Trip to lost Johns 28th March 2010
As we so often do, when we are bound for Yorkshire, most of us met up at Mike’s house as there is ample parking space for surplus vehicles and it is a reasonably central location, for those who live around it, obviously not, for those who live quite far away.
So, Mike, Ian, Joel, Guy, and myself, set off at 7am, in Ian’s car, I say 7am but it was realy, 6am because it was the morning that the hour changed so we were all a bit groggy anyway.
Two others, Mick, and Scott, were also setting off from Elesmere port around the same time, and it turned out that Scott was even groggier because while he had remembered to put the hour forward on his mobile phone, (which he was using as an alarm clock) The phone, being a fancy one, also remembered to advance itself automatically.
This turn of events culminated in Scot sitting around at the appointed meeting place for over an hour before realising what had happened, by which time it was too late to go back to bed.
So we arrived at Bernie’s café at 9am, or 8am if you use the standard winter time system, Which Bernie’s staff were using on that particular day, so the tea urn had not been fired up, and the lady who cooks the breakfast had not been summoned from her bed.
But all is well that ends well, and we finally got our breakfast, then we set off following Mick’s van, because he was the only one who knew the way.
Up on the moors of Leck fell, we parked close to the entrance and got changed, in the freezing rain, nothing new there then.
Inside the cave, I have to say was a delight, we climbed down into a small streamway, and followed the stream in, soon, the stream was descending faster than we were, because we were following the ancient ledges of a canyon which had been cut by the stream in the mists of time.
Mike pointed out to me, on the way in, the junction which gives lost John’s it’s unusual name, and I duly noted how easy it would be to walk straight past the small passage on the left which is the way out.
We decided to do a little exchange trip on the upper levels, so Mick, Scott, and I descended via Cathedral and Dome, while Mike, Guy, Ian, and Joel, descended via Hammer, Mud Pot, and Centipede.
We soon found ourselves up near the roof of the canyon with the stream crashing away far below us. By wedging ourselves into the contours of the canyon with elbows, feet, knees, heads, and all manner of contortions, we made our way to the first pitch, where our advance party, of Mick, was already rigging.
To be fair, and to my amazement, the first pitch and the second were not wet. You should realise that Mick had billed this trip as a walk in, walk out, dry trip, so obviously everyone had come prepared for at least a couple of waterfall descents, and a minimum of waist deep water.
However apart from a few deviations here and there, we arrived at Battle axe traverse where we met up with the others, without so much as a moan, not even from me.
But tranquillity has never been the default option in this club and it was here that Joel revealed that he was feeling bloody terrible, he had not been feeling too good to start with, and had got progressively worse with every rope.
At this point Joel did not feel he had the strength to do the difficult traverse of Battle axe, so we had a meeting, whereupon it was decided that two others should accompany him out.
Ian and Guy volunteered to head for the surface with Joel, while Mike, Mick, Scott, and I, negotiated Battle axe, and then down Valhalla.
Still dry, we negotiated the final traverse and then on, down the final pitch.
At battle axe, we had met up with another caver, from Lancaster who was on his way down to look at a potential dig he had spotted the previous week and needed to check it out before the fell was closed for the season in a few days time.
At the bottom we had tea and sandwiches, and then explored the extensive passage in both directions, we also inspected the dig that our newfound friend was engaged in and generally marvelled at the splendour of the place.
Then we headed skyward, somewhat more slowly than we had descended, de rigging as we went.
The others had gone out the same way they had come in, so I never got to see Centipede and Mud pot, I will have to return sometime.
We were a little short of manpower for carrying bags of rope on the way out, and it was dark by the time we broke surface.
Ian, Guy and Joel, were waiting for us in Ian’s car and they had clearly experienced an extended period of extreme boredom as evidenced by Ian’s video account of the day’s proceedings.
I certainly enjoyed the trip, and it turned out to be something of a historical event, a walk in, walk out, dry, trip where we actually came out dry.
Doug.
Subject: Lost John's 28th March 2010 
Sat 17 Apr 2010, 12:46 pm
