Mill Pond Report 12-17-09

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Great reports and pictures, Walter, you're looking great in that rig. You may want to consider some angled valves to keep your SPGs from sagging a bit.

I was considering going to Cypress this weekend, woulda been camping in Marianna. The rangers at the state park there called me and said they expect the waters to go over the roads and the park to be closed(and possibly evacuated). I'm thinking even Cypress will be out of the question - probably heading to the Mill Pond tomorrow for some cavern diving.
 
Walter and Glen great report and pics.
 
I'm thinking even Cypress will be out of the question - probably heading to the Mill Pond tomorrow for some cavern diving.

Good call on that. I just couldn't believe how flooded the Choctawhatchee River was. The worst part about it is that the river levels haven't even crested yet! I thought about making a quick trip to Morrison on the way back to see where the flood levels were, but it started raining so I decided just to drive back to p-cola instead. I guess one of the nice things about the Mill Pond is that since the water levels are controlled by a dam it usually doesn't get blown out.
 
Yeah, its(Mill Pond) definately the safest panhandle bet for close proximity dives. There are a few other cave/caverns that stay good through the high floods, but the basins will be trashed and journey out to them will be pretty difficult/even dangerous with water levels this high due to debri in the rivers, runs, and creeks.

The Mill Pond can get milky though, still, its usually down for less than a day, then divable again. This is almost certainly due to runoff and flood waters entering into sinks upstream of the springs. Not all entries into the systems there are springheads within the pond :)
 
The water along I-10 was up in places I haven't seen it since that last big flood. I think even Cypress will be blown out the way things looked. I didn't get a picture, but the basin at JB was still pretty good yesterday, even with the run off. I did notice a few streams of cloudy water coming through JB a few times yesterday...nothing to bad. But, as the rain runoff starts seeping in JB...no telling what will happen if this stinkin rain doesn't stop!

Yeah, its(Mill Pond) definately the safest panhandle bet for close proximity dives. There are a few other cave/caverns that stay good through the high floods, but the basins will be trashed and journey out to them will be pretty difficult/even dangerous with water levels this high due to debri in the rivers, runs, and creeks.

The Mill Pond can get milky though, still, its usually down for less than a day, then divable again. This is almost certainly due to runoff and flood waters entering into sinks upstream of the springs. Not all entries into the systems there are springheads within the pond :)
 
Only got one picture of Scooter Divers....Rob is this you?
scooterdiver.jpg



Yep, that's me. Thanks for the great photo! I've been wanting to get a profile shot for a while, and it's sweet that you happened to get one with me wearing a stage bottle and riding a 37!

The other diver with us is Mark.


As for the visibility in JB, we had about 30-40 feet of visibility yesterday, and it was pretty milky. It was like this all the way back to the end of the gold line. It's also pouring here right now so it's not likely to get any better. :(
 
It sucks I wasn't in a better position when you guys entered the cavern. I was waiting for you, but I guessed wrong. I thought you might drop Deco bottles by the start of the gold line. I saw you dropped them just outside since there aren't any swimmers around this time of year. So, I only got one flash cycle before you guys were out of sight. I swam after you in case you paused before heading down the chimney...but you guys disappeared pretty quickly.

Ed and I are talking about doing some pictures for him. We could for sure get some better shots of you at the same time if you like. I will work on that picture a little bit tonight and see if I can get the color and brightness fixed.

Yep, that's me. Thanks for the great photo! I've been wanting to get a profile shot for a while, and it's sweet that you happened to get one with me wearing a stage bottle and riding a 37!

The other diver with us is Mark.


As for the visibility in JB, we had about 30-40 feet of visibility yesterday, and it was pretty milky. It was like this all the way back to the end of the gold line. It's also pouring here right now so it's not likely to get any better. :(
 

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