Reported by: Butch Fralia, Keith Heuss

Report date: July 5,1995

Personnel: Dale Barnard, Nila Dennis, Butch Fralia, Benjamin Heuss, Keith Heuss, Ed Goff,  Sharon Mastbrook, Lloyd Morrison,  Silas Wright III,Ben Wright,

Synopsis: Low personnel turn out due to college finals, graduations, etc.  Data for three cave descriptions gathered and SAB178 surveyed.

 Eight cavers arrived at Colorado Bend State Park for the monthly work project.  It is surmised that the low turn out was due to college finals and graduations.  Most project attendees are either in college or have family members in college.
 The plan for the 1994/1995 project year has been to gather as much cave description and survey data as possible.  In keeping with this plan, two groups were formed.  One group to survey SAB178 Varmint Trap Cave and to another to continue gathering cave description data in Lively Pasture.
 The survey team consisting of Dale Bernard, Ed Goff, Lloyd Morrison, and Ben Wright, completely surveyed SAB178.  Dale Bernard will provide Keith Heuss with a copy of the survey notes in Austin.  Dale plans to draft a map of the cave.  The cave continues past the survey point but is impassable.  This was Ed Goff's first time to sketch and he did a great job.  The survey team reported bunches of tick around the cave entrance.
 The cave description team was made up of Nila Dennis, Butch Fralia, Benjamin Heuss, Keith Heuss and Sharon Mastbrook.  They gathered data on Sore Back Cave (SAB194), Canote de Carne (SAB196), and an unnamed cave that has previously been overlooked.  The latest group of enhanced descriptions from the April and May Trips are attached to this report.  The description team quit and returned to camp early because of the high heat and humidity.   Butch Fralia notified park Superintendent Robert Basse that June would be the last trip and the CBSP volunteer project will be shutting down for at least a year.  Project leaders Butch Fralia and Keith Heuss are getting burned out and need time to rejuvenate and organize the masses of data collected over the last eight years.  The off time will be used to work on a publication on the caves of CBSP.

NAPOLITAS (SAB 186)Length: 56'Depth:  11'
Description: The cave was named Napolitas (cactus fruit) Cave, for the prickly pear growing at one edge of the entrance fissure.  It is entered by a eleven foot chimneyable vertical fissure.  An entrance room offset from the surface entrance by about five feet has multiple passages extending from it.  This room room is almost cylindrical, about five feet in diameter.  Across the room from the entrance, a small pit 1.6 feet deep leads to a passage passage two feet tall that extends at 210o azimuth for 19.6 feet and has three leads off the end.  This lead is considered beautiful because of the erosion of micro-fractures on the walls.  The first lead to the left and at the end of the passage is two feet wide, 1.5 feet tall, extends 2.6 feet before becoming mud filled.  The other two passages are one foot high and one foot wide and quickly mud choke.  Thirteen feet into this passage, a 1.5 foot wide passage to the right leads 6.5 feet to a small pit that drops down into a passage parrallel to the main passage.  The length of the passage is described as "coffin" length.
History:August 13, 1988: The cave was surveyed during the monthly TSA volunteer work project by Mike Cagle, Corky Corcoran, Jay Jordan, Dennis and Joshua Thompson.
April 8, 1995:  TSA Cave Research Volunteers, Peter Baron, Butch Fralia, Chris Jagge, Sharon Mastbrook, and Tina Schmid, visited the cave to gather data for a more detailed description.
Biology: White sightless millipeds were observed in the cave.  Some were being eaten by small spiders in the cave.
Ref:   Colorado Bend State Park, TSA volunteer work project trip reports.

