A list of Richard schreiber's Mapping-exploration trips to Pettyjohn's Cave, Georgia

A LIST OF RICHARD SCHREIBER'S MAPPING-EXPLORATION

TRIPS TO PETTYJOHN'S CAVE, GEORGIA
| Marion O. Smith

Richard once wrote rie "I do literally love Pettijohn’s for all its mud and intrigue.”
This love I never shared. Although I went on a few mapping and exploration trips I
could not make myself genuinely like the cave. However, at a length of 32,072.5 feet
and a depth of 235 feet it is one of Georgia's major speleological wonders, and its
survey was an impressive eee. Below is a tabulation of Richard's known exploration
and mapping forays in the cave from his own notebook, my diaries, and other sources.
Unfortunately, this list does not usually tell what was surveyed or explored on each
trip, but it will rescue from obscurity some of the history of the cave.

During the mid 1970s Richard met some of the Pettyjohn family who had owned the cave

and learned that they spelled their name with an "y" instead of an "i." Consequently,

OP te :
bOth he and I adopted their spelling, which probably should be similarily reflected in

the GSS printout.
136)
Two trips to survey Pettyjohn's were made by Foxy Stafford (later
Ferguson) and Schreiber, one sometime in June and one on July 8. This

survey, was eventually scrapped,

January 5, 1969

schreiber and Della McGuffin explored the Autograph Room breakdown.

January 31, 1969

ochreiber and McGuffin began the new survey and mapped 574.6 feet.

February 1, 1969

Schreiber and McGuffin mapped 1010.4 feet.

february 22, L969

Schreiber, McGuffin, and Bill Damewood mapped 2155.6 feet.

February 23, 1969

Schreiber, McGuffin, Damewood, and Mike Hicks (teenage son of local
resident Ernest Hicks) surveyed 724.7 feet.

March 8, 1969

Schreiber and McGuffin mapped 576.8 feet.

April 13, 1969

Schreiber, McGuffin, and Mike Hicks "found Great Extension."

April 20, 1969

Schreiber and Marion 0. Smith mapped 1115.7 feet, of which 734 feet
were virgin, and made the first traverse of the Worm Tube and discovered
the Echo Room.

Mey 15, L969

Schreiber, McGuffin, and Marion O. Smith mapped 1019.9 feet, 500 of
which were virgin, and found the Discovery Room. Allen Padgett and Bob
Watkins entered the Worm Tube but did not survey and left early because
Bob became claustaphobic. 3

June 10, 1969

Schreiber, McGuffin, Allen and Wade Padgett, and Marion O. Smith map-
ped 630.6 feet in the Echo and Mystery Rooms,

June 21, 1969

Schreiber and McGuffin surveyed 1563.8 feet.

duty te, L969

Schreiber and McGuffin mapped 1247.7 feet,

August 22, 1969

Schreiber and MeGuf fin surveyed 816.6 feet,

HURUSE 23,21 909
Schreiber and McGuffin mapped 1238.9 feet.

september 7, 1969

Steve and Connie Pierce, BIii Damewood, and Phil "Explored
leads off of Baroody-Holsinger Passage, at stream level,"

. September 15,1969

Schreiber and Allen Padgett mapped 1080.4 feet.

September 23, 1969

Schreiber and McGuffin surveyed 1330.8 feet,

April 18,1970

Schreiber, John Eastburn (USAF), Dick Minert (USAF), Allen Padgett,
and Marion O. Smith went through the Baroody~Holsinger Crawl and Schreiber's
Freeway to the Bridge Room. They rappelled thirty feet to the stream level
and surveyed downstream, then in various muddy leads near the Bridge Room
for a total of.1255.8 feat,

May 13, 1970

Schreiber, Ted Wilson, and Steve Gelfius (the latter two from Indiana)
mapped 1005.9 feet. ,

may 14, 1970

Schreiber and Ted Wilson surveyed 782.2 feet

May 19, 1970

Schreiber and Susan Newell "Searched for but failed to find Bacon Rind
Shop and Christmas Tree Room."

July 3, 1970

Schreiber, John Eastburn, Dick Minert, Rod Price, and Chris Morgan (all
of the USAF) mapped 89.7 feet.

JULY #. 1970

Schreiber, Eastburn, Minert, Price, and Morgan surveyed 862.9 feet.

