Slaughter Sink CITO Cache In Trash Out Event
RicknJoy: The water hasn't gone down enough for the tire airlift yet - I'll post to the cache page when I hear anything more. If you keep it on your watch list, you should get the word...
Hidden
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Saturday, February 20, 2010
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Slaughter Sink is one of the largest sinkholes in the state of Missouri – it is nearly a quarter mile wide, and and its steep sides are over 160 feet deep. It is located in the Rolla District of the Mark Twain National Forest.
Anyone who has completed the Slaughter Sink Earthcache has noticed the trash and old tires on the floor of the sinkhole. As good geocachers and stewards of the land, we'd like to help clean up the area for the future enjoyment of all.
There is plenty of trash to be picked up, and according to the US Forest Service, there are around 75-100 old tires on the floor of the sinkhole. At one time, they were all gathered together and a plan was initiated to lift them out by helicopter, but Mother Nature intervened and flooded the sinkhole, and the tires were dispersed again. One of our tasks will be to re-gather the tires in a location suitable for a helicopter lift.
To get to Slaughter Sink, take I-44 to Exit 169 (Highway J), and turn east on the outer road on the north side of the Interstate. Drive approximately one mile to Phelps County Road 8540, and turn left (that’s the only way you can turn!). About 300 meters down this road you’ll see a tall chain-link fence on the left, and a pull-off on the right. Park here – behind the fence is Conical Sink, which is approximately 300 feet in diameter and 100 feet deep. Due to its proximity to the road, Conical Sink was used as an illegal dumping site for years. Dumping in a sinkhole is a particularly bad idea, because it introduces any contaminants right into the groundwater.
Access to Slaughter Sink is available via an old woods road; terrain difficulty on this road is only about 2.5. The higher terrain difficulty for the event is related to the effort to collect the old tires from around the sinkhole. There will be lower-difficulty tasks as well (e.g., picking up trash, moving trash bags to the road, etc.)
If you are interested in taking part in this event, please put it on your watchlist - it will be VERY dependent on weather, and if the forecast for the scheduled day is less than halfway decent we may have to postpone it. Forest Service personnel are attempting to schedule the airlift prior to the 1st of March.
Current plans are to start the CITO event at 10:00, with the expectation of being done no later than 3 or 4 p.m. We will have some snacks and warming beverages for CITO volunteers, but we will not provide lunch.
Additional Hints
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