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The date was June 15, 2002.  I had planned a picnic which, due to an ominous weather forecast, was postponed.  While It turned out to be a gorgeous day and one not to go to waste, I went caving with Alan Horn.

So this was plan B.  We decided to visit the Williamson Caves near Greencastle, PA but after much searching, we didn't find them.  While  traversing through the woodlands we came across many sinkholes.  Alan would check one for potential cave passage while I checked another.  Most of these sinks have one or more animal holes in them.  It's probably due to the softness of the ground which makes it ideal for them.  

Alan found an animal hole with a solid rock ceiling and a larger than average-sized opening.  He tossed a few rocks into it and noticed that it took a few seconds of rolling and bouncing before hearing a thud, indicating that there might be a sizable drop inside.

Alan had brought a backpack of stuff with him through the woods (those of you who know Alan can guess the contents of that pack) which included a collapsible broad pick.  He used that to chop away at the dirt just outside the hole.  Progress was a bit slow and I couldn't help him in the small area surrounding the dig so I decided to grab some rocks from a nearby sink to create a silt barrier to prevent the new dirt from washing back in to the hole when it rains.  I also marked the location with some medical tape and then headed for the truck to retrieve my collapsible shovel.  I hadn't brought it into the woods as I thought we would be visiting known caves.  I know now to take my shovel along whenever I go to that area as there are certainly more caves to be discovered.

By the time I walked/jogged the mile or so, moved the truck closer and then hiked back again to the cave, Alan was just about done extracting enough dirt to slide into the hole.  With a hand line and atria, down he went.  The initial slope is about a 40 degree angle which goes about 14 feet.  After reaching the top of a fissure Alan decided that further descent would be too risky without the safety of a rope which we didn't have, even at the truck.

It was my turn to inspect our discovery.  I descended to the top of the fissure and noted the roughness to the side walls and decided that it could be chimneyed down and then back up (Alan wasn't sure if it would be possible to get back up without a rope).  It was about 9 feet down to a ledge and then another 4 feet down again to a wider area.  Below that but over a few more feet is a round pit about 8 feet deep.  We estimated and measured with the webbing hand line approximately 35 feet of depth down the slope and then to the bottommost point of the pit.

The fissure is about 23 feet long and varies in width from a blunt end by the pit of about 5 feet to nothing on the north end which rises up to within about 6 feet from the surface. 

There are several formations in the cave.  Two flowstone formations look down on the lower pit while a lonely, finger-sized helectite grows above the top of the fissure, straight up from the pit.  A few small formations grace the other end of the cave along with a spider web catching pure white needle-thin worms.  I didn't eat them.

I'll call this the "Boob Dent with an Inverse Nipple".  It is a ceiling feature with a short stalactite close to its center.

 

 

 

 

I enjoy photographing cave popcorn, in particular when there is a distant background since the flash doesn't illuminate the distant wall very well, it creates a nice contrast with the tan colored formations.

So the ride home included not only a meal at the motel lounge right before returning to the highway but also solidified the name for the cave.  It is from now on to be known as Picnic Plan B Pit.