Diary of Herb and Jan Conn

In 1987, Herb and Jan Conn provided their diary entries for their exploration trips into Wind Cave from 1963 to 1974. The text of the letter accompanying the diary entries is included below.

HCR 83, Box 93
Custer, SD 57730
March 29, 1987

Dear Tom,

Here is all we have in our diaries. We didn't censor out much of anything, but we did do some deciphering and clarifying where things weren't clear or quite legible. In copying it, several things we didn't mention come to mind.

Fred Devenport was a ranger at Wind Cave for many years, a permanent-type ranger who refused transfers. He and his wife were both small, and their son Dennis (Denny) inherited their small stature. We think he was 11 when we caved with him, and we used to lift him up into ceiling holes to look around and see if they were promising. Once he shouted eagerly, "It goes!” but before we had puzzled out how to get there ourselves, he added, "For a rat, that is." When he was climbing over the Garden Gate in the Calcite Jungle, we cautioned him to test a projecting handhold carefully before trusting it. He did test it, hanging from it with all his weight. "It holds 57 pounds," he assured us. It became the "57 pound test handhold.” Don Rutherford and Mark Tyers were also the young sons of the staff, but a little older and a lot bigger.

8/22/64. The Pyramid Room pyramid (still there?) was built for a foothold to climb into the ceiling hole which was one of the early routes from Omnibus Hall.

8/23/64. One of the pits mentioned later became the "Rescue Pit."

8/29/64. We approached the Screw Loose Room via the Sound Barrier, where the sound of voices is lost in the sandy walls and ceiling. It was weird seeing lips move and hearing nothing come out.

8/30/64. It was time to head home, but Dave was poking on ahead. With Don Rutherford we were packing up our survey gear to leave. From down the passage, Dave called, "Come here!” "It’s time to head out, Dave,” we replied. "Come here!” Dave insisted. “No, Dave. We’ll explore the rest next time." “I'm not leaving until you come. Come here!” Finally we obeyed his summons. He had found the helictite bushes.

10/31/64. The Screw Loose Room, or Loose Screw Room, was originally the Lost Screw Room, because we lost a tiny screw from our Brunton somewhere in its depths.

12/7/64. The aragonite pseudomites are the Christmas Trees. (In Christmas Tree Park) 3/17/65. "Petey's Puddle" was named for Judy Peterson. It's a parody on “Peter’s Puddle," the lake that seldom contains water beside the highway north of Wind Cave, which never fulfilled Peter Norbeck's visions. The "walking" stream, we suppose, wasn’t quite running. 4/14/65. Don't remember the Devil's Insides. Sounds like one of Denny Devenport's names. He also had the Bleeding Liver in an alcove of Omnibus Hall.

4/28/65 and 1/9/67. We called Dave's electronic box with two blinking eyes a Soil Creep, but the real soil creeps are cave dwelling creatures who lurk all about us unseen, frequently grabbing our clothing or bopping us on the head. Soil Creeps try very hard to remain invisible to humans, because when they're seen, they immediately turn to stone. Many of these unfortunate ones who were spotted can be found in the Calcite Jungle, gargoyle-like projections from the wall. There must have been a particularly spectacular one in the SC (Soil Creep) passage.

8/17/66. The Bishop's Collection Plate was a shelf, in the passage leading to Rome, where we used to leave keys, wallets, and other valuables for safekeeping while we were in the cave.

It’s been fun thinking about all this again and reliving our experiences. Hope some of this helps you, and good luck with your work.

Best wishes,

Herb & Jan

 

Diary Entries

Wind Cave Trips, Herb & Jan Conn

1963

June 25, 1963
Herb met Jan at 6 p.m. and we drove down to Wind Cave, where we caved from 7:30 to 11:30 with Al Howard and Dave Schnute. Used the rope to go down a 50 foot pit and surveyed from P1 to P10. (Monument Hall)

June 29, 1963
Into Wind with Al Howard and Don Rutherford at 8:30 a.m. to Pearly Gates Annex, where we snooped many holes and surveyed 200 feet. Out at 5:10.

