scubafool
Contributor
It's all been worth it.
All of the dives I've done in my local spring to learn bouyancy, improve trim, & practice reel work. All of the money I have spent driving back and forth to cave country, every time an instructor has shut off my light, a "buddy" has gotten entangled or went "OOA" (for the fourth time, might I add). All of the money I have spent on doubles, two new regs, new fins, more exposure protection, a $500 flashlight (that took some fancy talking to my wife), reels and a spool, and quite a few other things that slip my mind at present. I got the payoff for all of this today.
I got to do my first cave dive at Peacock Springs. We entered at Peacock I, myself leading, and went down the Pothole/Olsen line. The cavern is well known to me, but still worth a pause and a look around on the way in. Down that sloping rock face, to the sign stuck in a barrel. Make sure my buddy is squared away, and off we go. After the the narrowness of the drop down, I was in no way prepared for the domes and rooms that awaited me. Up until now, all of my cave diving has either been in the Devil's system or Manatee, and while the cave at those two systems is impressive, you have a lot more time to enjoy it with the low flow at Peacock.
Room after room had me oooohing and aaahing and shining my light back and forth and up and down all kinds of little side tunnels. A little albino crayfish caught my attention on the floor, and I circled it with my light so my buddy could check it out. We paused at Pothole, and I looked up to see the light far overhead. More rooms, but there was just enough haze in the water so that my light could not always punch through to the far walls. Passed a jump, the Nicholson tunnel I found out later, and could see the line down the side passage a short distance.
Oh, but the sixth is breathed too soon, and we have to turn back shortly thereafter. A team that was just behind us is just jumping off of the main line there, we watch them tie off as we slowly drift by. The cave is just as pretty from the reverse angle, and reveals even more of it's dark secrets on the trip out. More little branch passages calling out to me, telling me that they await my attention. With a smile, I tell them "Someday", and frog kick past.
Before I know it, we are hanging at our safety stop, and I have a grin on my face. It's all been worth it.
The second dive of the day was down the Peanut Line. It was a very interesting dive, through a long section of smallish cave, and then a sudden drop down into more "big cave" much like what we had seen earlier in the day on the other side. The hand and fin prints in the clay bottom really depressed me though, and I wasn't so unhappy to turn this dive. I promise to do my very best so as to not add to that sad collection.
Following this dive, we were talking about getting fills and a late lunch and doing another dive, till the reality of time caught up with us. No diving past 5 PM.
But I will be back.
All of the dives I've done in my local spring to learn bouyancy, improve trim, & practice reel work. All of the money I have spent driving back and forth to cave country, every time an instructor has shut off my light, a "buddy" has gotten entangled or went "OOA" (for the fourth time, might I add). All of the money I have spent on doubles, two new regs, new fins, more exposure protection, a $500 flashlight (that took some fancy talking to my wife), reels and a spool, and quite a few other things that slip my mind at present. I got the payoff for all of this today.
I got to do my first cave dive at Peacock Springs. We entered at Peacock I, myself leading, and went down the Pothole/Olsen line. The cavern is well known to me, but still worth a pause and a look around on the way in. Down that sloping rock face, to the sign stuck in a barrel. Make sure my buddy is squared away, and off we go. After the the narrowness of the drop down, I was in no way prepared for the domes and rooms that awaited me. Up until now, all of my cave diving has either been in the Devil's system or Manatee, and while the cave at those two systems is impressive, you have a lot more time to enjoy it with the low flow at Peacock.
Room after room had me oooohing and aaahing and shining my light back and forth and up and down all kinds of little side tunnels. A little albino crayfish caught my attention on the floor, and I circled it with my light so my buddy could check it out. We paused at Pothole, and I looked up to see the light far overhead. More rooms, but there was just enough haze in the water so that my light could not always punch through to the far walls. Passed a jump, the Nicholson tunnel I found out later, and could see the line down the side passage a short distance.
Oh, but the sixth is breathed too soon, and we have to turn back shortly thereafter. A team that was just behind us is just jumping off of the main line there, we watch them tie off as we slowly drift by. The cave is just as pretty from the reverse angle, and reveals even more of it's dark secrets on the trip out. More little branch passages calling out to me, telling me that they await my attention. With a smile, I tell them "Someday", and frog kick past.
Before I know it, we are hanging at our safety stop, and I have a grin on my face. It's all been worth it.
The second dive of the day was down the Peanut Line. It was a very interesting dive, through a long section of smallish cave, and then a sudden drop down into more "big cave" much like what we had seen earlier in the day on the other side. The hand and fin prints in the clay bottom really depressed me though, and I wasn't so unhappy to turn this dive. I promise to do my very best so as to not add to that sad collection.
Following this dive, we were talking about getting fills and a late lunch and doing another dive, till the reality of time caught up with us. No diving past 5 PM.
But I will be back.
