MACAresto March 2021 Report
Brian Hunsaker, Director
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On Saturday, March 6th, we had 20 participants which we split into three groups, two in the cave and one working outside. Participants of the groups rotated work throughout the day to enjoy multiple activities and areas of the cave.
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Our first in-cave group worked on lint collection. Utilizing paintbrushes, soft-bristled brooms and dustpans, the group collected lint from the flooring and walls. In the morning, the group worked from Giant¡¯s Coffin to Dante¡¯s Gateway just before the wooden bowl room. In the afternoon, that group worked in Sparks Avenue. It was noted that while the floor of Sparks Avenue is concrete, enough dust and mud are covering it to cause additional dust to be raised in this area. Additional sweeping or cleaning of the mud and dust to bring this back to concrete may help control some of the dust that is being kicked into the air in this area. During the day, approximately 10 pounds of lint was removed.
Our second in-cave group returned to the now-familiar rock work in Bandit¡¯s Hall. During the day, the group managed to almost finish the task of separating the rock and concrete. They also sorted and emptied bags of limestone left from previous work on concrete and rock separation. I would estimate that approximately two more days of work, depending on crew size, should finish up this project.
The group working outside continued our efforts at graffiti removal at the entrance shelter of Sand Cave. With two groups of three people each, one working in the morning and the other in the afternoon, we were able to make a significant impact on the orange paint that was visible from the visitor¡¯s walkway. Most of this paint was either completely or partially burned off, leaving the graffiti in a much less obvious state. For the paint that was burned, additional trips with plastic brushes and water may be necessary to remove the charred paint.
On Sunday, March 7th, 13 participants returned to the cave for several objectives accessible via the elevator entrance. Splitting into two groups, the following tasks were tackled:
One of the groups worked first on removing the remains of beetle experiments from Marion Avenue. This consisted of breaking up old wood frames and bagging them for removal. They also scooped up the white sand that was placed inside these frames and placed them into additional bags for removal. After finishing the work on this project, the group proceeded further from the entrance down Marion Avenue and worked on restoring the disturbance to the ground made from sediment research that had been conducted in this area.
The other group proceeded from the elevator entrance down Cleveland Avenue to assess and remedy water that was running across the path and creating a potential slip hazard. The water was entering the cave via a drill hole and collecting in a small rock pool that had been created to contain the water. This pool, now overflowing, was causing the water to run downhill across the main path. After discussing several options on how to possibly channel the water, it was determined that this would not work as the water would need to travel uphill. After further study, it was determined that this area of the path was built on top of breakdown that had been filled in with sediment to form the path. From this, it was concluded that we could create a passage in the bottom of the pool to let the water drain into this breakdown and under the path. Using a mattock tool with a pick, a small hole was created in the bottom of the pool, allowing the water to successfully drain. Sand harvested from the beetle project was then used to provide traction on the wet spots while the area dried.
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Gary Gibula