Friar Hole - 10/12/25
Casey Tucker Reporting:
Allie, Murphy, Scott B, and I went to Friar's Hole via the Icebox entrance Sunday, October 12th. This was Allie & Scott's first time in Friar's Hole and Scott's first vertical trip in a cave. The mission was to pull my camp kit from Fort DiGiorno and any rubbish at the camp. We made a leisurely trip through the South Friar's trunk past the turn off for the Dung Ho Way. Along the way we spotted lots of crawfish and salamanders and took time to appreciate some really nice formations over the stream.We climbed Coon Dick Dome, rappelled down the other side and caved the last few minutes to camp.
After 3 years of not using my camp kit, everyone expected the gear to be moldy, stinky, and trashed. Other camp kits at Fort D had suffered bad endings. I held my breath as I revealed the old gear, and much to my delight, everything was in pristine condition. Sleeping bag and two wool sweaters were dry and clean (as clean as cave camp gear left in a cave can be). The diatomaceous earth I left in a jar with holes poked in the top as desiccant worked exactly as I had hoped when I brought it in to experiment. The sleeping bag and clothes were left in the first bag with desiccant, sealed well, and then double bagged in another contractor bag. Success! We split the gear between me and Allie, explored the cave around camp, and made our way back to the entrance.
Murphy set up some photos in the trunk before we exited up the two entrance ropes for a delightful 5.5 hour trip.
