Post date: Oct 13, 2008 2:54:40 PM

Aileen Connor, Quentin Cooper, Gaelan Elliffe, Damien Datry, Stephen Macnamara, Stephen McCullagh, Robin Sheen. 29 hours.

Seems like a long time, 29 hours! The first successful camping trip after a couple of washed out previous attempts.

Breakfast in Bloodstones at half nine-ish on Saturday morning, followed by a call to Les's house to pick up some surveying gear. We entered the cave at about 12:30.

We regrouped underground at the final point of the previous surveying trip - the end of JCP Passage. Here, we decided that Robin, Quentin, Aileen and Gaelan would survey into the cave from this point, while Steve, Damien & I would continue to George's Choke and survey back out. We would meet somewhere in the middle hopefully...

On our way in, just past Mistake Junction, we met Eoghan & Ann Lynch and the ICRO doctor, Carrol O'Dolan. They were on their way out for lunch, having already been to and through George's Choke. (It's comforting to know that the ICRO doctor can fit through the squeeze!) We found our Tip-Ex spot near the choke and started: Steve and Damien taking instrument readings (compass & clino forward & back sightings, and tape) and I making notes & drawings. Progress was pretty quick, and some 48 shots and 6 hours later we bumped into the other lot, who were finishing their sixty-somethingth leg.

Much mirth ensued - the survey of the main route was finished and we could now definitively state the position of the final sump (Long Way From Home) - latitude, longitude and elevation. The four in the other group wished us a good night and headed back for the surface (I think they cooked some dinner en route). Steve, Damien & I turned around and headed for the campsite - a high-level chamber a few hundred metres into Paddy's Parade, just before the Y-junction.

First, some exploring - we found a new big chamber up above the campsite, but no obvious routes onwards. We spent a couple of hours setting up camp. It's a warm, dry, sandy chamber. There is a low ceiling, along which we strung some string to support the walls and roof - which are made of space blankets. Finally, we levelled out the sand floor and put down plastic sheeting and sleeping mats. It's a pretty comfortable place to spend a night. We got to bed at about 01:00 and slept until 10:00.

Breakfast was the same as dinner - a glorious pasta and soup mix. You can see the excitement on Steve's face as it comes to the boil.

We surveyed most of the high-level chamber, and might have got more done had one of the compasses not become waterlogged (we had to run back and forth to take forward/back sightings with the same compass). At about 14:15 we started to exit, and we surfaced to a loverly sunny day at 17:15.

The campsite could do with some finishing touches - probably a few hours' work - e.g. make an access path to the high level chamber; rig a rope to allow hauling water from the streamway; lower the floor beside the tent by a foot to allow proper standing; etc.

That's all for now. By the way, the new section is FANTASTIC! My first time in it properly and it was worth waiting for.

Steve.