July 1, 1963
Into Wind with Al at 8:00 to Rainbow Falls area where we snooped more grungy little holes and surveyed 300 feet, from B15, T18 to T1. Out at 4:30.

1964

July, 1964
Spent three Saturdays in Wind Cave with Dave (Schnute), Don Rutherford, Fred and Denny Devenport, and Randy Long. The last trip proved the most exciting when we found ourselves in a large virgin room, the Omnibus Room, almost as big as the Fairgrounds. This was really a major discovery, and as it seems to be on the edge of the known cave, it could prove the gateway to some really new cave.

August 22, 1964
Into Wind with Dave and in the a.m. Randy and Mickey Long and Don Rutherford, and in the p.m. Jon Schnute and Denny Devenport. Snooped out of the Omnibus Room from the lead on the balcony of that room. This went some distance, but Don found a better route to the same place from the Pyramid Room. This we decided to survey in the p.m., but when we got our survey to the Pyramid Room Herb discovered an aragonite coated passage (the Frostline) and we were off on an exploring jag that took us into a series of rooms and passages which constitutes the most impressive area of cave we’ve found in Wind to date. Time ran out before more surveying could be done, but Herb has a date to return tomorrow and survey.

August 23, 1964
While Jan worked at the Museum, Herb went down to Wind and with Dave, Denny Devenport, and Don Gillespie and Don Rutherford, surveyed from the Pyramid Room to the Hornet's Nest, where they took off with a rope for the slot we had found yesterday. Climbed down the slot without the use of the rope. The slot stopped but a passage jogged west and brought them to the top of another pit where a rope will definitely be needed. One half hour needed to reach the elevator from this point.

August 29, 1964
Herb sneaked into Wind Cave, again while Jan worked at the Museum. In the morning with Fred Devenport, John, Mark, and Danny Tyers, saw all the new sights and took pictures of frostwork. In the afternoon just Fred and Herb explored above the Hornet's Nest, finding hollow concretionary objects, a maze of passages of loft-like appearance, and finally stared over a precipice into a huge room which seems to be still unknown. Fred is eager to go again, and we think he has been bit.

August 30, 1964
A big afternoon in Wind, with Dave, Don R., and the two of us. Surveyed the Nudist Colony making a closure in the Hornet's Nest. Jan led Dave down into the Calcite Jungle while Don and Herb investigated the pits farther south. Jan and Dave got to the bottom first, then Don and Herb climbed down with belays. Lots of cave below with high ceilings and crystal coated boxwork. The Lonesome Road led on to more discoveries, a large room, and the weirdest formations yet, 2 foot high bushes of helictite-like character which have us all agog and eager to return with camera. One group of them was covered with a crystal layer.

September 5, 1964
Into Wind with Denny Devenport at 10:30. Took color and black and white pictures of the branching helictites. Explored five or six hundred feet on south of them, getting into big passages with many of the crystal covered helictite "trees." Out at 3:50.

October 12, 1964
Into Wind with Dave at 8:3O. Surveyed JF27 in the Hornet's Nest to JF48 at the helictite bushes. From here we pushed on over 1000 feet southeast. The last 200 feet was a narrow passage with a floor of calcite ice which we avoided by chimneying above it. Found more bushes, but not as big as those at JF46. Out at 6:15.

October 19, 1964
Into Wind with Dave at 9:00. Surveyed JF48 to 68. We snooped on, following many parallel southbound passages which all seem to lead to the calcite ice area we were in last week. We hate to destroy the ice to see what lies beyond. Out at 7:30 p.m.

October 22, 1964
Into Wind with Fred at 8:15. Out to the helictite bushes where we finished up our black and white film. Snooped north in the Calcite Jungle and found a north-south passage which came out at the Garden Gate. This may prove to be a more feasible way than the surveyed route, especially if the passage continues under the Garden Gate and connects with a similar passage which runs north from the bushes at a low level. Out at 6:15.

