2009 Big Island Survey
Don joined us as we went to the remote extension of the survey.
A large lava ball ejected from a puka served as a landmark. Some years ago Don and Steve Lewis had mapped fragments of tubes in this region. The main survey line is now extending into this region.
Continuing work from earlier in the week, the team begins to survey in a puka just beyond the "Fire Exit" mapped with Carl Snyder.
A small upward crawl leads into an extensive maze.
Emily and Mike Nardacci find the situation quite amusing: Where to start?
Mike sets a station near mineral deposits which include salts (epsomite) which looks like moon milk formations in limestone cave. The substance is a fine powder, so perhaps should be called "powdered moon milk".
Exotic globular formations stood out figuratively and literally.
A constricted bottom of one passage leads into a large room which circles back to the start of the survey. The minerals accumulated on the walls are typical of deposit patterns at sites with this sort of throat.
Another passage, above the previous site and reached by a winding lead which overlays the passages that had just been surveyed dropped via this hole into the most remarkable lead yet encountered this year:
Emily's feet are about 8 feet off the floor... It took the team several minutes to find a crack which was used as a climb down point. The passage remains to be surveyed.