Those of you who have followed my stories have some familiarity with Florida swamp diving, the awe inspiring beauty of the Magic Mud Puddle, the deep, spooky and a little dangerous Eagles Nest, the bizarre craziness of Warm Springs, not to mention a myriad of other holes in the earth, some named, some not, many that nobody has ever been in For those of you who don't know this area, there are some links at the bottom of this article, good reading and videos..
The swamp does not give up its secrets easily. There are no roads to these places(one exception), no paths either. Getting to them means bushwacking through thick vegetation, mud, fallen trees, etc. Sometimes it is fairly open and mud is the only major impediment. Sometimes the underbrush is so thick you can't see 10 ft and the footing is treacherous. Stepping through the surface and into a snakes den, losing your shoes or breaking a leg are real possibilities. Sometimes the bugs can carry off an elephant. Sometimes its miles of this stuff. Not a nice place, so why in the world do we keep coming back? The hope of finding another Magic Mud Puddle is what its all about, worth fighting 10 swamps for.
We study Google Earth for clues, scour the cave divers web sites, returning, pushing deeper into the swamp, always hoping. So what's up this time? Two spots, circular ponds farther out in the swamp than we have ever been, almost 2 miles from the closest you can get a car. We had seen them on Google Earth, but how in the world to get there? And no idea what we would find underwater. I was reluctant to try. Last trip to Warm Spring was much shorter and almost killed me.
Enter Jack Murat, a SERIOUS cave diver(serious enough to drag scuba tanks out to these places, I kid you not!). He had been in both spots and posted pictures. He is also a scholar and a gentleman, willing to share his knowledge. I called him up and got the following,, underwater cliffs, 100 ft+ undercut drop in one, 85 ft in the other, clear water. I was salivating, this could be as good as the Mud Puddle, got to do it. He also gave us GPS coordinates for trails that would make it much much easier to get there. That still left .6 mile of trackless slog(a very long kilometer), but way better than no trails at all.
Saturday morning, 8 am, me, Scott(dean of the swamp tromping freedivers) and my son Preston, head off into the swamp, well equipped with compass, multiple GPS units, extra batteries, insect repellent, food, water, drop lines, and all our diving gear. Half mile of trail, no problem. Then the trail ended and the fun began. Very thick and very wet, wading little streams and ponds, careful where you step. A long slog, but we made it to a place Jack called Karst Window. Nice looking pool of dark water. It did not look too clear from the bank, but in we went. It wasn't too clear, maybe 20 ft. The sun was still low and the pool was very very dark, full of dark logs scattered every which way,looming up out of the gloom, dark rocks, dark sediment on the bottom. So dark, vis on the bottom was only 6-8 ft. Best depth we could find was 65 ft. Nice cliffs though, 50 ft high in places, along with some areas of very broken up boulders that hinted at passages deeper. It was fun coming up along the cliffs, looking up through the branches of underwater trees, diving buddies silhouetted on the surface. Otherwise, some big bass and sunfish, but nothing to turn us on. Had it been clear and bright, this place would be a whole lot of fun, but not today.
At this point, I was very tired and seriously considering quiting. Scott, the hard core member of the group, encouraged me. “We are so close. You will never have a better opportunity” I fell for it and on we went. The next segment of the journey, like the first, was part trail and part slog. We had a GPS position where the next trail was supposed to start, but. . . . no trail. Did we get the number wrong? Its a long way to slog to the next spot. What to do? We started circling the spot where the trail was supposed to be and, in a few minutes found a trail. Was it the right one? Who knew. It sort of went in the right direction, sorta. Hope springs eternal and we took off along it. Sure enough, not too long after, we come to Karst Pond, a larger and deeper spot. This looked better, brighter sun, clearer water. One minor problem. A large alligator. How large? We could not tell. You can't see much above the surface and even a very big gator doesn't look like much when he is in the water. Gators can be dangerous, but usually aren't. I'm not much spooked by them, but a school mate of Scott's was eaten by a big one a few year back. He is understandably paranoid. All the same, damned if I was going to suffer this much just to have some gator stop me. I decided he couldn't be that big anyway, so in we went, staying a long way from the gator. . This was much better, vis about 30-40 ft, good cliffs where we got in. The problem was the alligator was occupying the best of the deep area. Most of the pond was fairly shallow and featureless. So, now what? After exploring the rest of the pond, we slowly edged up toward the critter. The terrain got better and better, vertical to undercut 60+, nice. The gator was standing his ground and not backing off, which bothered Scott (me too). They don't usually do that unless they are really big or pissed off about something. We finally got close enough to see him underwater. OPPS, I think he really is a big one. He had the chunky look that they don't get until they get big. Even accounting for underwater magnification, he looked Big! At that point, he seemed to take off and we kept diving. Found a cave divers line and figured this must be the best spot. A little disappointed since the vertical wasn't all that much. Saw the gator again in a little cove, skipped past him and came to what must have been the best spot. Another cave divers line. Deep drop, overhang with the bottom going down at a very sharp angle. I followed it down to 70, but it got extremely dark and not much space between roof and bottom, very silty, no rock showing above the silt, and spooky, very spooky. I think the gator in the background was upsetting my subconcious. It felt like no place for long dives or deep penetrations. . On a better day, this could be spectacular, but not today. We did a few more drops and called it a quits. Then, for grins, Scott and I tried to get some video of the gator, but he was too far up in the underbrush to see much. We had to get much closer than I liked. My son, who inherited his mother's common sense and caution, had gotten out the first time we approached the gator. Maybe Scott can post some pics.
