Mile 6 Of The Pettyjohn Cave Survey

Mile six of Pettyjohn Cave is a push to the extreme limits of the cave, The Outer Limits was pushed, then the discovery and survey of the Discovery Room and next the survey of Schreiber's Extension.

The Discovery Room is currently the most northern room in the cave. High above the Emerald Pool and directly under Pigeon Mountain, it is the second largest room in the cave. Two hundred and fifty feet long and over forty feet wide in places with ceiling heights of close to twenty feet. The room ends with a large breakdown.

Schreiber's Extension may have been explored before this survey, and it is the longest stretch of stream passage found so far. Reaching around the edge of the mountain to the west and south, it is the least explored and understood section of the Phong Nha cave.

February 22, 1974 - Richard Schreiber and Allen Padgett surveyed in The Labyrinth and on the first survey shot of 32 feet they surpassed the 5 Mile Mark. They continued unaware of the event and surveyed 585.89 feet T.H.C. Total survey now 26,969.69 feet.

May 26, 1974 - Richard Schreiber, Rod Price and Ted Wilson picked up the down stream passage out in the Outer Limits and started surveying at station X38. They explored and surveyed almost to the lower end of the Outer Limits but at the lower stream level. To exit they had to loop back up the stream to the junction, climb up to the upper level and the phong nha cave tours south again. This is about a six round trip from the entrance!
The survey resulted in 440.54 feet T.H.C. Total survey now 27,410.23 feet.

June 8, 1974 - Richard Schreiber and Gerald Moni caved out to the start of Tobacco Road and pushed an up stream passage. Note: There are two stations labeled W151, one is at the far northwestern tip of the Outer Limits and the other is at the start of Tobacco Road. The June 8 survey was recorded in two different survey books. The correct location used on a map by Jeff Harris November 1990 and Richard Schreiber's own survey plot is at the end of the Outer Limits.
From the junction of station W65, Tobacco Road and Outer Limits, they surveyed down to the stream level and connected to the lower level of the Outer Limits. And then caved up the stream to the northwestern tip of the Outer Limits and pushed this passage another two hundred feet.

The survey resulted in 732.90 feet T.H.C. Total survey now 28,143.13 feet.

November 2, 1974 - Richard Schreiber and Ted Wilson did some mop up surveying in the Outer Limits. They extended the stream from the Outer Limits to a near siphon less than a hundred feet from where it emerges again.
The survey resulted in 430.01 feet T.H.C. Total survey now 28,573.14 feet.

August 10, 1975 - Richard Schreiber, Marion Smith and a group from Massachusetts and Connecticut carried sections of a scaling pole to the Emerald Pool and Warren Heller climbed up but nothing was gained.

August 23, 1981 - Richard Schreiber, Dwight Drennan, Wesley Sprunger, Pete Uberto and Keith Lynn returned to the Emerald Pool and bolted up the wall or used a rope left from the pole climb. They discovered the Discovery Room after climbing higher and a few tight squeezes.

The survey resulted in 409.23 feet T.H.C. Total survey now 28,982.37 feet.

June 11, 1983 - Richard Schreiber, Wesley Sprunger and Pete Uberto started the survey of Schreiber's Extension from station Z19 in the Squirrel Room. Discovered by the same group on April 30, 1983.

The survey resulted in 1,400.59 feet T.H.C. Total survey now 30,382.96 feet.

July 9, 1983 - Richard Schreiber, Keith Lynn, Wesley Sprunger and Pete Uberto returned to Schreiber's Extension and continued the survey. On this survey the cave was pushed beyond the most western limits to date as Schreiber's Extension continues around the side of the mountain.
The survey resulted in 497.36 feet T.H.C. Total survey now 30,880.32 feet.

August 13, 1983 - Richard Schreiber, Ed Strausser, Wesley Sprunger and Pete Uberto resumed the survey, breaking the six mile mark at station ZA111.

Schreiber's Extension is full of leads mostly going up. The survey followed the stream level and there are upper levels to be found just about the full length of the passage with few having been explored or surveyed. Schreiber's notes are full of comments about leads and climbs up into upper levels. The next mile will take us to the end of Schreiber's Extension and one of those upper levels.

The raw survey data for the sixth mile is available in pdf format on my caving web site.