Photo's CAR3
Photo's by Roger Zellmer of Carlsbad Caverns trip in April/May 2006
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On the second day I did the Lower Cave tour. |
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The tour started with a 10' rope repel down to 60' of ladders. Once down the ladders it got much easier. Hardhats with lights were provided to protect your head. Gloves were required to protect the cave walls from skin oil. It was necessary to grip hold of rocks to negotiate the trail. |
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All lighting was provided by the cavers. Only 12 cavers per day were allowed down to Lower Cave. |
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There were more pools and moisture down here. |
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Little popcorns which will eventually become stalagmites. |
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The depth of this cave was 860'. The two small elevators were fast but quite scary as there was very little clearance between it and the rock shaft. |
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A milky looking column. |
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Looks good enough to eat. |
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It was definitely more intimate down here. |
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This is a bat that got petrified into this column. |
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This exemplified the varying water levels of the cave based on conditions surrounding the cave. |
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Our guide on this tour was very knowledgeable and inspirational. On the way out we were given the opportunity to crawl through a side tunnel about 60' to see if we would like to do some real caving tours. I decided to pass on this. |