Now the really unpleasant part, getting out of the swamp. I was getting pretty close to done when we came to the wettest area. At this point there was a clear little stream flowing through the swamp. . . . . .flowing????????? In this part of the world, the land is so flat that streams don't normally flow. The water mostly just sits there. It took a few seconds for this to register, but what it means is that there is a spring upstream. A spring with a good bit of water coming out, which means an entrance big enough to get into, caverns, maybe another Magic Mud Puddle. All of a sudden I wasn't done anymore. We turned and began to follow what passed for the stream bank. This was awful. Clambering over slimy tree roots, falling in the mud, 10 steps and stop to rest, repeat, over and over again. After a couple of hundred yards we were all whipped. The stream was getting bigger and faster, for sure something is up there, somewhere, but it would have to wait for another day. We turned, crossed the stream, Scott and I falling in, and headed for the GPS position for the next trail. Arrived back at the car a while later, everybody wacked.
Summary of trip results, Fun diving, just not fun enough for the effort needed to get there. But, then again, where does that stream come from??? That is a REALLY interesting question.
Here's to next time.
Links:
http://forums.deeperblue.com/beach-bar/78423-conner-jim-goofing-around.html
http://forums.deeperblue.com/freediving-stories/80823-caving-connor.html
http://forums.deeperblue.com/freediving-stories/82131-you-want-go-diving-where.html
http://forums.deeperblue.com/freediving-stories/82132-you-want-go-diving-where-continued.html
http://forums.deeperblue.com/freediving-stories/73072-one-those-days.html
The swamp does not give up its secrets easily. There are no roads to these places(one exception), no paths either. Getting to them means bushwacking through thick vegetation, mud, fallen trees, etc. Sometimes it is fairly open and mud is the only major impediment. Sometimes the underbrush is so thick you can't see 10 ft and the footing is treacherous. Stepping through the surface and into a snakes den, losing your shoes or breaking a leg are real possibilities. Sometimes the bugs can carry off an elephant. Sometimes its miles of this stuff. Not a nice place, so why in the world do we keep coming back? The hope of finding another Magic Mud Puddle is what its all about, worth fighting 10 swamps for.
We study Google Earth for clues, scour the cave divers web sites, returning, pushing deeper into the swamp, always hoping. So what's up this time? Two spots, circular ponds farther out in the swamp than we have ever been, almost 2 miles from the closest you can get a car. We had seen them on Google Earth, but how in the world to get there? And no idea what we would find underwater. I was reluctant to try. Last trip to Warm Spring was much shorter and almost killed me.
Enter Jack Murat, a SERIOUS cave diver(serious enough to drag scuba tanks out to these places, I kid you not!). He had been in both spots and posted pictures. He is also a scholar and a gentleman, willing to share his knowledge. I called him up and got the following,, underwater cliffs, 100 ft+ undercut drop in one, 85 ft in the other, clear water. I was salivating, this could be as good as the Mud Puddle, got to do it. He also gave us GPS coordinates for trails that would make it much much easier to get there. That still left .6 mile of trackless slog(a very long kilometer), but way better than no trails at all.
