Covered In Bees 2007
2007 June 17
One for Winnie-the-Pooh
A True Caver Account by Tone Garot
Through the sport of caving, I have come across some very
interesting and unique experiences. Today was no exception. David Ochel, the vertical practice leader
for the UT Grotto, had contacted me several days ago to see if I would help out with
Vertical 201 practice at the "Urban Assault Wall" at the Greenbelt.
The "Urban Assault Wall" is normally used for rock climbing, but the bolts can
also be used for training in use of the Frog Ascending System, which is a popular
vertical system used by Texas cavers. I arrived at the wall around 9:15 a.m. to find the
big drop already rigged and Matt Z. was finishing the rigging of one of the two ropes at the
short drop.
After I rappelled the long drop once, then the small drop once, I stayed at the top chatting
with the guys about caving stories and the normal things cavers talk about. It was getting toward the time to de-rig and
pack up, so several of us decided to get in one last drop. I went down the small drop on the
non-rebelay rope then went back up. Since the two ropes were maybe six feet apart, I stopped
at the same level as the rebelay point of the other rope to take pictures of Gary Franklin,
Director of Precinct 2 of the Edwards Aquifer, as he ascended. Pictures of these type are
always useful for the UT Grotto website. Suddenly I heard buzzing. I try to shoo the bee away,
(in retrospect, this was the wrong thing to do), but as luck would have it, this honey bee felt
that I did him an injustice. After assurances to my guiltlessness failed, he stung me, and I
swatted him, and he fell, and I did not. Then I heard more buzzing, so I immediately put away
my camera and headed up the last six or so feet of rope. As I ascended, the bees started
attacking me in bulk. The next five minutes occurred as a blur; this is my best estimation
of what happened. I pulled myself up the remaining rope with gloved hands, knees, and feet
to reach the top of the cliff, then I ran, all while smacking bees and myself. Apparently bees
like to attack the face and ears. Of course, I was still attached to the rope, so I only
made it about six feet before the rope yanked me back. I remember slapping my face really,
really hard because these bees were paying their respects there. I also remember yelling
something like "someone help me! Someone get me a towel!" Eventually I got my croll and
ascender off the rope, so I start running up the trail. Matt Z. came to my assistance,
smacking bees (and me). Then, finding that he was not immune to the bees' wrath, Matt
was stung also. Soon the worst was over. I still had a bee lodged in my T-shirt who
was buzzing mad. I helped liberate his soul from this cruel world. I headed back to the
vehicles with Matt Z. following. What a day.
As luck would have it, I am allergic to just about everything under the sun. Cats, some dogs,
airborne allergens, something in beer, and I'm even lactose intolerant. I honestly don't
recall ever being stung by a bee before, so I was a little fearful of the effect of over
twenty stings (final count was about 30). Matt Z. and I chilled by the vehicles talking about
what just happened, and we pulled the stingers out. (Note: don't pull out stingers with
fingers as this releases more venom. Scrape to side with credit card.) The stings started
to swell and become red, and sure enough, they hurt. I immediately took a Benadryl antihistamine
pill, which I thankfully had handy. After about ten minutes, the rest of the guys come up
bearing the rest of the gear that was left behind. It turns out that several of the guys
got stung also.
David O., Gary F., and Matt Z. decided to get some lunch before returning to de-rig the ropes,
hoping the bees would settle down. I declined the invitation as I wasn't much in the mood
for food at that moment. After everyone decided that we were all OK, I headed home. After
a shower, I fell asleep. It must have been around noon.
Gary F. called me around 2:15 p.m. to see if I was ok. I didn't make it to the phone to
answer the call, but I did call him back shortly thereafter. I was in a sort of delirium,
and I couldn't believe how nauseous I felt. I eventually went back to sleep. David O. instant
messaged me around 3 p.m. to see if I was ok. I told him:
"the welts aren't much bigger. In fact, they look much the same as when I left the parking area."I asked him if he de-rigged the ropes and he said:
"I ended up wearing my muddy pants from yesterday, and my balaclava, and got on rope. Well, I had derigged the rebelay and was about to switch over to climb up, because all looked quiet... and then one of them started bumping into me so I changed the plan and went down... never been rappelling that fast!"He also said that he thought both Matt Z. and Gary F. got one more sting while at the top de-rigging.
"What do you want a balloon for?" you said. Winnie-the-Pooh looked round to see that nobody was listening, put his paw to his mouth, and said in a deep whisper: "Honey!" "But you don't get honey with balloons!" "I do," said Pooh.
