September 15

Grant enters the dive site with gear and a tank

Terrence & Kyle prepare to push upstream again

The dive equipment laid out for today’s dives

The team plots the survey data






Man, Is It Humid!

Friday, September 15, 2000
The rain yesterday didn’t let up until early this morning. It was still quite overcast when we headed out to the site at our usual 0830 departure time. As the day progressed, the heat began to put the moisture back into the air, and at my estimation, the humidity was at about 115% (Of course this is impossible, but the amount over the actual humidity would be my perspiration). With the assistance of our sherpas, we were able to get in the water and start our dives about 1030 again today. We had two teams heading upstream and one team downstream today.

Tony Lee (downstream team with Grant Graves): It’s only the second day of my trip, and I laid line. The trip into jungle was easer today. Lugging the equipment in yesterday was a good workout to say the least. On my second trip into the jungle, I got lost. No one knew I was just wandering the jungle. I took a left turn too soon down a blazed trail, with my doubles [This was one of the erroneous trails the team had gone down the first couple of days]. After about 200 feet, I decided to turn back – it was the next left. My first dive yesterday was great – my first dive with Terrence in the water that I didn’t have to look for lost line (having just finished my full cave certification in the spring). Mark and I surveyed the existing line on the upstream side, a real test of my bouyancy skills. Today, the rain slacked off, and I was ready to go and see places no one has seen before. This time, Grant and I headed downstream. With Grant leading the way, we headed into the unkown. It really felt great, and pretty exciting not knowing what is around the next corner. We explored two different rooms, then surveyed out. I am looking forward to tomorrow. Now I know what it feels like to want to push.

Mark Corkery (upstream team 1 with Karl Shreeves): Karl and I were assigned to explore a side passage on the upstream side that we hoped would connect farther in on the upstream line that Terrence and Kyle were working. This connection would bypass a couple of minor restrictions and save time on upstream exploration. As we followed the passage, we could tell that we were headed in the right direction to make the connection. Only a mere 150 ft, and we tied into the upstream line again. We surveyed this new connection and still had enough air to continue looking for new leads off the current line.

Terrence and Kyle continued to push the upstream line and surveyed their result. After returning to the resort, the team prepared for tomorrows dives and plotted their data from the dives to date. Currently, the team has surveyed the existing line and what they have added for a total of about 3300 feet in the system.



Send questions or comments to the trilobite.
Questions and Comments To the Trilobite

Hi All!
Rick R. says he wants underwater photos and that a hot link I sent wasn’t, Jimmy C. says he is going to e-mail you to get you to bring back some of those c-notes (read $) and Dina H. enjoys the “other than Monitor” updates and is spreading the word. I second the U/W photo request.
Cindy

I would love to put some underwater pictures up. However, we don’t have a housing for the digital camera. Keep telling everyone you meet to spread the word!


Need the spell checker! How’s everything going?

I have someone who checks up on me. Unfortunately, I had to leave her at home for this trip. Everything is going rather well. With all your Marine training, you should be here to help us carry cylinders back into the jungle.


Hey guys!! Tony, I’m glad to see you made it. Save some new stuff for me! I saw your pictures on the website, and they’re making me hunger even more for Akumal!! Terry, are you making Kyle get up and work out and THEN blaze a trail??? I can hardly wait to get there! See you on Saturday . . . Renee

Of course we work out. You should be ready to do about 10 miles every morning before 45 minutes of PT. Then we’ll have breakfast before we head out to the jungle . . . NOT


Hello. I understand that it is the rainy season in Mexico now. I’ve also learned that it is also Tarantula mating season. Is this true, and if so, have you seen and or interacted with very many? I’m obsessed with the idea and I’d love your feedback!
Anonymous

It is definitely the rainy season. It has rained almost every day since we have been here. I don’t know about the mating habits of the local arachnid population, but they don’t seem to mind the rain.


Hi Gang
Looking good. Great coverage and some very nice pictures. I especially like the embedded links. They add a lot to the story and expand the educational theme. The feeling you must have in being the first to witness this incredible beauty must be overwhelming. I see you are practicing your rope work. Are you having to lower yourselves and equipment into the water? Are both the upstream and downstream openings large enough to use a standard back-mounted doubles set-up? What is the proximity of this cenote to some of the other more widely known cenotes? Do you think that perhaps that tube heading north on the downstream side may lead to one of the other known cenotes or is it way too early to contemplate something like that?
Me excited? How could you tell. Right . . . looking forward to joining all of you on Saturday. Be safe.
George

We are trying to make the website an educational tool that everyone can use. As for the rappelling, no, we haven’t had to do any. The Cenote Camilo looks a bit like an offset sink with a bluff on one side and sloping entry on the other. We currently have 3 divers diving back mounted cylinders and 3 diving side mounted cylinders. We have been concentrating on major passage and so far, all divers have been able to easily pass through. The closest cenote that is frequently dove is about a mile away. It is hard to tell around here if one cenote will lead to another . . . you’ll just have to come down and see for yourself.

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