August 22, 1970

Schreiber, Ted Wiison, and Steve Wells (the latter two of Indiana)
mapped 626.2 feet,

september 12, 19/0

Schreiber, John Eastburn (USAF), Jeff Holsinger (USAF, of Altoona, Pa.),
susan Newell, Marion O, Smith, Allen Padgett, Chuck Horton, and Steve Hudson.
"Bolted up wall at end of Northeast Passage used 4 bolts (Richard & Steve).
Marion, Jeff John and R.S, climbed up into Breakdown reaching the Mystery
Room without a rope Rest prusiked up rope. Could not get into upper level
after bolting up, fissure too narrow due to breakdown filling it."

Later that day Smith relocated what he called Screech Owl Cave, GSS 2
and Schreiber, Eastburn, and Padgett did a surface survey to it from the
Pettyjohn's entrance, some 325 feet to the north. Screech Owl was probably
first found during Spring, 1970, by Ed Renner of the Florida State Cave Club.

September 16, 1970

Screech Owl Cave was dug open and the survey begun by Marion O. Smith,
Crickets: Haygood, Jon Resager, and Dan Dougherty, Jr.

september 264% 1970

schreiber and John Fastburn (USAF) mapped 698.7 feet and Ted Wilson
and Bill Steele (both of Indiana), mapped 766.2 reer, for a total of
1464.9 feet.

October 10, 1970

George Morris, Allen Padgett, Marion a Smith, and Doug Strait deepened
screech Owl Cave by digging and contioublg, the survey.

October 18, 1970

Schreiber, Marion 0. Smith, and Jim Young completed the survey of Screech
Owl Cave at 325.9 feet long and 107.1 feet deep. Chuck Horton did the chim-—
ney but did not map because of the lack of room!

October 20, 1970

Schreiber and Chuck Horton surveyed 680.7 feet.

November 1, 1970

schreiber and Allen Padgett. mapped 246.3 feet.

November 2, 1970

Schreiber, Allen Padgett, Don Hunter, and Barry Prince (the latter three
from West Georgia Grotto) mapped 830.2 feet.

June cae Lesh

Schreiber, Rod Price (USAF), John Eastburn (USAF), and David Teal
(Gadsden, Alabama) surveyed 652.7 feet.

December /, 1973

Schreiber and Allen Padgett mapped 712.4 feet.

February oa, 1074

schreiber and Allen Padgett mapped 486.9 feet.

Marcn 7, LOG

Schreiber and Susan Newell "checked side lead to right off of entrance
area for possible dig. a

De 5 1074

Schreiber, Doug Strait, Alan Johnson, Anne Knox, and Bill Horn "Visited
NW Passages with intention of mapping upstream beyond W 154? Reached
starting point but due te, lagk’ of time did not survey." ;

ae Sehytiber, Raa Peree, ind’ | eof ai Sol4 Pre oped ap Of, ai beet
June 8, 1974 :

Schreiber and Gerald Moni surveyed 611.1 feet,

November 2, 1974

Schreiber and Ted Wilson mapped 409.2 feet.

August 10, 1975

Schreiber, Marion 0. Smith, and a Massachusetts-Connecticut group con-
sisting of Warren Heller, Miles Drake, Myles Conway, David Porter, and
Wally carried sections of a scaling pole “to the area Richard tried
to bolt up Sept. 12, 1970." The pole was put together and Heller climbed
up but nothing was gained.

August 23, 1981

schreiber, Dwight Drennan, Wesley Sprunger, Pete Uberto, and Keith Lynn
mapped 312.7 feet.

June li, 1983

Schreiber, Wesley Sprunger, and Pete Uberto surveyed 1370.2 feet.

July 9, 1983

Schiteiver, Keith Lynn, Wesley Sprunger, and Pete Uberto surveyed
497.5 feet. ,

August 13, 19383

Schreiber, Ed Strausser, Wesley Sprunger, and Pete Uberto mapped 2666.9
feet. ee .

Ausust 20, 1983

Schreiber, Bill Putnam, Wesley Sprunger, and Pete Uberto mapped 398.3
feet.

March 9, 1985

Schreiber, Pete Uberto, Mike Singleton, Alan Cressler, and Melissa Hyde
mapped 582.4 feet. ,