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| | Actun Chapat Cave - Belize, WW | | | |
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Actun Chapat Cave - Belize, WW
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| Hiking | 2.00 Miles |
300 AEG |
| | Hiking | 2.00 Miles | | | |
| 300 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no linked trail guides |
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| partners | | We joined up with the 2015 XMET, short for Xibalba Mapping and Exploration Team, in Belize. We planned to work in three caves: Barton Creek, Haunted Forest, and Actun Chapat.
Xibalba (Shee-bal-ba) means 'Place of Fright' to the Mayans. Around A.D. 250 and 950 the Mayan occupied mesoamerica. In the 9th century a major drought occurred and the Mayans attempted to appease the rain god, Chaac, who lived in the underground with offerings that included sacrifices. Unfortunately, their voices were not heard and the Mayan civilization was soon mostly abandoned.
March 5, 2015
After about a mile of hiking, we visited our first cave in Belize called Actun Chapat, which means centipede cave in the Mayan language. Quickly, we learned that the cave was named incorrectly as we found millipedes lurking in the dirt of the cave floor.
In one of the first large rooms we found the remains of a likely sacrificial victim. A mud coated skull, jaw bone, and a long bone lay where they were left during the 900s. They were placed near a formation that was likely used as an alter.
We scrambled up through some formations and the walked through gigantic rooms with mud slopes for floor to the main lake. This cave is known for its bad air. As you go deeper into the cave typically the O2 levels plummet and the CO2 levels soar, a bad combination. This year, the air had been known as being better than usual. Even so, David Larson, trip leader, tested the air as we went.
After learning that the O2 levels was in the low 20 percentage, we eased ourselves in for our first ever cave swim. On the other side of the Lake was a sign that said 'BAD AIR DO NOT ENTER'! We kept going as our goal for the day was to survey a passage that is often either filled with water or has too low of O2 levels to safely travel. Since the O2 levels were higher than normal the hope was we would be successful.
During a previous trip, the XMET explorers found a skeleton along with a blade (which have since been removed) in this passage . Larson wanted to accurately depict where the remains had laid on the final cave map.
Soon, we heard the chirping of bats. It sounded like thousands were in the passageway ahead of us. Then we saw that they were agitated, likely from our visit. There was no way we could proceed. To go ahead, we would be bothering the bats more, which would in turn put ourselves in danger of a possible rabies transmission so we turned around. Never before had I seen and heard so many bats in a cave. In Arizona, we protect our bats by not allowing access to caves when they are being used for roosting. I felt lucky to see this occurrence yet also saddened by the thought that we had disturbed the bats.
Plan B, at a nearby junction we went away from the bats, to checkout a some leads that had been noted in the past. After another swim, we stopped again to test the O2 levels. The plan was to turn back before it would get down to 15%. It was 19.5% so we were still good as long as we didn't over exert ourselves. A couple leads were checked and found that they didn't go. So, we swam again to go to another area where there might be leads. As we swam, David noticed that he was a bit short of breathe and so after we climbed out of the water he found a spot to stop and test the CO2 level. The CO2 level was 2.5%. 1% can make people drowsy while 7% can cause unconsciousness. It was time to turn around.
What an exciting and adventurous day! |
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