Looks like we have a decent size group of cavers anxious to see this cave system and start the 2012 season off. Detailed trip report to follow and any other info I can find from the NECaver publications I have. Should be fun - 600+ feet of new passage for us!
Here is a past trip report from a MET Grotto member:
"A large, gaping mouth of an entrance and mostly walking passage, Indian Oven is a great beginner cave. But it also offers some treats for the more experienced or more willing. A small pool room is the reward if one slides upward against gravity through a slot near the end of the 45-degree passage. You have to keep to the high part of this multi-level slanted passage to get there.
And the greatest challenge was at the very end of the cave. A tight, tight crawl with helmet off out in front goes for quite a while, maybe a hundred feet, with only 2 tiny turn around points. Tom Oakes and I navigated this with only a few groans as we had to drag one arm behind for a few feet in a tight pinch. We could go no further, but I did see significant passage ahead and with a little work, that last gap could be widened enough to check it out…"
Here is a past trip report from a MET Grotto member:
"A large, gaping mouth of an entrance and mostly walking passage, Indian Oven is a great beginner cave. But it also offers some treats for the more experienced or more willing. A small pool room is the reward if one slides upward against gravity through a slot near the end of the 45-degree passage. You have to keep to the high part of this multi-level slanted passage to get there.
And the greatest challenge was at the very end of the cave. A tight, tight crawl with helmet off out in front goes for quite a while, maybe a hundred feet, with only 2 tiny turn around points. Tom Oakes and I navigated this with only a few groans as we had to drag one arm behind for a few feet in a tight pinch. We could go no further, but I did see significant passage ahead and with a little work, that last gap could be widened enough to check it out…"