UPDATE:  12-05-02 Over the last year we have moved tons of breakdown and broken into a new chamber. We've gained another 35 verticle feet and 40 horizontal. We're now in a 20 ft tall room and our forward progress is blocked by a verticle wall of flowstone covered breakdown with another room visible behind it. On our next visits we'll have to place protection at the top of a precarious chimney which will enable us to remove several large blocks on top of the breakdown pile. Another update with pics in a couple weeks.

This sink looks extremely promising. We've dug out several cubic yards of trash, rocks and mud and it keeps going. There's formations in one corner and it's located in a very active area. Notice the square object to the right, it's a dehumidifier lodged in the opening and holding back a large amount of trash above it. We're about 25 ft down in this picture. What lies below is going to be the find of the century.

Months later...what did I tell you? (refer to my last comment above). At about 35 feet, Mike Bounk yelled up excitedly for us to closely examine the specimen he placed in the bucket. Archaeologists estimate this is between 5,000 to 10,000 years old. We also found a hammer stone at the same depth.

"Tractor Tire" Lead   Just feet away from the above lead, we probed a small hole in another sink that seemed to be blowing air. One thing lead to another and we found ourselves in a 12 foot deep excavation. The hillside was very unstable and we were fortunate enough to be out of the way during several slumps and shears. While contemplating a suitable shoring method we decided to use the plethora of discarded tractor tires/wheels lying about the property. Here's Steve Moon starting his descent.
We placed the lowest tire and rim on bedrock and stacked the rest on top of the first backfilling to grade.
The next trip into the sink revealed an area that was beginning to destabilize. Some shoring was added that made everyone more comfortable with the drop. From the top tire to the bottom is approx. 52 feet. A sweet rappel in and an easy 5.3 climb out.
This drop is an extension of the solutional fracture previously mentioned. The drop leads into a space that is approx. 3 ft. wide, 30 ft. tall, and 50 ft long. The down stream end is full of huge break down blocks that seem to be filling another large vertcal drop.
There's an abundance of soda straws and small flow stone. The walls are lined with large flakes or shields that make up much of the break down and these have a rough "scalloped" surface.

After removing several tons of rock in an attempt to extend the shaft deeper, we were forced to stop as the pile of rubble on either side began to show increased signs of instability. Extensive shoring will be required to go any deeper.

Stay tuned!