13th June 2015: A personal account of today’s trip over to Hutton.
With Alan Gray and Nick Harding (Axbridge Caving Group diggers).
A break from the usual Saturday routine of digging Hallowe’en Rift,
nr. Wookey hole to help out over at Upper Canada Cave (UCC). They had
asked if I could look at a few rocks preventing access to a further
extension to the newly discovered ‘Paddock’ in Upper Glebe Passage and
to apply some chemical persuasion to a large boulder hampering progress
in Lower Glebe Passage. After a chat with the landowner, Bernard, we
changed and made our way underground.
We quickly made our way
through UCC to the junction at the end of The Field where it leads into
Glebe Passage. I left the drill and other kit here and collected some
tools and we headed into Upper Glebe. Up through the slot where I had
previously some applied chemical persuasion to enter the Paddock,
apparently I was the fifth person to see it. Got to the constriction –
the Barn Door – where with a little judicious prodding with the bar it
was obvious that a more considered approach at a distance from the quite
loose roof slabs would be more appropriate. The Barn Door is in fact a
keystone holding a number of large fractured boulders and rock in place,
this was clear when I slightly moved it and rocks around it also moved.
We moved back and I will revisit the site soon with the necessary
materials and kit. I then joined Alan who was poking at a another spot
to see if there was a way to by-pass the Barn Door and gain access to
the space beyond. Alan went back to get a hammer while I tried to shift a
number a rock blocking a squeeze through. when the hammer arrived I was
able to take the ‘nose’ of a boulder and with some effort and a lot of
wiggling I eventually got the rock out of the way, some gardening and it
was just about possible to get through. Unfortunately a slab of rock to
one side of squeeze prevented the tight and committing corkscrew move
to get into the space beyond. There was also the stack of precarious
looking rocks that formed one side of the move. Discretion being the
better part of valour we decided to revert to our original prognosis and
remove the Barn Door. Alan and Nick remained to take some photographs
while I made my way to Lower Glebe.
Picked up the wire on the way
down, soon arrived at the junction where I left the tools and collected
my two tackle bags and headed down to the dig. When I got there the
boulder barring progress was obvious and I set about drilling the holes,
Nick and Alan arrived just as I had completed the drilling. Nick had to
leave due to a prior arrangement and took the drill out with him. I
proceeded to charge the holes, connected up and Alan laid out the wire
to a safe distance. After a successful and satisfying conclusion to the
mission and it was time to exit the cave. Unfortunately it was now too
late to make the Hunter’s and meet up with the Hallowe’en Team.
A enjoyable morning and will try and arrange something for next Saturday and a return to the quest to open the Barn Door.
