People: M&M Trybulec, A Durzynski
Place: J. Szachownica (Chessboard Cave) I and II
This time we went to the Flint Mountain reserve,
where the remains of the Chessboard Cave can be found
(a while ago there was a quarry there that split the cave into several pieces:
a bigger one, a smaller one, and several tiny ones).
Its exploitation ended in 1962, so that the quarry itself is much overgrown now -
it's a very nice place for a picnic, for instance.
Unfortunately, the cave (One) was widened by the mining of flint,
so that ceiling doesn't look very stable - it can get dangerous.
The caves themselves (One and Two) make up a true labyrinth of crisscrossing passages
(right, I think that the name Labyrinth would me more appropriate than Chessboard).
Although the horizontal extent of the cave is not that great (about 70-80 meters),
we spent there over 4 hours - we had to, of course, crawl into every side passage that we found.
After all, the total length of all passages sums up to over 600 meters...
The Eastern part of One is more shattered and full of rubble,
the Western part, similar to Two, is much prettier (IMO), and consists of beautifully washed tunnels.
We found some small rosebuds that pleasantly surprised us
(see the pictures - we didn't except any formations here due to the dynamic history)
as well as water corals on tree roots (similar to those in Coral Cave).
Unfortunately, access to the cave is very easy, which means,
that you can find a lot of garbage there: cans, bottles, papers, etc.
So we performed a good deed and cleaned all that up a bit.
This time we went to the Flint Mountain reserve,
where the remains of the Chessboard Cave can be found
(a while ago there was a quarry there that split the cave into several pieces:
a bigger one, a smaller one, and several tiny ones).
Its exploitation ended in 1962, so that the quarry itself is much overgrown now -
it's a very nice place for a picnic, for instance.
Unfortunately, the cave (One) was widened by the mining of flint,
so that ceiling doesn't look very stable - it can get dangerous.
The caves themselves (One and Two) make up a true labyrinth of crisscrossing passages
(right, I think that the name Labyrinth would me more appropriate than Chessboard).
Although the horizontal extent of the cave is not that great (about 70-80 meters),
we spent there over 4 hours - we had to, of course, crawl into every side passage that we found.
After all, the total length of all passages sums up to over 600 meters...
The Eastern part of One is more shattered and full of rubble,
the Western part, similar to Two, is much prettier (IMO), and consists of beautifully washed tunnels.
We found some small rosebuds that pleasantly surprised us
(see the pictures - we didn't except any formations here due to the dynamic history)
as well as water corals on tree roots (similar to those in Coral Cave).
Unfortunately, access to the cave is very easy, which means,
that you can find a lot of garbage there: cans, bottles, papers, etc.
So we performed a good deed and cleaned all that up a bit.
2004-05-23 J. Szachownica I and II
See also the cave's description on Epimenides (in Polish).
[MJT] On the path to Flint Mountain
It looked like it was going to rain, but only a couple drops fell
[MJT] On the path to Flint Mountain
It looked like it was going to rain, but only a couple drops fell
[MJT] Chessboard I
[MJT] Chessboard I
[MJT] The same entrance from the inside
[MJT] The same entrance from the inside
[MJT] Here another entrance (all in all, there are more than 10 entrances, including one chimney)
[MJT] Here another entrance (all in all, there are more than 10 entrances, including one chimney)
[AD] Just inside the main entrance
[AD] Just inside the main entrance
[AD] Several side passages
[AD] Several side passages
[MUT] Most of the natural passages were lens-shaped
[MUT] Most of the natural passages were lens-shaped
[MJT] This look like something organic got a bit petrified (roots?)
[MJT] This look like something organic got a bit petrified (roots?)
[MJT] Tree roots sticking out of the ceiling
[MJT] Tree roots sticking out of the ceiling
[MJT] Most of the cave has to be explored on elbows or on the belly
[MJT] Most of the cave has to be explored on elbows or on the belly
[MUT] And you can easily loose yourself - a lot of crisscrossing passages there
[MUT] And you can easily loose yourself - a lot of crisscrossing passages there
[MJT] Sometimes you can even stand up
[MJT] Sometimes you can even stand up
[MJT] Or rest in a more human like position
[MJT] Or rest in a more human like position
[MJT] Back to crawling...
[MJT] Back to crawling...
[AD] The Western parts are prettier (IMO)
[AD] The Western parts are prettier (IMO)
[MJT] Martha has to crawl into every passage...
From the "main" passage a lot of side passage branched off
[MJT] Martha has to crawl into every passage...
From the "main" passage a lot of side passage branched off
[AD] Nice rock columns
[AD] Nice rock columns
[AD] There were some rosebud formations, too
[AD] There were some rosebud formations, too
[AD] Magnified here - aren't they pretty?
[AD] Magnified here - aren't they pretty?
[AD] A general view
[AD] A general view
[MJT] Corals just like those in the Coral Cave
[MJT] Corals just like those in the Coral Cave
[MJT] There were lots of those, and quite pretty
[MJT] There were lots of those, and quite pretty
[AD] Timid beginnings of small stalactites
[AD] Timid beginnings of small stalactites
[MJT] Another rest - in both Chessboards we scoured for over 5 hours...
[MJT] Another rest - in both Chessboards we scoured for over 5 hours...
[AD] The exit!
[AD] The exit!
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