This is circa 1975, at Knox (or Skull) Cave in Cobleskill, New York. That's me in the double-exposed left-hand photo, and in the photo on the right, heading into The Gunbarrel. It looks pretty big from this end, but it was only slightly larger than me and entailed squeezing through with your arms over your head and wriggling through. I just found out it is 50' long and an average 14" in diameter.... no WAY I could get through there now!!!!
I got stuck at one point and thought "This is the end of me..." but I figured that, as I had gotten in, I should be able to get out.
Having said that, I just found this little item in the "Knox Cave Preservation" website:
"The Gunbarrel - Since the ladder was installed the majority of incidents in the cave have resulted from individuals getting stuck in the Gunbarrel. This is typically caused by a knee getting stuck in the narrow slot at the bottom of the passage. Such incidents are not to be taken lightly. The individual is in close contact with the bedrock and could become hypothermic very easily. In the past it was often difficult to free someone from such a situation because typically the knee is distal to the rescuers and the passage is small."
Since I went through on my back and not on my front, I guess I avoided this possibility.
I do not know if you still know any one who still actively caves but if you do please forward this information to them. This is the greatest threat to Bats that we have ever encountered. The "White nose syndrome"
From: Steve McLuckie To: NCC list Sent: Wednesday, January 23, 2008 11:49:26 AM Subject: [northeastcaveconservancy] White nose fungus info
Here's some info from The NY Department of Environmental Conservation on trying to prevent the spread of the fungus that is related to the large scale death of hibernating bats.
Steve
==== White Nose Syndrome Decontamination Procedures
The Department of Environmental Conservation is asking that cavers please follow these procedures for decontamination. At this point this is only a request but the caving community can help in the effort to hopefully control this mysterious White Nose Syndrome. We are doing this to prevent what could be a continent wide spread of a previously unidentified pathogen to all caves and mines, and all our cave dwelling bat populations in the east. We do not yet know what is happening, or why, but it could be extremely serious, and we have to assume that it is until we can prove otherwise.
Remove your caving gear when you get to the vehicle and put it in a closed plastic bag to prevent contamination of the trunk.
Wash caving clothes using hot water, detergent and a normal bleach cycle.
Dry the clothes thoroughly and dry them at hot temperatures.
Scrape the dirt from boots and soak them in a bleach solution -porous boots longer than nonporous boots. (could find no specified periods for soaking).
Do not forget cave packs or helmets/ (lights)
Sunlight can also kill many things that live in dark places.
There is the real possibility of some caves being closed. Exit strategy for the cave closures are as follows: 1. We determine that the cause of death is something that people simply could not be spreading. 2. We can determine that decontamination protocols are sufficient to prevent the spread.
In the near future the DEC maybe conducting a survey to gather information for a caver database that will indicate all of your cave visits from the past several years.
If you are in a cave and see a bat (living or dead) with this White Nose Syndrome please contact Al Hicks of the DEC right away. If you find a dead bat outdoors or notice different behavior of bats please contact Al as well.
Alan Hicks Mammal Specialist Endangered Species Unit NYS Department of Environmental Conservation 625 Broadway, 5th floor Albany, NY 12233-4754 (518)-402-8854 Cell (518)-461-46321/ 18/2008 ----- Original Message -----