October 26, 1964
Into Wind at 9:30 with Dave, Don and Rita Gillespie. Showed Rita the sights, but didn't go down the Boxwork Chimney. In the p.m. Dave and the two of us made a hairy climb amid the boxwork to an intriguing passage on the side of the Nudist Colony, only to have it connect back to NC3. Found some "flexible boxwork.” Out at 6:50.

October 31, 1964
Into Wind at 9:00 with Denny D. Surveyed up from the Hornet's Nest, JK27, UH1-UH11, which was on the brink overlooking the Screw Loose Room. Managed to work our way down into it. It's about 200 feet long with many pits dropping out under it. Why we can’t connect with it from known cave without this devious up-and-down route is a mystery. Out at 2:30.

November 18, 1964
To Wind Cave where Herb took wind readings. It proved to be a good day for it, with much fluctuation.

November 25, 1964
Into Wind with Dave at 8:30. Out to the Screw Loose Room where we found a connection back to JF24. It has a tight muddy crawl, but is a vast improvement over the old "hysterical" route. Followed a series of large passages into the biggest room we've ever found in Wind or Jewel! We estimate it is 400 feet long and from 40 to 70 feet wide. A real exciting time! Out at 5:3O with no surveying done but much discovered to be surveyed next time.

December 2, 1964
Drove down to Wind in near zero temperatures and falling snow. At Wind, no Dave appeared, and a phone call found him sick in bed, and of course upset that we hadn't received his card. Although we had no third, John Tyers took pity on us, loaned us his key, and away we went (at 9:15). Made the Omnibus Room in 10 or 12 minutes, and were ready to survey at JF24 within 20 minutes of leaving the surface. Surveyed AA1-33. The Club Room turned out to be 540 feet long and 45 feet wide in the narrowest place, but in most places 60 or so. Also surveyed the Yukon Trail, AA20, YT1-2, which made a total of over 1600 feet surveyed today. Did little exploring, but peered into a room beneath the AA14 room and found a few uninspiring connections, the most noteworthy from the north end of the Screw Loose Room to AA1J. Out in 40 minutes from AA29.

December 7, 1964
Into Wind with Dave at 9:10. Loafed out to AA29 for lunch. Snooped northwest where we found another huge room 180 feet across. Surveyed this BB1-4 with BB3A-B-C to measure the extent of the room. At BB4 there is a passage with breeze, aragonite and pseudomites (of aragonite and small) but we were unable to follow the breeze to more large rooms. On the way out we followed holes down near AA23-­24, only to come out in the large pit just beneath the entrance to the AA29 room. Out at 6:30.

December 11, 1964
With Dave among the unemployed, we're going into Wind Cave more often. In at 9:00. Surveyed from AA5 into the Screw Loose Room, LS1-8. Next we explored south out of the room. Found a hole down and connected in the Calcite Jungle with JF43. Also could have connected with JF39 via the pit Herb and Don R. climbed down on Aug. 30. Back in the Screw Loose Room once more we looked for leads and found one to the Multi-Purpose Room. Surveyed back from it, MP1-11 which tied to LS7. Out in 5O minutes at 7:15.

December 21, 1964
Into Wind at 9:00 with Dave, and Art and Tom Cloutier. Out to the Club Room where we poked south. We climbed down into the Calcite Jungle and managed to connect with known cave beyond the helictite bushes. After making the connection we divided up. Herb and Dave retraced their steps so as to pick up packs left in the Club Room. Jan and the two Cloutiers returned via the Calcite Jungle so as to show the helictite bushes to Art and Tom. The discovery of this connection makes a loop tour which shows off both the Club Room and the bushes. We suspect this loop will be much used in the future. Out at 5:55.

