Bob's Excellent Mini-Cave Vacation

[MXGratefulDiver]

A few months back, TSandM posted about a mini-cave diving trip she'd taken to Florida. Thinking it an excellent idea, I accepted an invitation from Katepnatl to fly to Atlanta, drive down to Florida together, get in three days of diving, and fly back home again ... what amounted to a 5-day Labor Day week-end trip.

So last week-end I flew in on Friday, and we pulled in to Jim Wyatt's Hotel California around 10 that evening. For anyone looking for nice, affordable accommodation in cave country, I can recommend this place ... considering it was just the two of us, it was a luxurious amount of accommodation ... located nicely between the two systems we'd be diving, Peacock and Ginnie.

The next morning we got organized, went into High Springs to Cave Country to pick up the tanks I'd be using. We ran into some old friends ... Marci (Baby Duck), Larry (DA Aquamaster) and Mark (Mark Vlahos). Then we headed over to EE so Kate could take care of some business over there, and headed off to Peacock. Due to the late start, we'd only be doing one dive this day. And since this would be my first time inside a cave since May 2011, we opted to keep it simple ... P1 to Olson and back, a dive I'm both familiar with and fond of.

After the dive, which was really enjoyable, Kate remarked how "murky" the water had been. Odd ... it seemed clear to me. I guess it's all a matter of what you're used to. That evening we hooked up with Marci, Larry and Mark for dinner in High Springs.

Next day it was back to Peacock, where we were joined by our three friends. Marci and Larry wanted to go down the Well. Mark would be diving with Kate and I ... and we decided to head down the Well, then come back, pick up stages, and head off to the Water Hole. Unfortunately, at the jump off the Peanut Tunnel to the Water Hole, I had a primary light failure and turned the dive. Since we'd be doing two dives this day, we decided to try for the Water Hole again. This time it would be just me and Mark ... and we didn't have stages, so we didn't know how far we'd make it before having to turn (I was diving sidemount on 85's). We made it almost to the end of the line before I turned it on gas ... for an enjoyable 105 minute dive. After the dive I ran into another fellow ScubaBoarder I was happy to meet ... JahJahWarrior.

That evening, Kate and I hooked up with another fellow ScubaBoarder ... Meredith (Mer). And we discovered that we have some common friends, including one young man she works with in Hawaii who I trained when he lived in the Puget Sound area. We had a very enjoyable evening, and she decided to join us at Ginnie the following day.

Although there had been some concerns about the crowds at Ginnie on Labor Day, we got there in the aftermath of the festivities, and all was peaceful and quiet ... there weren't even hardly any divers around. The water level is higher and the flow lower than I'd ever seen it before ... and the views were just awesome ...

The Ear was closed, so we headed into the Eye and made our way to the White Room and back ... for a lovely dive ... the most relaxing I've ever had in Ginnie.

After the dive we stopped by Cave Country, and then headed back to Atlanta. The following morning I woke up feeling pretty awful ... and it only got worse during the long flight home. By the time I got in to see my doctor the next day I was running a fever of 102 and had (as I suspected) a rather nasty case of UTI. I'm recovering, with the help of some good drugs, but that's a part of the trip I could skip next time I head down.

I'm appreciative of all the hospitality I always get when I visit north Florida ... and the good people who I always seem to find to dive with when I'm down there. I've yet to visit the caves in Mexico ... and I want to ... but it's the excellent folks I've gotten to know and dive with who always lure me back to Florida.

Thanks Kate ... and all the others who made this mini-trip memorable ... I'm looking forward to the next opportunity we get to share a dive ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Rick Murchison]

Thanks for the report
Rick​

 

[PfcAJ]

Kate and Meredith are good people! Glad you had a fun time!

 

[JahJahwarrior]

Bob,

Great to finally meet you! It’s funny how you can run into people so unexpectedly in cave country.

Peacock is a little murkier than normal right now, but nothing very bad at all. Peacock basin is actually very nice and clear, and the water is finally over the steps again! For the longest time, there has been about a 2-3 foot drop from the bottom step to the water. When I first started cave diving in Peacock, we ran a line from the steps because the first 10 feet was nasty brown (but warm!) water…

Orange grove on the other hand, while it has water up to the steps, has 45 feet of brown water before you hit the clear stuff. And, the tannic water pools in the ceiling are incredible!

Next time you get here, making sure to swing by a Publix and pick up a bottle of alcohol or vinegar…I’m guessing you didn’t bring it on the plane. I once got a UTI after a single dive not cleaning the hose, and I will never dive again if I haven’t run some alcohol through the line!

I’m glad you were able to keep diving, I thought afterwards that I should have offered to leave my can light with you since you were having light problems. The Well is a very fun tunnel, as is Waterhole, and the White Room is beautiful as well. If you’ve never been, I highly recommend going to the Crypt at Peacock and the Ice Room at Ginnie, on your next trip. They both have always struck me as places similarly, if not more, beautiful and inspiring than the Well and White Room, but they do take a few more spools to get to.

I think we should plan a mini “invade cave country” during some long weekend, get all of you crazy cold water divers together, see what happens!

 

[Rick Murchison]

... got a UTI after a single dive ...

I'm satisfied that there are nasty critters in Peacock. Worst post-dive earache I've ever had (whole side of my head & jaw!) was after a day at Peacock.

Rick

 

[JahJahwarrior]

I didn’t get the UTI after diving Peacock

I have gotten one known ear infection while diving, and that occurred after diving Peacock.

There is definitely some stuff living in the water (see picture attached) but it’s not all bad, and I’ve probably dove over 100 times at Peacock without using anything in my ears afterwards without any ear infection… not that I drink the water there while diving!

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Fortunately, I had a second can light with me, so I was able to continue diving. Also, that 1000 lumen DRIS backup light proved to be kick-ass inside a cave ... my dive buddies were suitably impressed.

My light problem turned out to be a faulty cord, and Mer dropped the light off at LM for me after our final dive.

JJW, I suspect you're dead-nutz correct about the cause of the UTI ... I do NOT want a repeat incident, and have some powerful incentive to be more careful about that from now on ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[TSandM]

I think we get away with a lot with our p-valves in Seattle, where the temperatures tend to be low -- you have to be much more careful, I think, anywhere where the air tends to stay at incubator levels!

Sounds like you had almost an identical trip to mine, Bob. Isn't Jim's place fabulous? All that space AND a washer/dryer, for a very reasonable price. The only challenge is finding it in the dark.

I hadn't ever done P1 to Olson, and I was really amazed at what a beautiful dive it was. I would cheerfully dive Peacock some more. And I remember my dive in upper Orange Grove -- I really enjoyed that, too.

And Kate and mer and I did Ginnie together, too! I found out helium makes a big difference for me in that cave (and the fins I'm now diving do, too, I think).

Glad I inspired you. There's a bunch of really good people down there, and some fun cave to dive. A PNW Florida cave country invasion sounds like fun, but I don't know that I could get Peter to do it. He's even more MX-centric than I am!

 

[ucfdiver]

Glad I inspired you. There's a bunch of really good people down there, and some fun cave to dive. A PNW Florida cave country invasion sounds like fun, but I don't know that I could get Peter to do it. He's even more MX-centric than I am!

So let's do a group trip to Mexico one weekend, why not?

 

[JamesK]

Sounds like fun. Well aside from the UTI. I was planning on heading up that weekend but my family came down for my birthday. Oh well. Get down in a more timely fashion next time! Lol