MAY 1, 2010 - After the Lehman Cave service project, 6 of us headed out to find Snake Creek Cave. This trip included:
- Peter Ruplinger - Trip Leader
- Jeremy Dye
- Tera Dye
- Aaron Leavitt
- Adam Leavitt
- Michael Leavitt
What we learned was that every bad thing that we had heard before going was true. Crawling through the dry and dirty sandbox filled with rat poop was difficult. Even with masks it was also harsh on the eyes and it was really interesting to cross the line of demarcation between the rat droppings and the wet cave. It was like night and day as the evironment immediately changed. After raising up a 10 foot drop-off you immediately had to belly crawl through 3” of water. There was no way to avoid getting drenched, unless you were sporting a new Lost Creek caving suit, but only one of us had that luxury. Since I was last it wasn’t really needed because everybody else had already soaked up the majority of the water.
Tera was 6 or 7 months pregnant and yet handled it all like she wasn’t caving for two. Her disposition was perfect for the mucky conditions and there wasn’t a whole lot of beauty to enjoy. The formations were all back at Lehman’s and anything we saw in Snake Creek was disappointing at best.
Am I glad we went to Snake Creek?... You betcha. Will this be a high priority to see the next trip to Lehmans? Not hardly. We crawled way back in and Adam and Aaron really went far until it choked off with Adam flopping like a fish on shore trying to get through the final passage before turning back. I lost interest 70 feet earlier.