December 26, 1964
Into Wind at 8:30 with Dave, Jon, and Denny. Made our new loop tour, surveying the 980 foot connection we found last time. Surveyed from JF57, CA1-25, tying to AA33. Out at 7:00.

1965

Jan. 1, 1965 
We're spending the day at Wind Cave. Herb is stamping around in the snow at the entrance taking wind and barometer readings. Jan has given Mark Tyers a guitar lesson and is now in the truck where the sun has taken the place of Sparky who did the honors the first part of the morning.

Jan. 2, 1965
Into Wind with Dave and Denny at 9:00. From the Screw loose Room we found two more connections to the Multi-Purpose Room. Snooped north from the Multi-Purpose Room several hundred feet where things seem to go. Out about 6:30.

Jan. 9, 1965 
Off to Wind Cave and in at 10:30 with Dave and Mark Tyers. Surveyed from the Multi-Purpose Room taking off from MP1 with MP12 and ran it up to 19 before abandoning the work in favor of more exploration. Pushed on north another 500 feet, and breezes indicate we're headed for an entrance. Is it the main entrance or the blowhole above the Tyers house or what? Out at 7:55.

Jan. 16, 1965 
Into Wind with Dave and Denny at 10:00. Surveyed MP19-33. Denny found a good sized room above MP26, and Herb made a connection between MP19 and the area below and beyond the Yukon Trail. Out at 6:55.

Jan. 23, 1965 
Into Wind with Dave and Denny at 9:00. Out to MP33 where we tried to continue north without luck. Dave thought our luck was good, though, for we found beautiful fossil coral and horn coral which is relatively rare in Wind. Checked all the eastbound leads back to MP27. The one at MP27 went the farthest and provided lots of fun and a 3/4 inch corkscrew hanging from the ceiling in one place. What is it? At MP25 we checked a westbound lead that we followed over 550 feet. Out 7:50.

Jan. 30, 1965 
Into Wind with Dave at 9:00. Out to the Club Room where we looked for leads off of the Clubhead. For most of the day we crawled around in tight twisting sandy crawls that seemed to take us nowhere. In midafternoon we finally stumbled on a real going passage that ran south beside the Club Room. Did a rush job of surveying over 1000 feet back to BB4 from BB28. This left us only one hour and ten minutes to our 8:00 deadline. We kept moving and made the entrance in 50 minutes from BB4 at 7:40.

Feb. 6, 1965 
Surveyed 605 feet. Into Wind with Dave at 9:00. Out the BB series found connections to the Club Room near BB18 and two between BB21 and BB26. Beyond BB28 we climbed up and spent most of the day snooping two higher levels to the BB25-28 passage and made a connection with BB21. Finally at about 5 p.m. we hit paydirt exploring and surveying BB29-42. Many breezes and good passages and at least one unclimbable looking hole are off of BB40. Out at 8:10.

Feb. 13, 1965 
Into Wind with Dave at 9:00. To BB40 where we found a route around the big hole. On down to the Calcite Jungle or lower. We had to use the rope for a belay on the last pitch. Surveyed back from XX1-XX14 which tied to BB40. Out at 8:30.

Feb. 19, 1965
Down to Wind where Herb set Annie (his homemade anemometer) up just inside the entrance to the cave, and started Dave's old barograph running.

Feb. 20, 1965 
Down to Wind and found Annie still ticking. Met the Colorado cavers, Ken Carpenter, John Murphey, Tom ? , and Bill Presley. With them we went into the northwest area following the yellow tapes left by Randy Long and Dick Gilliland last summer. We surveyed over 3OO feet with them before heading out, at 3:50. Found it snowing outside. Retrieved Annie and headed home.

Feb. 22, 1965 
Into Wind again, this time with Dave at 8:45. Surveyed GW1-9 tying to JF44. Then we explored and surveyed from CA14, CC1-14. Many breezes, all of them confusing. Out at 6:45 into sub-zero temperatures.

