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Pettyjohn now on Facebook

August 14, 2011 by Hubert.

Pettyjohn Cave now has a Facebook Group, please feel free to join us and share your pictures and trip experiences.

http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/groups/362256723821/

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Ellison Cave tragedy, February 12, 2011

February 14, 2011 by Hubert.

Police: Students Killed When Trapped By Cave

Waterfall

Posted: 4:43 pm EST February 13, 2011Updated: 8:25 am EST February 14, 2011

LaFAYETTE, Ga. — Walker County Sheriff Steve Wilson says rescue workers believe that two University of Florida students who died in a north Georgia cave were trapped by their rappelling ropes in a frigid waterfall.

Wilson said the two, 20-year-old Grant Lockenbach and 18-year-old Michael Pirie, apparently died of hypothermia in Ellison’s Cave.

David Ashburn, director of Walker County Emergency Management, says Lockenbach, Pirie and eight other students from Gainesville, Fla., entered the cave Saturday morning to explore it.

Witnesses told officials that someone dropped a bag down a pit. They say Lockenbach rappelled down to retrieve the bag but got tangled in his ropes about 100 feet down and cold water poured over him.

They say Pirie went down to help but also got stuck. The bodies were recovered hours later.

(WSBTV news report)

Our prayers go out to the families of Grant Lockenbach and Michael Pirie.

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Tumbling Rock Cave

September 16, 2010 by Hubert.

Tumbling Rock Cave
In Tumbling Rock Cave,
saltpeter works can be found
to fight those enslaved.
Small mountains of dirt,
like tables set for a meal
with sparkles of chert.
Leaching bins abound,
For gun powder in demand
fight and not be found.
Listen, you may hear,
the echo of solders gone
that dug dirt in fear.
Union solders search,
to find the caves and destroy,
catch them in a lurch.
Two huge columns stand
sparkling like diamonds when wet
like an elephant.
Formations abound,
Totem Gallery is great
formations big round.
Like Indian carvings,
all in a row for a show,
if you like caving.
Up the Kings Shower,
to enter the topless pit
gaze up the tower.
Water droplets fall,
like a snow storm in the night
looking up in awe.
Thru Suicide Crawl,
to the Asphalt Ooze of oil
stay against the wall.
The floor seems to move,
like a snake under the carpet,
as the oil migrates.
We come to admire,
Mt. Olympus of the cave
The pillar of fire.
–Hubert Crowell

From the book, Blue Skies of August.  You can preview the book here.

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View your cave maps on Google Earth

May 6, 2007 by Hubert.

WinCaps is a cave mapping program available at: http://www.caps.name has an export feature to save the cave map in dxf format. Google Sketch has an import feature for dxf files and can place them on Google Earth. The only problem is that caves are under the ground and do not show up when you zoom in on the location. However, you can easily raise the cave to the surface for study in 3D to compare with the surrounding terrain.

If you have a cave map created with WinCaps or any other cave mapping software that can export to dxf, then here are the easy steps to place the cave on Google Earth.

With WinCaps:

1. Create sides

Select all except survey data 

Select North Arrow and Scale, this will help in positioning onto Google Sketch.

2. Select File and Export

Select type as dxf and choose a directory to save the file.   

With Google Earth:

1. Find the entrance of the cave.    

With Google Sketch:    

1. Click on “Get Current View” of the cave location. Google Earth must be open on your computer with the cave entrance place marked.    

2. Select File and Import your cave dxf file.

3. Select View and X-Ray so that you will be able to see through the ground and view your cave.

4. Use the Rotate/Move tool to position the entrance at the place mark of the cave.

5. Select “Place Model” and the cave map will be transferred to Google Earth. The view will now switch to Google Earth.

With Google Earth:    

1. On the side bar look at “Your Temporary Places,” you should see a place mark labeled SuPreview2 created with Google Sketch. Right click on this and rename it the name of the cave. I added the work “Map” at the end of the name so I would know that it is hidden under ground.    

2. Right click on the name again and click on “Properties.”

3. Go to “Altitude” and move the slider to raise the cave above the ground level. Don’t move it too far as it will go out into space.

4. Click “OK” and view the cave as it relates to the terrain. As you move the terrain around on the screen, the area of the cave that is in the center of the screen will position correctly with the terrain. This is due the fact that you have the cave above the ground and you are looking at a 3D image. The closer to the ground the more accurate the position will be.

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