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| Trip Name: |
Caves of the Black Hills, South Dakota
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| Trip Code: | 41 |
| Trip Summary: |
The Black Hills of South Dakota are home to Wind Cave and Jewel Cave, two of the longest caves in the world. Both are complex three-dimensional mazes, over 210 km (130 miles) in length. This camp will feature survey, exploration, and recreational caving trips into both caves. The Black Hills also offer numerous opportunities for self-guided sightseeing.
Note: Participants are encouraged to drive their own vehicles to this camp, or to rent a car. Camp organizers will arrange carpools and rides, including airport pick-up and drop-off at the Rapid City Regional Airport, for those who do not have their own vehicles, but transportation during the camp will necessitate sharing rides.
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| Start Date: | July 10, 2009 |
| End Date: | July 13, 2009 |
| Starting Location: | Wind Cave National Park, Hot Springs, South Dakota
or Rapid City Regional Airport (RAP), Rapid City, South Dakota, USA
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| Ending Location: | Wind Cave National Park, Hot Springs, South Dakota
or Rapid City Regional Airport (RAP), Rapid City, South Dakota, USA
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| Minimum Size: | 2 |
| Maximum Size: | 12 |
| Contact: | Jason Walz and
Andy Armstrong
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| Setting: | Wind Cave National Park and
Jewel Cave National Monument are located in the southern part of the Black Hills in South Dakota. This area consists of granite mountains encircled by limestone and numerous caves.
Summers in the Black Hills are usually hot. Temperatures during the day range from 29-34°C (84-94°F) and during the night range from 4-15°C (40-60°F). The climate is arid; however, severe thunderstorms are common in July.
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| Trip Details: |
Exploration is an ongoing activity at both Wind and Jewel Caves and throughout the Black Hills. This field camp will be organized as one of Wind Cave's bimonthly weekend events, with the addition of recreational trips. The schedule will be relaxed and flexible. Participants who arrive early enough on Friday will have an opportunity to go on a short caving trip that evening. On Saturday and Sunday, there will be trips ranging from 3 to 16 hours into Wind Cave, Jewel Cave, and other caves in the area.
Caving in the Black Hills is both athletic and strenuous. All trips will require cavers to climb, crawl, squeeze, and walk through an astounding three-dimensional maze. Vertical equipment is not needed in Wind Cave or Jewel Cave; however, a webbing handline will be used for some trips. If you are not athletic, the trip opportunities will be more limited.
Trips offered during this field camp will provide opportunities for both recreation and exploration. Exploration teams commonly map 150 meters (500 ft) on a 12-hour trip. If you are an experienced cave surveyor, you will have the opportunity to contribute to the current mapping projects Survey equipment will be provided.
This camp will also offer trips to Reed's Cave, which is located between Wind Cave and Jewel Cave. This cave has impressive dripstone formations and a 20m (65 ft) entrance drop. This entrance will be rigged with a cable ladder and belay line, plus an 11mm rope. Participants who have their own vertical equipment may choose to rappel and ascend using the rope rather than the ladder.
No activities are planned for Monday. However, participants may wish to sightsee in the Parks before leaving for Texas. Participants who want to spend Monday night in the park should plan on using the Park campground for $12 per night or make other arrangements.
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| Accommodations: |
The VIP building in Wind Cave National Park will serve as the base of operations for this camp. This building has a common room, a kitchen, two bathrooms, and three showers. Simple cots for sleeping will be provided in the common room, but participants must provide their own sleeping bags. Men and women will share this sleeping area. Camping is available outside the VIP building, but participants must supply their own tents, sleeping bags, and mats. The common room will also be used as a dining and meeting area, so participants should be prepared to store their possessions neatly during the day.
Meals will be simple. Most food will have been prepared in advance, while some food will be cooked communally. Lunches will consist of sandwiches and cave food. Meals will be designed so that participants can eat when they are hungry. Special diets can be accommodated with prior notice. Food will be provided Friday evening through Monday morning. Dinner Friday night will be an old-west style barbeque and caver party.
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| Special Considerations: |
**** VERY IMPORTANT ****
- Wind Cave and Jewel Cave are managed by the National Park Service (NPS), which has strict regulations designed to protect the caves.
Avoidance of the transmission of organisms between caves is of particular concern. All caving equipment must be thoroughly cleaned before entering
any caves in the Black Hills. Please clean your clothing and equipment following the
techniques described here. Once you leave the Black Hills,
everything should be cleaned again before entering other caves. There are no laundry facilities in the Parks.
