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It has been a while since I updated the blog.  For those that actually read it (hi Mom), I apologize.  I have found myself using Twitter more and more; the concept of micro-blogging fits well into my lifestyle and attention span.  To find out what I am talking about on Twitter and for more timely conversations about my explorations, follow @WalterPickel.  Other members of the ADM Exploration Team that can be found on Twitter are @JoshBernstein, @JonBojar, @CurtBowen, and @EricDeister. Some are more active than others; your mileage may vary!

So much has been going on in the world of caving and cave diving it is almost dizzying.  We, the ADM Exploration Team, kept a pretty low profile throughout the Summer and early Fall.  We have been focusing on creating a close core group of explorers and setting potential missions for the next year or so.  We have also been working on some local cave exploration with The Karst Conservancy right here in Central Florida.  Nothing beats discovering and exploring virgin dry and wet caves right in your own backyard!

Working with the caving and cave diving communities is very important to me.  I am very blessed to have the opportunities I have and enjoy sharing them with others and working with others to become better explorers.  My latest contribution comes in the form  of FREE clinics!  I recently completed the second climbing and caving clinic for 2011 and ADM Exploration Team also held a free sidemount clinic in July.  The sidemount clinic was intended to introduce cave divers to sidemount diving and from what I was told, we achieved our goal.

The most recent climbing and caving clinic was held in conjunction with the 2011 NACD Annual Seminar and it was a great success!  I honestly never tire of watching and listening to those that are new to this side of the sport and hear the enthusiasm they gain for it just by spending a few hours in the woods and in caves. 

During our past clinic.  I had the pleasure of working with the closest thing I have seen to a "natural" -- Anthea Ibell.  Anthea is the 2011 Rolex Our World Underwater Scholarship winner!  Pretty cool stuff she is doing and I expect to see her name associated with caving, diving and exploration for years to come.

Our climbing and caving clinics expose participants to real world exploration scenarios.  Although climbing in trees is worthwhile and great practice, nothing beats experiencing the real thing. 

I would like to graciously thank The Southeastern Cave Conservancy (SCCi) for being our partners in these clinics.  The cave we normally use for clinics is owned by SCCi and is located in Ocala, FL.  The SCCi currently owns or leases 27 preserves containing 185 caves in six southeastern states.  If you are not already, I would highly recommend you join the SCCi and do your part in preserving caves that need protection or management.

As concerned explorers, we have begun putting a more renewed focus on the ADM Exploration Foundation.  Our foundation's mission is to further the knowledge and understanding of history and science through the exploration, research and documentation beneath the water.  As you know, we have made some exciting discoveries in the past (artifacts in Mexico and Guatemala, primate fossils in the Dominican Republic).  We have also worked to strengthen our knowledge and academic relationships as well as improve our in-water excavation and artifact handling procedures.  Given that and the gravity of our recent cave diving expeditions and the discoveries made on them, we feel that we are uniquely positioned to help the archaeological and academic communities with underwater archaeology and look forward to more opportunities.

I would like to personally thank Light Monkey, our lighting sponsor, for always making sure we have the best lighting equipment out there!  If you are looking for a new light, I cannot encourage you enough to give them a call and find out what they have to offer.

As most of you are aware, sidemount diving has started to go mainstream.  Even PADI is now getting into the game by offering sidemount courses.  Before putting your toe in the water (or Putting Another Dollar In) I would highly recommend everyone sign up for a FREE sidemount clinic being offered by the ADM Exploration Team.

The clinic will be held on July 16th and 17th at Ginnie Springs in High Springs, FL.  We will be focusing on both open circuit as well as closed circuit so there will be information for everyone.  Additionally, non cave divers are welcome to participate.

You will learn techniques, configuration tips, and tricks of the trade from the original designers and explorers of the Armadillo OC and CCR harness.  Light Monkey will also have there 12W LED sidemount light available for use as well as their 35W HID powerhouse!

Click here to sign up.  Space is limited and registration is required.

I have often wondered if the extraordinary caves of Belize would yield cave diving opportunities.  I have reviewed topographic maps, researched local geology and pored over volumes of expedition notes from past teams and most, if not all, terminate in a sump.  The unexplored sumps were like a siren song to me.  We had to go at least take a look!

Exploring caves in Belize requires permits and some of these can take up to 3 months to obtain.  Therefore, Josh Bernstein, Jon Bojar, Curt Bowen, Eric Deister and myself decided to visit Belize and do some scouting to see if we could find any interesting possibilities that could lead to a future expedition.  We called our trip the 2011 ADM Exploration Team Belize Cave Scouting Trip (you may be starting to see a pattern for naming).

Belize is an oddity in Central America, formally known as British Honduras, as the spoken language of Belize is English.  That being said, I heard quite a bit of Creole, Chinese and Mayan as well.  Since English is spoken by most (everyone we encountered), traveling in Belize is a bit less challenging when explaining what a rack is or trying to describe what types of cave entrances and karst features we look for.  Another oddity, to me, was the sizeable population of Mennonites.  Imagine my disbelief seeing horse-drawn buggies in the jungle.  Belize is a unique amalgamation of people, languages and cultures all living happily side-by-side.

Eric was the TC (in training) for this trip.  He arranged accommodations for us in the town of San Ignacio near the Guatemalan border at the wonderful Cahal Pech (Mayan for place of the ticks -- little did we know!). Normally, we are not accustomed to staying at resorts or hotels so this was a nice treat.  Nice treat except for the fact we had 5 hours of horrible roads to travel each day into the jungle.  If you venture off a main road, be prepared for a back breaking drive!  The consensus is that on our next trip we will definitely be staying in the jungle simply for logistics and time to explore reasoning.  That being said, Cahal Pech was great place to stay, rest, soak and pick ticks off ourselves.  The staff was amazing, the food was delicious and well varied.  The variance in menu items was a welcome treat as well!  Our usual expedition dinners consist of rice and beans one night and spaghetti and sauce the next.  Our lunches of tuna sandwiches and peanut butter are even more creative.  The nice thing about our expedition meal choices are that they keep you fed and out of the dirt! 

The Belizean jungle is fascinating (or UnBelizeable as some locals might say).  At 1,500 feet of elevation we found ourselves in a Oak and Pine Sandhill region that strikingly resembled much of South Central Florida.  Couple this with the massive amounts of exposed limestone and towering karst outcroppings and I knew this would be a productive place. 

Many caves in Belize are simply put MASSIVE!  Some are riverine, some sumped, some completely dry.  Some requiring 500 foot drops to access and others you can simply walk, swim or raft into.  Belize appears to be a virtual cornucopia of  caving and cave diving delights!

After a week in Belize we came to the conclusion that we want to setup a formal exploration to explore Belizean caves and we all hope to return soon.  I would like to thank Eric for putting this trip together (and taking a load of crap from everyone), the staff of Cahal Pech for making sure we had everything we needed (including photo models at 4.30AM) and those that helped us find our way in the jungle.