On the weekend of June 24th and 25th, our group was split between Saturday (Lilly, Mark, Ray) and Sunday (Mark, Ray, and Peter).
We all gathered at the Hub at 10 am, each of us equipped with our breakfast and our kits packed. After that, we drove to the far farm, where we'd be parking for the Shannon Cave adventure.
We had a pleasant chat with the farmer before getting geared up.
The journey to the cave was quite the trek, a long and winding path through the wet terrain. With our SRT kits in place, we made our entrance into the cave.
Ray took on the task of rigging for the 33-meter pitch. Lilly was the first to descend, followed by a somewhat nervous-looking Mark, and then Ray himself.
Before reaching the letterbox squeeze, we took a moment to admire the force of the water from another waterfall. From there, we ventured further into the cave, navigating our way down the twin pots and sliding through the rebirth passage.
It wasn't until the start of the canyons that I realized poor Lilly had been carrying the rope from the rebirth passage the entire way through the choke, for some inexplicable reason. We left it there to be replaced on our way back.
We continued to navigate through the cave, encountering ups and downs in the boulder choke as we made our way to Swingers Corner.
At that point, the other two members of our group decided that they'd had their fill of Shannon for the day. So, we made our way back to the pitches, with Mark getting himself in a bit of a twist at the top, but that's nothing new!
By the end of the day, we were all pretty exhausted, but I'm sure they were thinking the thought of what we were doing. lol
It was indeed an enjoyable little trip in the Shannon Cave.
Our plan had originally been to explore Upper John Thomas Cave, but things took an unexpected turn, leading us to the charming School House Cave.
After securing permission from the farmer, we set off for the cave, making sure the water level at Lower Well Side was manageable. Upon entering the cave, we passed the barrel chamber and gracefully hopped over a few falling blocks from the roof.
Our exploration led us into the pool chambers, eventually reaching the straw chamber on the opposite side of the duck section. It was a fascinating journey filled with unique discoveries.
On our way back to the cars, we decided to indulge in some river walking, but our adventure was abruptly halted by the sight of a rotting sheep. Sensibly, we retreated to dry land.
Returning to the Hub, we cleaned our gear and then headed home, looking forward to our next adventure. It was a nice little trip, full of unexpected twists and discoveries.
Comments