Seawra Cave: Scott S crawls through the ceiling passage in the Lower Room (Photo by Seth)	Seawra Cave: Scott S up inthe ceiling passage, looking down (Photo by Seth)	Penn Aqua: Josh alligatoring along (Photo by Seth)

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PA Caving Weekend
Harcore Version 6.0
July 19-20, 2003
Seth, Scott, Allen, Josh

Seth and I teamed up with 2 NNJG cavers for a nice non-relaxing weekend underground. The organizer of this trip was Allen, a 20-year caver who some say has become obsessed with PA over the last few years. Evidence supporting this was the 2-inch thick pile of documents and maps of caves in PA, as well as numerous recitations of said cave descriptions.

Josh rounded out the group, balancing us at 2 MET and 2 NNJG cavers. The itenerary was to get as many caves in as possible over the weekend, relaxing just enough to talk about where the next one was. You see, Allen caves few times a year, balancing family and other obligations, so when he goes caving, well, he goes caving.

We also opted for motelling it, as the extra work of pitching tents, cooking meals and general campground chores just cuts into caving time. So there we were, the Pines Motel in Lewistown, midnight Friday, scouring over maps, having a few beers, excited we would wake up early and get into a cave by 10, not the customary noon of most MET leisure trips.

Milroy: Milroy actually is a small cave system with 3 entrances, but the only really accessible is Milroy 2. Gated, we secured access through local search and rescue cavers who installed the gate. This cave is mildly sporting mixed with some pretty sections. We spent a few hours inside doing some crawling and duck-walking, and socializing with the local cavers about Pennsylvania's unique cave access system. Seems many of the caves in the same geographic area are managed by different groups or grottos. Without a central source for access, negotiating your way into these caves can be like dating - you have to start over with your life story each time, putting on your best charm to total strangers.

One particular memorable moment was when we cautiously climbed into the Silver Dome Rooms, skirting flowstone and formations, to find a 200' long stream passage resembling WV-size rooms. Here I spotted a pale crayfish in the stream.

Seawra: A small cave known for its pretties, this former show cave has much evidence of its glory days still present: metals stairs, carved pathways and worn formations. But all around nary a rock was not covered in some glistening flowstone or sporting a proud protruding stalagmite.

In a back "Lower Room" a unique natural ceiling duct-like network of tubes snakes its way around the room. Large enough to fit a man, I climbed into one end of it and crawled my way around 90-degree turns and long cylindrical passages, often chimney-crawling as there were sections with no bottom and a drop of 8 feet to the floor below. Perhaps hardly dangerous, but certainly sporting. This was a welcome contrast to the otherwise soft showiness of the rest of the cave.

Johnson's Quarry Caves 1 & 2: A late night cave commando mission took us to an area campground which was reported to have these 2 caves on its grounds. Taking the "act stupid" route, we drove straight to the heart of the grounds, engaging its denizens for info. If thwarted, we would leave. Surprisingly, no one knew of the caves and paid our awkward questioning no attention, choosing to resume the pastime of the evening: drinking.

On our own, we consulted ancient texts for directions. Parking discreetly at the perimeter of the grounds, we guided ourselves by moonlight only for fear of being discovered by the caretakers. In fact, moments later we found ourselves skirting around the headquarters of the grounds itself, only footsteps from its back door!

But the quarry could not hide from our persistence. In a surge, we darted around the high machine-carved quarry walls and saw the holes. One was large and obvious, perhaps 10 feet tall. An apparent natural defense, the one-room cave had wild bats flying around, so our quick cunning moves dodged them until they departed. Once alone we saw the magnificense of the cave contained in its small package, completely decorated with strokes of historical graffiti.

We exited and located the other, smaller cave. On the ground, its entrance leads under the quarry wall into again one room. Here we found our treasure - 3 cases of government issue MREs in old wet boxes. Another mystery solved!

Aitkins: I had visited Aitkins in the past, going through the Nature Conservancy for access. Imagining formality when picking up the key, instead one must go to a local farmhouse with turkeys, roosters, goats and cats welcoming you in the driveway. The cave is gated and immediately sprouts in at least 3 directions. Here you simply assume the role of Theseus and enter the labyrinth of passages. Climbing and crawling you basically make your way around, choosing between at least 3 choices at each junction. My advice is not to always take the easiest route as the tight crawls can be very satisfying afterwards, finding yourself exiting behind the person who was last going in, much to their surprise. Unfortunately, no Minotaur could be found.

Nale's #1 Cave: Just steps away from Aitkins, this tiny hole in the ground deceived us with it's simple looks. A slanted narrow opening drops 40 feet to a small stream. Gravity assisted us on the way down. The stream goes both ways at the bottom, with 1300 feet of total passage. Many small leads exist, but the bulk is in shallow stream passage. After a quick trip, we headed out. However, gravity was now our enemy, and negotiating the climb up through the narrow slot on rope proved to be a true test even for the best of us. One member needed assistance, and using an ascender placed on the rope by another member, he grabbed the attached footloop to pull himself out, as the other person slid it up for him. Ingenious or pathetic? Only we will know.

Penn Aqua: Tired, 4PM on Sunday, we loaded up on Long John Silver's cheap-fried fish and chips and made ourselves go to Penn Aqua. After all it was our main goal of the weekend, and leaving it until the end suddenly seemed not such a good idea. But failure was not an option!

We slipped into our wetsuits and crawled into this fairly easily-accessible cave (no gate, no grotto , just landowner permission required). Almost immediately you are thrust into a test not unlike the Lost Passage section of Gage or the pre-widened entry slot into Barytes. A natural psychological and physical barrier, the only route beyond is a narrow passage filled with water. It is tall enough to stand in, with just enough airspace for your head. Water up to your neck you slide forward, and soon it gets deeper. Half floating, you can somewhat walk on the left side of the slanted slot, yet the 60-degree angle tends to pull you right and down. Slowly you awkwardly navigate this for more than 100 feet.

Once out, relieved and thrilled, you continue to follow the river, varying from walking up to your ankles to hands-and-knees crawls through sandbars to full swims. One diversion from wetness is a huge upper room, the Gastropod Gallery, that is 50 feet wide, 230 feet long and 25 feet high. However, the salamander inside us compelled us back on stream track, full stream ahead.

Our favorite section was the full swim area, aptly named the Fun Passage. Starting off as a crawl through soft sand in the shallow stream, the water gradually gets deeper. Your knees are first to lose contact as you continue moving forward only by the power of your fists, gorilla-fashion. Next is your hands, and you transform into a crocodile, head resting on the water surface, legs stretched behind, slowly moving through what resembles a MTA train tunnel. The passage is 330 feet of good ol' wetness.

Arriving at the end of this 4400-foot long cave is like downing half a glass top-shelf rum. The return trip was even better.