- Jewel Cave has manganese mud. The manganese will stain your cave clothes and equipment. All clothing and equipment used in Jewel Cave must be washed thoroughly before it can be used in any other cave. This includes: clothes, pack, boots, and gloves. If at all possible, bring two entire sets of equipment, one to use in Jewel Cave and the other to use in the other caves. If you don't have or cannot bring two sets of equipment, you will have to make your trips into the non-manganese caves first, followed by trips into Jewel Cave. This may limit your choice of trips.
- Cavers MUST provide their own equipment appropriate for Black Hills caves. This includes:
- Helmet (UIAA, CE or EN-certified), boots with tread, gloves.
- Three electric sources of light, two of which must be helmet-mountable. LED lights work best.
- Carbide lamps are not allowed in Wind Cave. In other Black Hills Caves, the only carbide lamps allowed are horizontal-flame cap lamps.
- Pee bottle and bag system for human waste: leaving human waste is not allowed in any Black Hills caves.
- Kneepads and elbow pads are required, preferably thick. Local cavers use pads with 13mm foam.
- Side-mounted pack: only cave packs or hip bags that attach near the waist are allowed. Backpack-style cave packs are not allowed.
- Cave temperatures in the Black Hills are 9-11°C (49-52°F). The caves are humid and dry. None of the trips during this camp will go into water or rivers. The temperature, humidity, dryness, and physically challenging nature of the caves make cavers sweat. Oversuits are not recommended because they are too warm. Cavers usually wear lightweight military pants or jeans and short- or long-sleeved shirts.
- Participants who want to use single-rope techniques (SRT) in Reed's Cave must supply their own full vertical gear and be experienced in its use. A rope will be provided.
- Participants must supply their own sleeping bags. Participants who wish to camp must bring their own tents and mats.
- Participants must be at least 16 years old. Those of ages 16 and 17 must be accompanied by an adult. If that adult is not the parent, written parental permission is also required.
- Most trip leaders available to lead cave trips are not bilingual. A trip leader who speaks your language may be available with prior notice.
- During the week before and after the ICS, some of the public cave tours in Wind Cave National Park will be free for ICS registrants if space is available. These tours are within walking distance of the VIP building. No reservations can be made for these free trips, and the number of trips per person is limited. The Candlelight Tour and the Wild Cave Tour are not included.
- Mount Rushmore National Memorial,
Badlands National Park,
Crazy Horse Memorial,
Custer State Park,
Black Hills National Forest, and
Devils Tower National Monument are all within a few hours' drive of Wind Cave National Park.
This camp does not include any sightseeing; however, participants are encouraged to visit these sites on their way to or from camp. These locations
offer wildlife viewing, granite mountains with needle-like spires, hiking, rock climbing, camping, and cave tours.
- Exploration and recreational caving trips offered as part of this field camp are free activities. The fee for this field camp will not be used
to pay for these cave trips or the use of NPS facilities.
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| Travel Information: |
Transportation during this field camp will be by rental cars and private vehicles. Participants who are not driving their own cars are encouraged to rent one. See the
RAP airport website for information on rental cars at RAP. Carpooling will be organized to accommodate those who do not have cars.
Participants driving their own or rented vehicles can arrive at any time on Friday, July 10, and depart at any time on Monday, July 13.
If you plan to rent a car, you can fly to and from the Rapid City Regional Airport (RAP). Driving time from RAP to Wind Cave National Park is about 1.5 hours. See Special Considerations above for information about sightseeing along the way.
Participants who do not rent a vehicle or drive their own will be picked up at the airport (RAP) Friday night and dropped off Monday morning by a volunteer. Please schedule your flights to arrive before 5:00 pm on Friday and depart after 9:00 am on Monday.
Alternatively, you can use Denver International Airport (DEN) in Colorado. No ground transportation will be provided between the field camp and this airport, so you will have to rent a car. It is about 600 km (370 mi) from DEN to Wind Cave National Park, which will take about six hours. You may want to arrive several days early so that you can tour the
Rocky Mountains and Rocky Mountain National Park.
Driving distance from Wind Cave National Park to the Congress in Kerrville, Texas is about 1600 km (1000 mi), which will take about 24 hours. Since the Congress does not begin until Sunday, July 19, you will have five days to take advantage of the numerous tourist opportunities along the way.
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 The 15th ICS Organizing Committee wants everyone to enjoy their trips and excursions, but cares about the safety of all visitors and the
protection of the caves, their contents, and the land in which they occur. ICS Trip Leaders will have the right to refuse entry to a cave or
property, or remove any person from a cave or property if that person's skills, equipment, or actions are likely to harm that person, other cavers,
the cave, its contents, or the property. For general information on accepted caving equipment, techniques, and conservation methods in the US,
see http://www.caves.org/safety/ and http://www.caves.org/info/policy.shtml
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