Feb. 25, 1965 
While Jan played host to her philosophy class in the Conncave, Herb drove to Wind with Annie where he set the machine up in the cave entrance, to leave there until something goes wrong in her innards, or until a snowstorm leads John Tyers to close the cave door. Also got Mike 0’Brien’s barograph (which came in today's mail) purring away in the Ready Room.

Mar. 1, 1965
Down to Wind Cave where we found Annie had been misbehaving due to dampness (too much friction) and the ball point pen won’t write on wet paper.  Met Jim Thompson again.  He has take over Wally Elms’ job.  Brought Annie home.

Mar. 17, 1965
Into Wind at 8:45 with Dave and Judy Peterson.  Snooped beyond CC14 and found more cave, a large pool, and a “walking” stream.  Out at 4:00.

Mar. 26, 1965
Into Wind at 8: 25 with Dave. Surveyed CC15 to CC22 and did considerable snooping in the area, but found nothing sensational. (A few bushes.) Out 6:50.

Mar. 31, 1965 
Into Wind with Dave at 8:30. Surveyed the JF35 to CC2 connection with XX15 to XX26. Then out to CC11 where we explored and surveyed LL1-15. This passage crossed right under the Club Room. Out at 5:50.

Apr. 5, 1965 
Into Wind with Dave and Don Gillespie at 8: 45. Gave Don the bush - Club Room tour with a detour to the pool. Snooped in this area and made a connection to the GW series area, we think. At least we found some of our arrows and can’t think of any other place they could be. Out at 7:45.

Apr. 14, 1965 
Into Wind with Dave at 8:30. Out to MP24 where we snooped some holes up. In one we made a connection with the Devil’s Insides area, and in another we found some pretty stalactites. We surveyed PC1-16, tying to MP25. We also snooped the area above MP19 and succeeded only in making a circuit. Out at 7:05.

April 28, 1965 
Into Wind with Dave at 9:30. Snooped in the Calcite Jungle where we surveyed from JF34 with SC1-SC14. Discovered the Soil Creep and a G# major triad (musical fins of boxwork) which we chimneyed against. Out, Jan at 7:00, Herb & Dave 7:45.

May 5, 1965 
Jan decided to take the day off to pamper her cold, so Herb and Dave were left to fend for themselves in Wind. Checked the lead southeast from JF19-20 (JJ1-8), and found going cave with a breeze headed for an entrance. Also mapped the Hornet’s Nest room.

July 10, 1965
Into Wind with Dave at 8:45. To the Calcite Jungle where we explored and surveyed MJ1-14 which tied to JF33, and MJ15-27 which tied to MJ9. Out at 7:00.

July 17, 1965 
Into Wind at 9:00 with Dave and Philadelphia cavers Margie and Laurie Cameron who are on their first western trip. We took them on the usual loop, Boxwork Chimney, Calcite Jungle, helictite bushes, and Club Room. We snooped a little off of the LL, series to La Mesa Hundido. Out at 8:00.

July 24, 1965 
Into Wind with Dave and Ron Edwards. Surveyed to La Mesa Hundido and snooped beyond to a pool. Things seem to pinch down till they are too tight to be practical.

Aug. 7, 1965 
Into Wind with Dave and Ralph Jones. Snooped the hole up at AA14. Wandered all around and ended looking down into the Multi-Purpose Room. Also snooped out beyond the Hornet's Nest only to connect with cave near the Frostline. Ralph is quite taken with caving and may come again sometime.

Aug. 28, 1965 
Into Wind with Dave at 9:00. Surveyed from JF67 to JF83 in the calcite ice region. Snooped on beyond and found many parallel passages. We kind of wish it were our cave so we could get it all on the map. This is probably our last survey trip in Wind Cave for some time, as Dave is off to Lehman Caves in a week or so, and won't be back until next spring. Out at 7 :15.

