Backdoor Dig - 4/2/2024
Harriet Flynn Reporting
This Saturday, April 20, several of us went to the Backdoor Dig to see if we could make any progress. On the dig we had Scott, Josh, Harriet, and Chris from the Cville Grotto as well as Greg, and then Nick, Conner, Paul, and Alex from the Penn State Grotto.
We entered the cave at about 10:30am and finished up just after 5pm.
We moved 75 buckets of mud and rock over that time!
9 people was almost the perfect number of people for the project, 10 would have been ideal. We set up a very efficient team and were able to move buckets quickly up and down the passage and then we switched positions every 20-40 minutes or so. Position #1 dug and filled the buckets, person two used a pulley to lift the bucket up several feet and then placed the bucket on a new line. Person #3 had the hardest job and had to move up and down a bit to pull the filled bucket towards them, unclip, attach a new rope, and then get an empty bucket back down towards person #2. Positions 4,5,6, and 7 pulled on rope and brought the buckets up along the wood tracks and probably a 45 degree angle to the base of the ladder. The bucket was then pulled up the 35ft ladder to the top by person 8 and 9, unclipped, dumped, and a new bucket was sent back down.
The area that is currently being dug is unstable and needs time to set between digs.
Overall it was a good trip and the weather was perfect at the top.
