Written by: Rob Eavis
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Just myself and Simon, refamiliarising ourselves with the cave after 6 weeks of no action.

Firstly the dig pipe was installed back into place (after being washed out during recent floods) and some new drag trays taken to the dig. Not much changed, just needs more digging done.

We then went for a detailed inspection of the rest of the cave to see if anything had changed due to the floods. It was instantly apparent that a significant portion of the cave had flooded since anyone had been in there, as we were laying fresh footprints almost everywhere we went. In some sections there has been significant sediment erosion, indicating both that the drainage has changed significantly relatively recently, and also that the Worst Dive Base Sump at the end will still be taking a lot of material, so I doubt this will reopen anytime soon.

It's hard to believe that the water required to flood this cave is from the entrance of Gautries alone, so I'm sure there's more going on that we don't yet know.

One theory is that water enters at the southwestern end of the cave, as it gets much bigger from here on. The Upstream Pool Chamber Sump, which presumably takes water from Angle Chamber Sump, may provide this entry point for other feeders. On inspection it had indeed opened further and was now big enough to get it. It's low but quite wide, with only a very slight slope. Going feet first i got about two bodylengths in to a blockage. It would be worth dropping this water level (by trenching) as it should be easy to progress. It may just go to Angle Chamber Sump, but who knows!?!