Sept. 4, 1965 
Down to Wind with Ralph Jones. Spent the day finding difficult and circuitous routes between previously discovered areas. From JF22 connected with AA1 and found a route from the Club Room to the Screw Loose Room.

Sept. 25, 1965
Down to Wind where we joined forces with Ken Carpenter, Bill Presley, Billy Presley, and Ray ?. We took them on our loop tour which impressed them all. It was a first cave trip for Landon Walker, Jan's nephew. Oct. 5, 1965Set Annie up in the entrance to Wind Cave. John Tyers gave us a key and permission to go in exploring and mapping whenever we want!

Oct. 8, 1965 
Down to Wind where we found that Annie had all but blown down the stairs. A long barometer rise had blown the pen off scale, and continued blowing had wrenched the box off its moorings and broken the wire that holds the pen. No permanent damage had been done, however, and we got her running once more. In the cave at 10:30 we snooped southeast out of the Muddle Room and seemed to find plenty of going cave. We snooped a couple hundred feet and although we found Alvie's string much in evidence, the area isn't on any map--and it should be. Out of the cave about 2:30 and hunted up Dave's data on the survey to the Muddle Room, so we will know where we are taking off on our own survey. Annie was doing fine when we headed for home about 4:30.

Oct. 12, 1965 
Down to Wind where Annie had again pooped out. This time her whole pendulum system had shifted, breaking the wire which holds the pen once more. Added some bracing and got her going again. Into the cave at 11:30. Surveyed from D14 in the Muddle Room to D31, over 500 feet. At D20 we found a connection with the other "strung" connection between the Muddle Room and the Garden of Eden, and we found it shorter to go out this way to the Garden of Eden. Did some snooping off from the D28 area but found nothing really hopeful. Out at 4:10.

Oct. 16, 1965 
Down to Wind where Annie had pooped out again, this time however only an hour or so before we arrived, giving us a good four day record. We discovered also that some stubborn weekend ranger refused to take his tours in via the elevator last weekend, which was probably the cause of Annie’s previous change in position. While Herb fixed Annie, Jan gave Mark a guitar lesson and then Herb and Mark toured all the blowing holes known in the area. The one that blows the hardest is right below the reservoir. It almost blew out a match, and the wind could be heard roaring down below. The "entrance” is a crack not wide enough to admit an adult but a child just might make it. After leaving Riff-Raff with the Tyers we went into the cave. Below D31 we went down the miserably tight holes but found nothing we could follow. Checked out a maze of leads on our way back without much luck. At D24 we found a lead east which took us to another string which we followed back north to D20. We found Al Howard's footprints in this area. On the way out we surveyed from D20 with A-B-C---M, tying into the top of the railing in the Garden of Eden area. Out at 6:15.

Oct. 29, 1965 
Herb to Wind Cave where he removed another 6 day record of winds from Annie. As he has all the records he needs now, he dismantled Annie and brought her home. We first set her up in the entrance of Wind Cave last Feb. 19, and the intervening time has been full of frustrations, refinements of the mechanism, and finally success.

Dec. 21, 1965
Dave is back in the area briefly, and we went into Wind with him today as he picked out a route for the Spelunker Tour he wants to have next summer.

Dec. 22, 1965 
Into Wind again with Dave. Discovered a new section of Calcite Jungle which we thought was isolated at first, until we spotted connected it with the spot below the big pit. We climbed into it from the area off of the Screw Loose Room and found another route up out of it that landed beyond the Hornet's Nest room. Its most striking feature was an area of "fallen leaves," calcite ice lying all over the floor of the passage. This is just off of the big pit and difficult to cross without stepping in the "leaves." Found the connection from the Screw loose Room to the Club Room and snooped above the Club Room end.

1966

Feb. 22, 1966 
Yesterday Dave appeared! He has been accepted by the National Park Service and will be around for a week or so before he reports to Grand Canyon for 12 weeks of training. Today we went into Wind Cave with him on a picture taking trip. Made the regular loop. We took our camera and took a few pictures of our own.

