasonable explanation for the
strange things happening in the cave. After sitting for at least a half-hour we
slowly loaded up our gear and started for the surface. Whip couldn't have been
happier to get out of there. Once again we left some of the tools in the cave.
We just put them in the hole. Not enough people use the cave to worry about.
Plus, we were too tired to care.
We made a lot of progress this trip. It
helps to have the extra batteries. We still have a long way to go, but it sure
is nice to see how far we have come.