Aaron got permission from the Penny Pit landowner. We drove across a field to a parking spot and arranged our vehicles so that the cows couldn’t get between them hoping that the owner’s peacocks wouldn’t attack while we were gone. Aaron headed off into the woods to find the cave. I was still packing my pack. I had crossed the electric fence and started into the woods when Sean came running through the woods and told me that Aaron wasn’t going to be able to find the cave due to logging so I walked back to my car and made a phone call home to get the GPS location. I started back out into the woods following the GPS but was Bo’d off track through a bunch of poison ivy. Aaron had found the cave. It was now growing dark so we walked Aaron back to the vehicles which I had taken a point on and then Nate led us down some dirt roads and slightly off trail to the cave. The GPS point was dead on.
I could sense a lack of motivation in the group and admit that I felt like taking a nap; but there was caving to be done. We stood above an 8’ W x 18’ L pit and wondered about rigging to the large 1.5 to 2’ diameter tree sprawled across the middle of the pit. The drop looked nice and a tree rig would provide a free fall. I saw no way to rig to the tree without making it difficult to get on and off rope so I rigged some webbing around a nearby tree and tied the rope to the end maximizing the rope length because we didn’t know the order of the 5 drops.
I went down first, followed by Sean. The pit was indeed nice. The walls were covered in scaly green liverwort. I rappelled 30 feet down into a wide room, pushed off a ledge and landed on a breakdown slope 20’ below. I got off rope and soon spotted the flowstone encrusted sky mask Aaron had described. Sean and I looked for a continuation but found none. We yelled up to Nate to check for leads on the way down. Nate found a hole to the side of the ledge and Sean ascended up to him. I’d set up for a picture and finally captured the image I desired. I captured a dark profile around the breakdown slope and ledge where Sean was standing patiently waiting and radiating his new found smile each time I took a shot. The picture encompassed the entire drop from entrance to floor.
I climbed up to Sean and re-belayed the rope around a natural projection so Nate could descend. The way on looked nasty. I watched Sean maneuver through an awkwardly tight canyon into position to thread his rack and squeeze into the drop below. It was soon my turn. 20’ down I landed in a 15’ diameter room and continued down another drop.
I was now in a room with a small crevice in the floor leading to a hole in the wall which appeared to be the next drop. We rigged it and I watched Nate and Sean maneuver through the awkward hole, navigate the undercut lip all while making sure to place the rope over a projection to prevent it from displacing into the crevice. Sean said it was the worst lip he’d ever done. It wasn’t too horrible. Nothing in the cave would have been that bad if it weren’t for my 2 tag-a-long dry boxes attached below me. Anyway, I maneuvered through the hole and rappelled 25 feet into what appeared to be the bottom of the cave.
I placed a strobe for backlight and photographed Sean and Nate ascending up. We ascended back to the room below the tight canyon and saw an alternate route where we could have rappelled down to a canyon passage which took off to the right. Our motivation had fully weaned so we retreated back towards the entrance. I photographed Nate and Sean as they ascended then battled my dry boxes through the tight canyon and back into the entrance room.
I hadn’t yet photographed the flowstone encrusted sky mask. I knew Aaron would be disappointed if I didn’t come back with a picture of it so I rappelled back down to the breakdown slope and photographed it and started up the pit. I was back at the ledge when I realized my ascent was a little too easy. I’d forgotten to attach my dry boxes. I down climbed 20’ to retrieve then and ascended out of the pit. Nate and I took turns route finding back to the car. Eventually, the GPS led us to the right road and we soon saw the cars. It was late, 1:30 AM our time, 2:30 AM local time. Somehow, Aaron had expected us to do the cave in 2 hrs and had told the owner we’d be done by dark. Oh well, maybe if we’d known the route we’d have been quicker. We did the best we could to quietly drive back across the field and around the owner’s house. No paint had been scratched from our cars so evidentially the peacocks desired peace. No more caving was attempted that night. We retreated to Corydon and slept well in Hotel Exterra.
Penny Well
Sean stands on the ledge halfway down the entrance pit.
Sean stands on the ledge halfway down the entrance pit.
Penny Well
Nate starts his climb from the very bottom of Penny Well.
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Penny Well
Sean helps Nate ascend.
There goes Nate.
Penny Well
Sean begins his ascent.
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Penny Well
Sean climbing.
Sean works his way over the awkward lip.
Penny Well
Sean disappears through the crack above.
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Penny Well
Sean disappears through the crack above.
Nate climbs a flowstone pit.
Penny Well
Sean checks out a lead in search of the last pit.
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Penny Well
Sean checks out a lead in search of the last pit.
Nate climbs up the 2cd drop.
Penny Well
Nate poses on rope.
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Penny Well
Nate works his way up the tight crack.
Nate works his way up the tight crack.
Penny Well
Nate works his way up the tight crack.
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Penny Well
Looks tight doesn't it?