11/29/2009 |
Jack Marut |
3-5 or less |
Bill and I made the trip into Blind Spring Final Exsurgence on 11/29/09. We launched our boat at the public ramp at the south end of Pine Island and proceeded north approximately 7 miles and then turned east into South Blind Spring creek. From there we proceeded slowly upstream past half a dozen fishing cabins to the head pool of the final exsurgence of Blind Spring, finally arriving about two hours before high tide. During the last 500 feet of our trip we saw numerous fissures and vents on the mostly moss and silt covered limestone creek bottom. There is quite a lot of flow but it seems to emerge from many places. The head pool is approximately 150 feet in diameter. Visibility was 3-5 feet or less. The water was brackish, 71 degrees, with no hydrogen sulfide smell or taste. There is a fracture running part way across the bottom of the head pool that was 20 – 40 feet deep. There are large passages at the bottom of the fracture that I penetrated a hundred feet or so. There was very low flow, lots of sediment/particulates in the water and plenty of silt on the walls, ceiling and floor. I found no lines in the cave system, nor did I leave any. Visibility in the cave was very poor. I posted a short video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRxkTMjOajw Dive Safe. Jack |
4/25/2009 |
Jack Marut |
8-12ft |
Bill and I made the trip into Blind Spring today. It is a little over 2.75 miles each way. While this is a long trip and difficult trip, it was not as bad as we expected. We parked where Two Mile Tram meets Three Bridges Road. Two Mile Tram is the next road on the right after the Buford road. We walked almost to the end of Two Mile Tram, about 1.3 miles, where it opens up and bends to the left. From there we headed to the right in a NNE direction about a .5 miles through the swamp, toward the end of Main Grade Road, an old road left over from the logging days. When we found Main Grade, with the help of GPS, we followed it northward and then westward about .75 miles. At this point we again headed into the swamp for a final .4 miles or so of very difficult travel, ending our journey at the Blind Spring head pool.
The visibility was poor, milky 8-12ft., and the water cold. The bottom of the head pool and spring run are covered with a thick growth of moss-like vegetation. Just brushing this stuff ruins the viz. There is a fracture near the head of pool that runs roughly north-south for 2/3 the width of the pool with depths in the 30-50 foot range. The pool is fairly large, but due to the very poor visibility and lack of scuba gear, we were not able to get a good panoramic view of it. We were not able to find a spring vent or noticeable flow. On numerous free dives into the system we were able to find several large undercuts and a couple of possible tunnels that are large enough to merit additional exploration. Hopefully, we will be able to return in the next few weeks.
On our return trip we explored a sinkhole or Karst window about .3 miles to the east and north of Blind Spring. Hunters had told us that this was a man-made quarry and was known as Chevy Sink, for an old car that had been abandoned there years ago. Our investigation revealed that this is definitely a natural formation and that there is no Chevy to be found. I suspect that Chevy Sink is farther north along Main Grade road. In the KUR report this pond and several others are known simply as Karst Window. If anyone knows the correct name for this pond please let me know.
This is a large pond, 300 ft or more long and about 2/3rds as wide. The water was cold, very clear and had a slight bluish tint. The northern side of the pond appears to have a deep canyon or cliff like structure in the water about 5-10 feet from shore. This fracture is reported to be 130ft. deep, but without scuba gear, we could not confirm the depth or the report that there is an opening near the bottom. Because we had spent so much time snorkeling the Blind Spring pool, we did not snorkel this pond. We are planning a trip back in a week or so with gear and will let everyone know what we find. If you know anything about this pond please email me.
Dive Safe
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