| | -
| |  |
|
1 |
-
-
-
-
| |  |
|
1 |
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
|
| | |
|
| Hiking | 1.58 Miles |
80 AEG |
| | Hiking | 1.58 Miles | | | |
| 80 ft AEG | | | | |
|
|
| |
| Linked |
|
none
[ show ]
| no linked trail guides |
| Partners |
|
none
[ show ]
| no partners | | March 12 was our last day of caving in Belize. We revisited Haunted Forest with the objectives of finishing the sketch of the Haunted Forest area and creating a sketch of the area where the skeleton bones were found. Joel and I were supposed to work in the Haunted Forest but we were able to go see the bones before we started our work.
In the 9th century a major drought occurred and the Mayans attempted to appease the rain god, Chaac, who lived in Xibalba (Shee-bal-ba) which means 'Place of Fright' to the Mayans with offerings that included human sacrifices. Unfortunately, their voices were not heard and the Mayan civilization was soon mostly abandoned. The bones our team found was not a typical sacrifice as for the the bones would lay as the human had when they died minus the flesh and connective tissue. The bones instead were as they would be if the remains had been carried in using a bag. Often when this occurs multiple peoples bones might be mixed together. In our case, some of the bones were really small, like a child's.
Returning to the Haunted Forest, I was again overwhelmed by all the formations. Even with survey stations throughout the area the task still seemed nearly impossible. Joel and I got started and I found a technique that was helpful for me. I would have Joel stand at one station, which was often 25-30 feet away and light up the area between us. This helped me see what formations were there so I could sketch them. Using this method, we moved around the room. Soon, we ran out of stations but luckily Don and David had just finished placing some more. I plotted them out and then Joel and I continued. as time to leave was approaching, I ran around finishing up some spots I had missed. Things were looking really good on paper! One area on the edge of the room was troublesome as there weren't stations in that area that were close and I learned that what was thought to be a wall wasn't; there was a passage right behind it. I couldn't resolve that so that passage will have to be surveyed and sketched on next year's XMET expedition to Belize...
Anyway, I'll be posting photos from our trip, but here is a video I composed from the photos and videos I took during the full trip:
https://youtube.com ... CVFQ |
| _____________________
| | |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Route Editor
Route Scout