June 16, 1966 
Al Howard arrived finding Jan at the Frontier Museum where she had just given two guitar lessons. Jan continued on her rounds while Al drove out to the Conncave to pick up Herb. In Wind Cave they took off from the end of the Pearly Gate trail, on the route to the Bubble. Beyond the Web they surveyed up a hole and along an upper level route, BA1-17. Had some excitement finding the way out via a route that Al had followed only once years ago.

June 17, 1966
Into Wind with Al at 9:30.  Took him on the Club Room loop with an excursion out over the calcite ice where we found a couple promising but tight leads.  Turn north at double arrow beyond second fork beyond ice.  Then take first east through crawl.  Out at 4:30.

Aug. 17, 1966
At Jewel, Herb made his first trip into the Target Room via the new tunnel to retrieve his barometer. Then he took both barometers to Wind Cave, where he set one up in the Ready Room and the other at the Bishop's Collection Plate (in the passage leading to Rome).

1967

Jan. 9, 1967 
Into Wind with Dave and out to the Nudist Colony to be surprised by Dave's "soil creep," which blinks intermittent lights like two small red eyes at all passersby. Dave thought he had a lead in this area, and he really did! Two parallel passages., one of them running about 500 feet northwest. He wants to survey them before he leaves next week.

Jan. 13, 1967 
Into Wind with Dave at 9:30. Surveyed from NC4, with EH1-21, which leaves us a couple hundred feet shy of the end of the passage. Did a little snooping west from EH20 and found a parallel passage which also seemed to stop. Out 5:30.

1968

May 30, 1968
While Herb sunned himself at home with Riff-Raff, Jan showed the Club Room loop to Tom Keisling and Lee Campbell, in Wind Cave.

Dec. 18, 1968 
With Dave Schnute Herb went into Wind Cave and found Dave's soil creep still flashing after two years in the Nudist Colony. On to check Al Howard’s lead out beyond the calcite ice. It went! A stream-type passage with ripple marks led gradually down and southeast, opening finally into a large passage with many open leads, helictite bushes, stalagmites, and bush-stalagmites that look like hairy little men. Also found a lake perhaps 60 feet long which we think might be the water table. Surveyed JF84-90.

Dec. 20, 1968 
With Dave we went into Wind to survey Herb and Dave’s find of two days ago. Surveyed from JF90 to JF110 which was perched atop a pinnacle 17 feet above the water level of the pool. We tried to measure the depth of the water but could only reach out about an arm's length from the shore where the depth was between 5 and 6 feet. It looks deeper, a beautiful blue-green color farther out. We snooped southeast and then northeast from JF107 and found a maze of small passage but nothing big and going, although we must have gone 200 to 300 feet in that direction. We got into the cave at 8:30 and were out at 6:10, only a little dusty from our efforts, but with two pairs of tattered pants. The manganese in Jewel may be dirty, but it doesn't "grab you" the way the soil creeps in Wind Cave do.

1969

Jan. 2, 1969 
Into Wind with Dave and the Blankety-Blank (camera) and out to the big pool where Dave took pictures of it and the many helictites in the area. In at 9:20 and out at 6:20. This is Dave's last trip before he goes back to Washington to work.

April 12, 1969 
Herb into Wind Cave with Tom Kiesling, Mike Rock, Dennis Bryan, Ron Hawkins, and ? (Pahasapa Grotto cavers) so Showed them the large pool and helictites, and found a promising lead on southeast which Tom thinks can be opened with a hammer and possibly a chisel. There were black (manganese?) bushes and helictites in this new passage.

June 12, 1969 
Met Jack Stellmack and the Haarrs (Al and Doris) at Wind Cave and took them around the Calcite Jungle -Club Room loop. In at 1:30 and out at 7:00. They were very enthusiastic about everything.

