| March 2026 Minutes | | Meeting was held on March 03, 2026 | | Minutes recorded by: Darcy Phillips |
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| Attending | - Tammy Tucker (Host)
- William Tucker (Host)
- Lee Ann Dean
- Matthew Plett
- Nichole Alton
- Darcy Phillips
- Jordan Glassman
- Gunnison Brasher
- Jenson Brasher
- Matt Brasher
- Pierson Miller
- Ryan Marshall
- Tim Charlton (Zoom)
| | Old Business | - Covered last month's minutes
- Collected dues
- Still trying to connect with Georgia on dig updates, Ryan will try to call this coming week about Endless trip lead training and Yellowjacket.
- Recreation trip to the High Guads.
- Reminder that Cave Quest model of Snowy River is up for viewing, Lee Ann has emailed out a link.
- Still looking for Parks Ranch volunteers. No set date, Lee Ann will reach out to Ben Tobin at NCKRI.
| | New Business | - Date for Millrace cave- sometime in April or May, TBD. Millrace has both horizontal and vertical routes and is a combo lava flow and gypsum formation. Free camping at Valley of the Fires.
| | Trip Reports | - Pierson- Yeso trip- good weather, worked in Fenced Off Pit (150 vertical pit) to fill out lime plot, good gypsum passages. 2nd day was slow going, difficulty navigating around a knot on the line.
- Ryan- YESO trip- ridgewalking, didn’t find anything new. 2nd day surveyed inside a cave using Disto and tablet.
- Nichole & Darcy- Endless Cave- drove out early to meet Pecos Grotto people. Saw 2 of 3 resident rattlesnakes at entrance, visited Signature Room, Green Lake Room, and Warclub Room, and a small pool full of dead centipedes, spotted ticks inside the cave. Darcy’s boots did not survive the trip.
- Gunnison & Matt- Gunsight Cave- went with Jennifer Foote with goal of setting up an audio recorder and game camera. Trail was unclear in spots. Football field sized main chamber, lots of dead ends and some high skylights. Saw some bats, and a petrified deer. Also evidence of Barbary sheep.
- Ryan, Pierson, Lee Ann- Carlsbad cable covering- some confusion over whether the water was on in quarters, Hunter away, so had to justify presence to a ranger. Split into two groups, taking supplies down in elevator or hiking down, covering a large cable mass. Alge cleaning on Sunday, used sturdier brushes to get calcified alge. Rock of Ages needs work. Stopped at Bobcat Alley, a halite salt cave before Carlsbad.
- Tim was in Sorcerer’s Cave to retrieve dive equipment from a trip a couple of weeks prior where a woman was injured. Took around 12 hrs to retrieve out of a series of verticals.
| | Upcoming Trips | - March 9th - Speleothem repair workshop. Participants tasked with getting info on glue and other supplies so LAG can get equipment to do repairs in Senora.
- March 9th- 20th - Senora volunteers for tour leads and follows and possibly organize gem and minerals. $12/hr pay and free camping. Volunteers can work any of the days in those two weeks. Tim and Lee Ann will be out there during the two week span.
- March 14th-16th -Carlsbad Cave Rescue in Parks Ranch and Hall of the White Giant. $10 fee, still looking for attendees. Check Groupme for link, possible discount.
- March 14th YESO side trip
- Tentative April 4th or 18th- High Guads, still working with Jennifer to set that up, need to reach out to Pat Sicero to guide Pink Panther or Hell Below.
- Tentative April 4th or 18th OR May 16th or 23rd – Carlsbad/ McKittrick rec trip. Depends somewhat on when training can happen.
- Blowing Crack Dig- on hold for Brian
- Repairing pit formations in Sonora- sometime after repair training
| | Show & Tell | - Recommendations for Asolo boots, Zebra and Fenix headlamps, Weaver SRT chest harness, and Spot 400 headlamp from Black Diamond
| | Program | | | Next Meeting | - April 7, 2026
- 7:00 PM
- Alger Residence
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