Unnamed Cave  San Saba County (SAB 193)Length: 4' Depth:  12'
Description: A small vertical cave in Gorman Creek near SAB218 (Blue Fungus Cave), and SAB194 (Sore Back Cave).  The pit entrance is covered by a large rock.  Two holes, one about ten inches in diameter and another about 12 inches by 2 feet lead under the rock to the top of the pit.  The pit is twelve feet deep with a small passage three feet wide by four feet long.  The floor is dirt covered from soil washed in from the surface.  A twelve inch by eight inch hole in the floor at passage end provides water drainage from the cave.  At various times the hole terminates with dirt fill but after a heavy rain, this may be washed out and the hole seen to continue for a short distance before disappearing under rock.
History:November 1988:  Alvis Hill, with the TSA Cave Research Volunteer Project, explored the cave and provided a preliminary description.  Part of the root system of a nearby tree blocked the entrance and was trimmed to facilitate entrance.
April 8, 1995:  TSA Cave Research Volunteers, Peter Baron, Butch Fralia, Chris Jagge, Sharon Mastbrook, and Tina Schmid, visited the cave to gather data for a more detailed description.
Ref:  Colorado Bend State Park, TSA volunteer work project trip reports.

SORE BACK CAVE San Saba County (SAB 194) Length: 25' Depth:  10'
Description: The surface expression for Sore Back Cave is a fifteen foot long, three foot wide (widest point) fissure trending south to north.  A small passage leads downward in the north end of the fissure.  The entrance passage leads downward in a southerly direction for about ten feet.  At the bottom is an intersection room, an enlargement of the passage tall enough to stand in.  A passage to the abrupt right of the room is to tight to traverse.  A left passage extends for about ten feet to a vertical fissure passage leading down.  Very small people could continue downward in this passage.
History:August 13, 1988: The cave was surveyed by Clay Chambers, Jay Jordan and Dave McClung with the TSA Volunteer Cave Research Project.
May 13, 1995:  TSA Cave Research Volunteers, Nila Dennis, Butch Fralia, Benjamin Heuss, Keith Heuss, and Sharon Mastbrook, visited the cave to gather data for an enhanced description.
Ref: Colorado Bend State Park, TSA volunteer work project trip reports.

CENOTE DE CARNE  San Saba County (SAB 196) Length: 40'+ Depth:  13'+
Description: The entrance is a cross shaped formed where two fissures meet perpendicularly.  An 8 food chimney down leads to a wide room about 40  feet across with some ceiling heights of 4 feet.  A small pit at one side of the room leads 5 feet down to sloping passage.  This passage leads to a second room where a shallow pit sumps.  The clear water contains some organic debris.  On the other side of the 40 foot wide room, a small squeeze leads to a breakdown chamber.  A strong airflow is noticed at this squeeze and across the breakdown chamber where a 6 foot tall room leads to a skylight which is too tight to negotiate. Many bones were observed throughout the cave, some were old and were well embedded in the flowstone deposited on the floor.
History: August 13, 1988: The cave was surveyed during the monthly TSA volunteer work project by Mike Cagle, Clay Chambers, Corky Corcoran, Jay Jordan, Dave McClung, Dennis and Joshua Thompson.
May 13, 1995:  TSA Cave Research Volunteers, Nila Dennis, Butch Fralia, Benjamin Heuss, Keith Heuss, and Sharon Mastbrook, visited the cave to gather data for an enhanced description.
Ref: Colorado Bend State Park, TSA volunteer work project trip reports.

DOG & BUTTERFLY CAVE  San Saba County (SAB 197) Length: 17' Depth:  11'
Description: The entrance to Dog and Butterfly Cave is a fisure ten feet long, one foot to five feet wide trending at 256o azimuth.  The entrance drops eleven feet to a breakdown floor.  Horizontal pasage extends at 74o azimuth for seventeen feet.  The passage floor drops six feet from the entrance to the end over it's seventeen foot length.  A possible passage in the floor extends two feet before becoming to tight to traverse.
History:August 13, 1988: The cave was surveyed during the monthly TSA volunteer work project by Mike Cagle, Clay Chambers, Corky Corcoran, Jay Jordan, Dave McClung, Dennis and Joshua Thompson.
April 8, 1995:  TSA Cave Research Volunteers, Peter Baron, Butch Fralia, Chris Jagge, Sharon Mastbrook, and Tina Schmid, visited the cave to gather data for a more detailed description.
Ref: Colorado Bend State Park, TSA volunteer work project trip reports.