Saturday morning, 8 am, me, Scott(dean of the swamp tromping freedivers) and my son Preston, head off into the swamp, well equipped with compass, multiple GPS units, extra batteries, insect repellent, food, water, drop lines, and all our diving gear. Half mile of trail, no problem. Then the trail ended and the fun began. Very thick and very wet, wading little streams and ponds, careful where you step. A long slog, but we made it to a place Jack called Karst Window. Nice looking pool of dark water. It did not look too clear from the bank, but in we went. It wasn't too clear, maybe 20 ft. The sun was still low and the pool was very very dark, full of dark logs scattered every which way,looming up out of the gloom, dark rocks, dark sediment on the bottom. So dark, vis on the bottom was only 6-8 ft. Best depth we could find was 65 ft. Nice cliffs though, 50 ft high in places, along with some areas of very broken up boulders that hinted at passages deeper. It was fun coming up along the cliffs, looking up through the branches of underwater trees, diving buddies silhouetted on the surface. Otherwise, some big bass and sunfish, but nothing to turn us on. Had it been clear and bright, this place would be a whole lot of fun, but not today.
At this point, I was very tired and seriously considering quiting. Scott, the hard core member of the group, encouraged me. “We are so close. You will never have a better opportunity” I fell for it and on we went. The next segment of the journey, like the first, was part trail and part slog. We had a GPS position where the next trail was supposed to start, but. . . . no trail. Did we get the number wrong? Its a long way to slog to the next spot. What to do? We started circling the spot where the trail was supposed to be and, in a few minutes found a trail. Was it the right one? Who knew. It sort of went in the right direction, sorta. Hope springs eternal and we took off along it. Sure enough, not too long after, we come to Karst Pond, a larger and deeper spot. This looked better, brighter sun, clearer water. One minor problem. A large alligator. How large? We could not tell. You can't see much above the surface and even a very big gator doesn't look like much when he is in the water. Gators can be dangerous, but usually aren't. I'm not much spooked by them, but a school mate of Scott's was eaten by a big one a few year back. He is understandably paranoid. All the same, damned if I was going to suffer this much just to have some gator stop me. I decided he couldn't be that big anyway, so in we went, staying a long way from the gator. . This was much better, vis about 30-40 ft, good cliffs where we got in. The problem was the alligator was occupying the best of the deep area. Most of the pond was fairly shallow and featureless. So, now what? After exploring the rest of the pond, we slowly edged up toward the critter. The terrain got better and better, vertical to undercut 60+, nice. The gator was standing his ground and not backing off, which bothered Scott (me too). They don't usually do that unless they are really big or pissed off about something. We finally got close enough to see him underwater. OPPS, I think he really is a big one. He had the chunky look that they don't get until they get big. Even accounting for underwater magnification, he looked Big! At that point, he seemed to take off and we kept diving. Found a cave divers line and figured this must be the best spot. A little disappointed since the vertical wasn't all that much. Saw the gator again in a little cove, skipped past him and came to what must have been the best spot. Another cave divers line. Deep drop, overhang with the bottom going down at a very sharp angle. I followed it down to 70, but it got extremely dark and not much space between roof and bottom, very silty, no rock showing above the silt, and spooky, very spooky. I think the gator in the background was upsetting my subconcious. It felt like no place for long dives or deep penetrations. . On a better day, this could be spectacular, but not today. We did a few more drops and called it a quits. Then, for grins, Scott and I tried to get some video of the gator, but he was too far up in the underbrush to see much. We had to get much closer than I liked. My son, who inherited his mother's common sense and caution, had gotten out the first time we approached the gator. Maybe Scott can post some pics.
Now the really unpleasant part, getting out of the swamp. I was getting pretty close to done when we came to the wettest area. At this point there was a clear little stream flowing through the swamp. . . . . .flowing????????? In this part of the world, the land is so flat that streams don't normally flow. The water mostly just sits there. It took a few seconds for this to register, but what it means is that there is a spring upstream. A spring with a good bit of water coming out, which means an entrance big enough to get into, caverns, maybe another Magic Mud Puddle. All of a sudden I wasn't done anymore. We turned and began to follow what passed for the stream bank. This was awful. Clambering over slimy tree roots, falling in the mud, 10 steps and stop to rest, repeat, over and over again. After a couple of hundred yards we were all whipped. The stream was getting bigger and faster, for sure something is up there, somewhere, but it would have to wait for another day. We turned, crossed the stream, Scott and I falling in, and headed for the GPS position for the next trail. Arrived back at the car a while later, everybody wacked.
Summary of trip results, Fun diving, just not fun enough for the effort needed to get there. But, then again, where does that stream come from??? That is a REALLY interesting question.
Here's to next time.
Links:
http://forums.deeperblue.com/beach-bar/78423-conner-jim-goofing-around.html
http://forums.deeperblue.com/freediving-stories/80823-caving-connor.html
http://forums.deeperblue.com/freediving-stories/82131-you-want-go-diving-where.html
http://forums.deeperblue.com/freediving-stories/82132-you-want-go-diving-where-continued.html
http://forums.deeperblue.com/freediving-stories/73072-one-those-days.html
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