Saturday 2nd of April 2016

Cavers: Chris Scaife, Don Miller, Carol Smith, Daz_of_tattoos
Breakfasters: Chris Sharman

During the week, the forecast for this weekend hadn’t been too bad and there had been some initial interest, particularly from Don and Sharman, in a duck-tastic trip from Low Douk into the Eastern Front in Large Pot, but as the week came to its end we realised that the dry prediction had just been one big April Fools joke. For once in their lives, Don and Sharman showed slightly more concern for human lives than Hitler and Napoleon, and abandoned their ill-fated Eastern Front campaigns. Friday afternoon was therefore spent hastily trying to put together some sort of alternative plan, as it so often is.

Arriving in Kingsdale, the water levels were extremely high and poor old Mr Sharman, who had seemingly breakfasted alone in Inglesport, robbed now of his beloved Bernies, decided not to drown with us and drove home. Don still felt sure we’d be ok in Simpson Pot and none of us had explored The Pit, so we said we’d do Aquamole first and if the water levels were lower when we got out we could do Simpson.

I had only ever been in Aquamole once, about twelve years ago, and my memory is always pretty feeble, but I understood this to be a generally dry place. Well it wasn’t. There was water water everywhere. Some clumsy oaf who shall remain nameless, let’s just use the clever pseudonym Oaf_of_clumsiness, knocked down a big rock onto Carol’s helmet, but anyway, no need to dwell on the negatives. I suppose we got some good SRT training. Carol didn’t fancy the very wet rebelay on the second pitch, so we played around on the entrance pitch, going up and down, up and down, practising change overs and shit. Don and Daz penetrated a little deeper. After pissing about in Aquamole, we went to the Old Hill Inn. Though Don tried to remain sincere in his plan to do Simpson solo, by the time we were walking back I think even he had changed his mind.

Sharman probably had the right idea.