BLUE FUNGUS CAVE      San Saba County (SAB 218) Length: 11'+ Depth:  15'+
Description: The entrance to Blue Fungus Cave is a small fissure three feet long by one foot wide.  The chimneyable entrance depth is ten feet deep.  At the bottom the passage bells out then slopes downward toward the NE. (68o) for eleven feet.  At the end of the passage the floor drops about three feet and continues on but it is two narrow to continue.  A small flow stone occurs on one side wall at the end of the passage.  The short passage is tall enough to walk in and air can be felt blowing in the cave.
History: August 13, '88:  Visited by participants in the TSA Cave Research Volunteer Project.  The cave was probably surveyed on that date.
April 8, 1995:  TSA Cave Research Volunteers, Peter Baron, Butch Fralia, Chris Jagge, Sharon Mastbrook, and Tina Schmid, visited the cave to gather data for a more detailed description.
Ref: Colorado Bend State Park, TSA volunteer work project trip reports.

UNNAMED CAVE      San Saba County (SABXXX) Length: 47' Depth:  30.3'
Description: A small fissure entrance drops 20.3 feet into a ten foot passage at 260o azimuth.  The passage terminates in a small room with draperies, flowstone and crystals on the wall.  From the room another passage at 320o azimuth extends for 6.5 feet to a ten foot deep pit.  At 20o azimuth in the pit, a tight fissure can be looked into.  The fissure is about sixteen feet long with flowstone on the walls and the ceiling extends almost back to the surface.  Another squeeze at the end of the fissure and another fifteen or so feet of passage can be seen with possible passage leading right or left.
History: April 8, 1995:  TSA Cave Research Volunteers, Peter Baron, Butch Fralia, Chris Jagge, Sharon Mastbrook, and Tina Schmid, noticed three caves in the SW corner of Lively Pasture.  These caves have probably been lost since the massive ridgewalk in the pasture, February, 1988.  On "rediscovering" the caves, they gathered description data.
Ref: Colorado Bend State Park, TSA volunteer work project trip reports.

UNNAMED CAVE      San Saba County (SABXXX) Length: 3' Depth:  10'
Description: A small fissure about six feet long drops ten feet into a three foot horizontal passage.  The only redeeming benefit of the cave is that it's cool on a hot day.
History: April 8, 1995:  TSA Cave Research Volunteers, Peter Baron, Butch Fralia, Chris Jagge, Sharon Mastbrook, and Tina Schmid, noticed three caves in the SW corner of Lively Pasture.  These caves have probably been lost since the massive ridgewalk in the pasture, February, 1988.  On "rediscovering" the caves, they gathered description data.
Ref:  Colorado Bend State Park, TSA volunteer work project trip reports.

UNNAMED CAVE      San Saba County (SABXXX) Length: 50'+ Depth:  16.4'
Description:  This cave has two entrances in a large fissure system.  The northmost entrance has good accoustics to hear voices talking in other entrance fifty feet away.  The tight fissure entrance drops 16.4' into a narrow passage.  The passage is hard to negotiate because the widest part is about three feet off the floor.  The end of the passage could not be seen.  This cave could be traversed with a lot of "work!".
History: April 8, 1995:  TSA Cave Research Volunteers, Peter Baron, Butch Fralia, Chris Jagge, Sharon Mastbrook, and Tina Schmid, noticed three caves in the SW corner of Lively Pasture.  These caves have probably been lost since the massive ridgewalk in the pasture, February, 1988.  On "rediscovering" the caves, they gathered description data.
Ref:  Colorado Bend State Park, TSA volunteer work project trip reports.

UNNAMED CAVE      San Saba County (SABXXX) Length: 18' Depth:  16'
Description:  The entrance is located in a fifteen foot long fissure/sink trending east to west.  A sixteen foot climb leads down into a west trending stoop walk passage leading about ten feet before the floor drops about three feet into a passage eight feet high, three feet wide and eight feet long.  Nothing noteworthy was observed about the cave.
History: May 13, 1995:  TSA Cave Research Volunteers, Nila Dennis, Butch Fralia, Benjamin Heuss, Keith Heuss, and Sharon Mastbrook, located the fissure while visiting other caves in the area to gather description data.
Ref: Colorado Bend State Park, TSA volunteer work project trip reports.