1970

June 17, 1970
With Herb back at work in Jewel, Jan was elected to show the Chicago group (Windy City Grotto) around the area in Wind where they will be working in August. We went in at 2:15 - John Scheltens, John McArdle, and Tom Pritzen. We went around the regular Nudist Colony, Calcite Jungle, Club Room loop, and the group was suitably impressed with the cave. They seem like a pretty good bunch on the whole, and certainly someone should be working in Wind Cave, for there is much to be done there. We’ll be watching their activity with interest.

July 24, 1970 
Al Howard took Herb into Al's section of Wind Cave, a confusing maze of crawls and rooms at the upper level between the Post Office and the Pearly Bates. Al found data in the files indicating the water level in the Park well is about 3659 feet above sea level--very nearly the same as the elevation of the "lakes" in the cave. In cave 10:10 a.m. Out 4:55 p.m.

Dec. 28, 1970
The Windy City Grotto, or about ten of them, are back at Wind Cave this week. Dave Schnute and Herb went with them-Chris Hill, Dr. Dave Baker, and seasonal ranger Bob Travis from Hot Springs. We learned the way on from the lake we found two years ago-and why we had missed it then. There is a wild step from the top of a boulder to a ledge on the wall across the lake which Dave finally did but Herb refused to try. He did an alternate hugging the shore of the lake. There is another alternate reached from the chimney beyond the lake which involves, so they say, a miserable crawl. Beyond is a small pool, "Transition Lake," and then the big "Windy City Lake," over 200 feet long. One at a time we took a boat ride in their one-man rubber boat to the far end, where one climbs up out of the boat and spraddles over water for another 50 or 75 feet. But sadly the passage does not keep going, unless possibly under water. While we were there John Scheltens appeared leading another party who were going to explore and survey the "Ten Thousand Lakes" area, which is apparently a collection of crawlways and pools which we also missed.

1971

Feb. 20, 1971
With Don Davis and Norm ? , Herb led out to the lakes in Wind Cave. Both Don and 11Norm were impressed by all that Wind Cave has to offer, Don by the "pretties” and Norm by the going passages-particularly the Club Room which we visited on the return. However the snooping we did in the area between the lakes was fruitless. A 7½ hour trip.

1973

Aug. 30, 1973
9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. A trip into Wind Cave, our first in connection with preparing a master map. Found our way to the Xerox Room, Independence Hall, and Mammoth Canyon. It’s a confusing area which is made more confusing by multiple surveys in the same passages. Surveyed from Colorado Grotto XE1 and Windy City Grotto CL18 back to the trail, CL18A-E, and checked the survey on the approach to Rome.

Dec. 21, 1973
9 a.m. to 3 p.m. With Dave, Herb into Wind Cave. Made the Post Office to Pearly Gatesconnection, checking map perplexities along the way.

1974

Jan. 5, 1974
11 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. Dave and the two of us checked and sketched in Wind Cave between theXerox Room and the Hemp Works.

Jan. 10, 1974 
11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Showed Ken Gartzke and Don Kopp the confusions of Wind Cave. Made a circuit from the Temple through the Short Cut to the Elks Room stairs, then headed out past the Xerox Room. Found a mysterious XX survey, 27 to 1, leading east from the Popcorn Room into some pretty respectable, but as far as we knew, unmapped cave. Ken and Don would like to get permission to start a survey project in Wind Cave.

Feb. 18, 1974 
8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Into Wind Cave, just the two of us, and discovered new locks on the elevator call buttons. But since there was a key in the First Aid Room we didn’t have to disturb anyone on the holiday. Never thought that we might need the key again to get out again, and left the key above. To our chagrin, however, we found more new locks down in the cave, and all the time we were caving we wondered how we would get back into the elevator. Checked in and around the Temple to elevator area, then out to the Rescue Pits and Calcite Jungle, solving a lot of the puzzles on the map. Got out of the cave by unscrewing some screws on the elevator lock, although it proved we could have escaped from the main entrance with our regular PR-1 key.