Fall 2024 MSS Meeting

Fall 2024 MSS Meeting

The Fall 2024 MSS Meeting will be held at Pleasant Valley Nature Preserve in Jefferson County, just south of St. Louis (6701 Twin River, Rd, High Ridge, MO 63049) on Sunday, September 15 at 10:00 AM.

This is the site for Pleasant Valley Cave, which is owned by the Jefferson County Parks Department, but as of recently has come under the management of the Missouri Caves and Karst Conservancy (MCKC).

As a caver, it's highly likely that you have a yellow bat sticker on your vehicle. This is a symbol used by cavers across the U.S. and has international recognition. So, the story goes, the design for the bat stickers was created by caver Earl Biffle in the 1960s, who made it a letterhead for MMV Grotto. While the design was rejected for the grotto letterhead, it would later be used as a fundraiser to help purchase Pleasant Valley Cave to help protect it. Eventually, the cave was purchased by the Nature Conservancy, who donated it to Jefferson County Parks.

Last year, MCKC worked out an agreement with Jefferson County Parks to take over management of the cave with plans underway to do a cave clean-up, install a bat friendly gate, resurvey the cave to make a complete map, and open the cave to limited recreational caving.

The plan for the weekend includes cave trips into Pleasant Valley Cave on Saturday, September 14, to work on clean-up of the cave by removing trash and possibly begin the resurvey. For the Saturday trip, meet at the pavilion (go through the gate) at 10:00 AM. For the Sunday Board meeting, the gate to the pavilion will be open by 9:00 AM.

The pavilion is located here 38.462621, -90.571731. Note, this cave does have a vertical, pit entrance. You must be proficient in SRT to enter and exit the cave. It is likely we could use surface support as well, to haul out trash, so if you'd like to help, but don't possess the skill set to safely enter/exit, your help could still be needed.

Camping for the weekend will be available on Friday and Saturday nights at West Tyson County Park, a short drive from Pleasant Valley. The campsite is located here 38.510023, -90.587697. Enter West Tyson Park and go right at the first intersection. The campsite is on the left just past the maintenance shed, with bathrooms a short distance beyond. Note, I will not be staying at the campground and there are no current plans for a group meal but there are numerous restaurants nearby in Eureka.

If you are planning to camp and / or go to Pleasant Valley Cave on Saturday, please RSVP to Dan Lamping (danieljlamping@gmail.com) and Tony Schmitt (tonymary2601@yahoo.com).