Flooded Mine

[BDub]

Richard, Jeanna and I searched for, and found, a flooded mine in early June. Richard had looked for it last year, with no success. We drove the Pathfinder in as far as it could go (about 25 minutes in), then hiked another 45 minutes or so to the mine. We had our gear with us, and even contemplated hiking the gear in, but quickly said "nevermind".

The terrain was too treacherous for the Pathfinder to get all the way to the mine. However, Joe offered to give us a ride in with his pickup. So, Joe, Mattley, Jeanna, Richard and I went up to the mine again yesterday. Me, Richard and Jeanna geared up, and jumped in. We were diving EAN32, and had really no idea what we were gonna find.

The shaft is very very steep, almost vertical in some places, with some very tight spots. Some spots are less than 3' high and maybe 4' wide. However, the water was gin clear, but VERY cold (40's). We found a couple of small passages, but they were very short. We stopped at 100' (depth), due to gas constraints, but the shaft kept going.

We're gonna make another deeper dive in it shortly, and see if we can find any other passages. There was some really cool machinery in there, as you'll see in the video.

A HUGE thanks to Joe and Matt for the ride and support.

Video is here

[Tom Nic]

Wow. Now that's cave diving.

Very cool video - you got my attention!

[LCF]

That's REALLY exciting, Brian! I know Richard has wanted to find the place for some time. Kudos to you guys for persevering and getting there!

[Joshua Smith]

That's hard core! What a freaking crazy-assed, half-baked, ill-advised thing to do, I love it!

[lizard0924]

Cool, very cool....can't wait for part 2!

[Mattleycrue76]

This was some of the most fun I've had NOT diving in a long time. Thanks for letting me tag along! BTW the video on the UTD site is hilarious! (NSFW)

[BDub]

This was some of the most fun I've had NOT diving in a long time. Thanks for letting me tag along! BTW the video on the UTD site is hilarious! (NSFW)

Oh...you mean THIS?

[BDub]

That's hard core! What a freaking crazy-assed, half-baked, ill-advised thing to do, I love it!

It's amazing we survived to tell the story :shootself:

[CaptnJack]

That's hard core! What a freaking crazy-assed, half-baked, ill-advised thing to do, I love it!

Hello pot, this is kettle
Part 2 will take trimix, maybe next month or so.

[Joshua Smith]

That's hard core! What a freaking crazy-assed, half-baked, ill-advised thing to do, I love it!

Hello pot, this is kettle
Part 2 will take trimix, maybe next month or so.

Hey, that was a compliment! You guys have my respect. Seriously, I remember you posting about wanting to find abandoned mines over of TDS a while back, but I never thought you'd actually DO this- I can't wait to see more video. Very cool!

[sheahanmcculla]

Has to be my favorite video. Talk about adventure, that was freakin awesome. Watch out for the dynamite boxes.

[BDub]

Watch out for the dynamite boxes.

Wind...say goodbye to sails.......

Wha?!?!??!

[sheahanmcculla]

I got the next picked out...

[spatman]

totally awesome, you guys (and gal)! i'm looking forward to hearing more about your adventures.

[coachrenz]

Great video. Felt almost like I was there. Crazy cool discovery.

[CaptnJack]

That's hard core! What a freaking crazy-assed, half-baked, ill-advised thing to do, I love it!

Hello pot, this is kettle
Part 2 will take trimix, maybe next month or so.

Hey, that was a compliment! You guys have my respect. Seriously, I remember you posting about wanting to find abandoned mines over of TDS a while back, but I never thought you'd actually DO this- I can't wait to see more video. Very cool!

Hehe no worries man I was just complimenting you and your crazy adventures back.

After our first visit it didn't seem quite so nuts. There's very little shoring in this mine, just a few places where there's a raise (vertical shaft going up) that have wooden shoring under them to protect your head from debris raining down. By and large the rock seems solid. The water quality is quite good, no "acid mine drainage" out of this system. We saw salamanders and frogs in there, they wouldn't survive in a really low pH toxic waste so I'm not too concerned about my drysuit rotting away.

Jeanna didn't have any video lights and it was damn hard to drop down the vertical shaft so I think we are going to give it another try with mix for the purported bottom, deco gas, and some extra lights. Until our percolation (and fins) started messing with the vis it was gin clear in there, so "worth it."

[Sockmonkey]

All I got is WOW.

You folks are true underwater explorers.

-Eric

[Joshua Smith]

That's hard core! What a freaking crazy-assed, half-baked, ill-advised thing to do, I love it!

Hello pot, this is kettle
Part 2 will take trimix, maybe next month or so.

Hey, that was a compliment! You guys have my respect. Seriously, I remember you posting about wanting to find abandoned mines over of TDS a while back, but I never thought you'd actually DO this- I can't wait to see more video. Very cool!

Hehe no worries man I was just complimenting you and your crazy adventures back.

After our first visit it didn't seem quite so nuts. There's very little shoring in this mine, just a few places where there's a raise (vertical shaft going up) that have wooden shoring under them to protect your head from debris raining down. By and large the rock seems solid. The water quality is quite good, no "acid mine drainage" out of this system. We saw salamanders and frogs in there, they wouldn't survive in a really low pH toxic waste so I'm not too concerned about my drysuit rotting away.

Jeanna didn't have any video lights and it was damn hard to drop down the vertical shaft so I think we are going to give it another try with mix for the purported bottom, deco gas, and some extra lights. Until our percolation (and fins) started messing with the vis it was gin clear in there, so "worth it."

Very cool. Any idea of how far she goes, or how deep she gets? Was it just getting deeper at 100'?

[dsteding]

This was some of the most fun I've had NOT diving in a long time. Thanks for letting me tag along! BTW the video on the UTD site is hilarious! (NSFW)

Oh...you mean THIS?

Kinda reminds me of the time someone had to take a battery out of his boat and put it in his pickup so he could get on the ferry. In Canadia. Hey Richard!

[BDub]

Very cool. Any idea of how far she goes, or how deep she gets? Was it just getting deeper at 100'?

It just kept going...very steep. We're shooting for 180' on the next dive, to see where that takes us

[BDub]

I got the next picked out...

Crap

[Fishstiq]

All in all, an awesome day. To echo Matt, the most fun I've had without diving! Thanx again for letting us tag along. I'll get a new battery in my truck before the next excursion!

[Romer Treece]

Hands down-pretty cool!

[BDub]

Thanks everyone. It was a really cool experience!

[BDub]

All in all, an awesome day. To echo Matt, the most fun I've had without diving! Thanx again for letting us tag along. I'll get a new battery in my truck before the next excursion!

Tag along? Thanks for all your help!