Seven plus Miles in Pettyjohn Cave, History

We had just surveyed a small loop keeping track of the millage as we went looking for a place to set the Seven Mile Marker. After I returned home and wrote a short note to everyone on the historal event with pictures of the marker in place and the usual group pictures, I started to wonder about the raw data that I had. I had assumed that the millage was accurate but I had not verified it.
I started a project of reentering all the survey data without any corrections and right away realized that the level distance of the cave could be off quite a bit. The project took more than six months and resulted in a mile by mile account in order to set the record straight.

Mile one in the history of the exploration of Pettyjohn Cave tells the story of the best know parts of the cave.
The survey started in January of 1969 and the first mile was reached on April 20, 1969. Survey history and raw data of Mile 1.

Mile 2 was reached on July 12 of the same year and reached the Mystery Room to the north and beyond the Luge to the west. Survey history and raw data of Mile 2.

The survey was moving fast as the previously explored parts of the cave were drawn out on a large sheet with a scale of 1 inch equals 40 feet. Mile three included the waterfall and a lot of the lower stream passage. Mile three was reached on September 23 of the same year just below the Over N Under Room. Survey history and raw data of Mile 3.

Mile four reached out into the Outer Limits and the Emerold Pool with the four mile mark reaching just a little more to the North than the Emerold Pool and in the North West Extreme part of the cave. August 22, 1970 marked the event, however the explorers did not realize it. Survey history and raw data of Mile 4.

Mile five occured in The Labyrinth, on February 22, 1974. A maze to the Southeast that collected water from a small cave called Screedh Owl. Survey history and raw data of Mile 5.

Mile Six reached out above the waterfall in what is known as Schreiber’s Extension. The mile mark was reached on August 13, 1983. Survey history and raw data of Mile 6. This remained the offical length of the cave even after seven or more miles had been surveyed.

Mile Seven was reached on July 19, 2003, in an area off the Anamatosis Room called the Fractured Dome. Survey history and raw data of Mile 7.

As of February 28, 2009 the survey of Pettyjohn cave was 37,693.43 feet (7.14 Miles) with plenty of cave remaining to be surveyed. Two survey books have been lost and though some of the lost data may have been picked up in later surveys, we will never know for sure the exact length of the cave. Survey history and raw data of Mile 8.

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