Aileen Brown, Stephen McCullagh (5 hours)
On St. Patrick’s Day we had a quick sporting trip into POTB to inspect the rope going up into the upper series (it was severely damaged and is now replaced). During this trip Al Kennedy and myself spent some time looking around for future digging potential. One such option presented itself just at the far side of the first lake, up a small boulder ruckle and through into a small chamber. Here the noise from a small stream could be heard coming from a narrow slot between boulders. This area was of interest as it marked a clear change in character of the main-stream passage; the passageway loses significant height and turns 90o to the left. As we had no tools with us, we noted its location and made plans to go back.
The next week (26th March) Aileen and I (Al had come down with food poisoning) returned with a drill and a set of plugs and feathers. The dig itself had a sandy floor, but further access was barred by two large boulders. After multiple rounds of drilling and wedging we shaved enough of the edge of the left-hand boulder to make enough room for Aileen to slide further in. Beyond the first opening Aileen was able to wriggle her legs down a slope until progress was prevented by a wedged flake-shaped boulder. Turning around and going headfirst, the space appears to narrow until the roof meets a static pool of water. There was no visual evidence of a stream, though a trickling sound could still be heard. No further progress was made.
Although the dig doesn’t look promising at this time, it would be useful to return in higher water levels to confirm whether the pool becomes an inlet stream i.e the water in the static pool starts flowing from right to left. If so, it may confirm that there is future potential in this area.
Stevebus