Well today was an interesting day for caving. Berea had received about an inch of rain... It wasn't bad at all. I knew that caves that flood easily wouldn't be safe to go into. But I never dreamed of what I would see today. Soon after we left Berea and headed south we could see waterfalls coming off the cliffs on I-75. I've never seen that before! And I've seen some pretty intense rain out here. But we parked and then hiked down to the entrance to Pine Hill Cave. But soon I heard the roar of water and I knew something wasn't right. We saw there was a nice roaring river now flowing into the entrance of Pine Hill Cave.
(Main Entrance to Pine Hill Cave)
You must understand, that Pine Hill Cave almost never floods. Certainly not the entrance. I have personally been in it after the area receives 2 or 3 inches of rain. It does nothing. The geology and hydrology of Pine Hill Cave makes it a cave not prone to flooding. So this was a very rare chance to see it. Mt. Vernon got five or six times the amount of rain that Berea did. What is funny, though, is that Berea and Mt. Vernon are only 10-15 minutes apart.
I wanted to go wade in and see where the water was going. When you get inside you must go uphill to actually get to the stream in Pine Hill. So, the water flowing in had obviously found an alternate route. But I had to say no to going in. So we decided that since we were already in Mt. Vernon, we would go look at the entrance to Sinks of the Roundstone Cave. That cave is extremely prone to flooding and I knew it would be an awesome sight. So we drove and then hiked to the entrance.
(Entrance to Sinks of the Roundstone. The water is at least a good 10 feet deep)
(Picture of the entrance under normal conditions)
We then decided to just go hiking, and see if we could find Sinks of the Roundstone Pit which is just a vertical cave up on the hill. We never found it, but had a good time hiking. Yes, we never did get to go caving but it was pretty cool to see these neat sights. I doubt I'll ever see Pine Hill Cave flood again as it's a rare occurrence. The lesson I learned from this is never trust Kentucky weather! Even though Berea got almost no rain in comparison, never assume 10 minutes away is the same!
Link to all the photos:
https://picasaweb.google.com/jholcomb8/20110416PineHillCaveFailedTripApril162011#
How do you get to that entrance in the sinks of the roundstone? All I know of is the railroad tunnel entrance.
ReplyDeleteIf you are on the railroad entrance, head west away from the tunnel. About half a mile down the tracks, you will find a parking area. There is a trail that leaves from that spot and goes to the river entrance
ReplyDeleteIf anyone knows directions to pine hill cave amd climax cave that would be awesome. Ive been through the sinks many many times and have pretty well covered every little space I can find so I'm up for new adventures
ReplyDeleteDo you know the directions to the sinks.. currently trying to find it
DeleteGo to mullins station rd and park at the spot where the black top turns to gravel you will see a path leading into the woods follow it down to the sinks
DeleteCould you help me with the entrance to Pine Hill Cave. I would really appreciate it. Thanks.
ReplyDeletecould someone message me on directions 614 fivethree zero 6 two two zero
ReplyDeletethanks.