May 17, 1998
760 Southern Arizona high school seniors triumph
Teens plan careers in medicine, music, media
Service benefits AIDS patients, the environment, accident victims
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May 17, 1998 |
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OVERCOMING OBSTACLES 760 Southern Arizona high school seniors triumph |
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GOAL-ORIENTED Teens plan careers in medicine, music, media |
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HELPING HANDS Service benefits AIDS patients, the environment, accident victims |
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Ben Kirkby,
The Arizona Daily Star
Jonathon Norman keeps exploring Peppersauce Cave to find new things.
By Dan Cassino
Special to The Arizona Daily Star
Vast chambers, winding passages and unexpected beauty are in the depths of Peppersauce Cave.
Its splendor brings spelunkers back. One of those is Jonathon Norman, a Kino School senior who has gone trekking in the cave nearly two dozen times.
``There are always new things to see,'' said Norman, who has found himself covered in mud in the cavern located on the back side of Mount Lemmon in the Santa Catalina Mountains. The cave is in Nugget Canyon.
``It's a living cave, so just about every time you go in there, you get muddy,'' Norman said. ``The cave is still forming. Water runs through the cave and it is forming new caverns and stalactites.''
Norman said he went in search of the limestone cave last year after hearing about it from a friend. He said there are dozens of maze-like passages that have quartz and specks of gold on the walls.
``I think it's really cool to see some of the crystal formations,'' said Norman. He's roamed and crawled in the cave with ease - even through tight spaces.
``There's one called the rabbit hole. You really have to squeeze through it, but I'm pretty skinny,'' said Norman, equipped with a hard hat and overhead lamp.
He's found himself in ``one big room in the cave and in another passage that leads to a big pool of water.''
The only nocturnal creatures Norman has encountered are fruit bats. ``They fly around, but they normally keep out of your way. My friend was struck by one, but my friend was in the bat's way,'' he said, chuckling.
Norman has shared his enthusiasm for caves with third- through fifth-graders from Kino. He was a recent tour guide for 15 pupils and three adults.
``The kids were really fascinated by the cave,'' Norman said. ``At one point, we turned off all the lights. They say caves are darker than space.
``The kids got a big kick out of standing in the cave in the dark, so we turned off the lights several times,'' said Norman.
He plans on attending the University of Arizona and majoring in aerospace engineering.
The spelunker is gearing up for another expedition - an expedition to show the youngsters more life in the underworld.
``It's a real experience for them,'' he said.
Dan Cassino is a senior at Canyon Del Oro High School.