Eagle Cave, Hamilton County, New York

May 2021

Gate Types: BASIC, 2 modified “tank traps“

This was definitely our most logistically-difficult project to date. It was a 1.2-mile hike from the parking area, with a 900-foot elevation gain. And the cave is in a wilderness area, meaning that we could not use motorized vehicles like ATVs. We first looked into helicopter support (even with the additional permitting hurdles), but it was far too expensive. In the end, we convinced the client to allow us to hire more people and pay them really well. There were 12 of us on the crew, and we put in over 400 person-hours. But we successfully completed our task. Gators rule! All photos © Jim Kennedy except as noted.

Our lonely cutting station, 1.5 miles from the cave, and faithfully manned by Emily Davis for the entirety of the project.
Waaaaay down there by the pond is the steel and our vehicles. Two round trips carrying stuff up to the cave was all the crew could handle in one day.
We did, however, enjoy the numerous wildflower species that were blooming along the trail, such as this Bunchberry (Cornus canadensis).
The trail goes STRAIGHT up the mountain, with NO switchbacks. At the top, you leave the trail to get to the cave, having to climb up over several ledges along the way.
All the credit for this project goes to the hardworking CaveGators team. We couldn’t do it without them.
The generator was a four-man carry, taking four hours to get to the top of the mountain. Photo courtesy of Calvin Goodrich.
I’m adding a few more of the carry photos, just to emphasize how incredibly difficult this was. Photo courtesy of Ryan Fiorini.
I don’t know how those guys could keep this up day after day, and still be smiling. Photo courtesy of Ryan Fiorini.
Carl Herzog, recently retired from the NYDEC, stands at the main entrance to the cave.
Due to the shape of the entrance, we had no traditional columns.
Amber trims a bar that we mis-measured a little.
The hangers go on, and the bars are welded in.
Ya gotta go where the welds are needed.
Finished gate from the inside.
Finished gate from the outside.
Ryan working on one of the back entrances to the cave, installing angle iron for the “tank trap.”
The finished “tank trap.” Roy loved to build these things in small holes not used by bats. They reminded him of the Czech hedgehog.
Amber enjoys a tiny spot of sunlight while working on another “tank trap” at another secondary entrance.
The finished “tank trap.” It’s not anchored to the bedrock, because there is no way to get it out.
Red Eft, terrestrial juvenile of the Eastern Red-spotted Newt (Notophthalmus viridescens). Just because.