Sinkhole and cave behind Wal-Mart in Springfield

Jipsta · Post by **Jipsta** » Mon Jun 28, 2004 11:24 pm

Has anyone explored the cave system that runs behind walmart on Campbell? There is a very large sinkhole opening that leads to the cave behind the store. The one other entrance I know of is on Pinehurst street.

Post by **White Rabbit** » Mon Jun 28, 2004 11:25 pm

Holy cow. No, I'd never heard of that. And Raven's gonna start drooling when he reads this post. You've seen this cave for sure? Is it locked up or anything?

Spectral · Post by **Spectral** » Tue Jun 29, 2004 12:14 am

Whawhawhawha?!?!

Crap man, I know where I'm going tomorrow! I've never heard anything about this... I wonder just how big it is or how far goes though, being that close to stuff. I'll definitely be checking this out though.

Thanks for the tip Jipsta!

Jipsta · Post by **Jipsta** » Tue Jun 29, 2004 9:56 am

I grew up on Pinehurst street, and the sinkhole was always the cool place to play. We never actually went in it, but I know others who have. From what I've heard, the cave runs from Wal-mart due west. Several sink holes dot the path. You'll find sinkholes on Pinehurst, one on rockwood (this isn't a sinkhole but a very large depression in the soil), one on Parkhill Street (has been filled in with rocks), and I believe one in the field behind the old smitty's on battlefield.

Jipsta · Post by **Jipsta** » Tue Jun 29, 2004 10:07 am

The sinkhole behind Wal-Mart is fenced in but very accessible. The other entrance on Pinehurst is fenced in as well. The pinehurst entrance is pretty much in other people's back yards.

Post by **White Rabbit** » Tue Jun 29, 2004 1:00 pm

Holy crap, man. That sounds unbelievably frigging cool. I absolutely have to get over there and get some pictures in the next few days.

Thanks for the info. This is invaluable.

Spectral · Post by **Spectral** » Tue Jun 29, 2004 11:14 pm

Heh, I made sure to check this thing out today

A cool drain in the area. Gets smaller after a manhole chamber, but still accessable. Probably just goes under the parking lot behind Wal-Mart a ways.

The area right in front of the sinkhole. It's pretty obvious they don't want people fooling around there...

I couldn't get that great of a shot, but I'm assuming that's the sinkhole. There was a way to bypass the fence, but I wasn't really dressed for the occasion, it was pretty light, and the mosquitos seemed hellbent on annoying the crap out of me. I'll try to get back there as soon as I can though.

Post by **White Rabbit** » Tue Jun 29, 2004 11:17 pm

Holy shit, excellent work, ninja boy! Were you able to see any kind of opening in the sinkhole?

Jipsta · Post by **Jipsta** » Tue Jun 29, 2004 11:19 pm

Yup. That's the spot

Post by **White Rabbit** » Wed Jun 30, 2004 7:56 pm

Hey Raven, on the sinkhole PDF you sent me, is this sinkhole the gigantic one in the huge orange area between Kansas Expressway and Campbell? On the PDF, it looks to be on Walnut Lawn St. (on the north side of the street). Is this the same sinkhole? Also, did you notice a cave opening?

kickflip · Post by **kickflip** » Wed Jun 30, 2004 9:54 pm

oh shit...that sounds so cool....i think i'll be exploring that this weekend for sure.

Shaw · Post by **Shaw** » Thu Jul 01, 2004 1:34 am

Very Interesting. Hadn't heard of this one even after being a member of one of the local caving groups for 2 years. Definatly something I'm gonna have to look into here in the near future.

Spectral · Post by **Spectral** » Thu Jul 01, 2004 12:36 pm

Yeah, I think this is the area according to the sinkhole map

I didn't actually see a cave entrance, although like I said, I didn't hang around that long. It'd be pretty easy for it to be obscured in all that brush down there. Also, I never could find that other entrance behind the old Smitty's/Albertson's.

Oh yeah, speaking of sinkholes, there's a 20+ ft. deep one just behind Dairy Queen on Campbell and Republic. From what I could see though, I don't think it leads to a cave.

Post by **White Rabbit** » Sat Jul 24, 2004 4:33 pm

The ninjas (Raven and Sewer Shinobi) and I went and checked out the sinkhole, and there is indeed a cave at the bottom about 15 feet down (although the cave doesn't go anywhere at all). Thankfully, I had brought rapelling gear and was able to attach it to the big metal grate the city has mounted over the top of the sinkhole. Although, the best part was having Raven and Sewer Shinobi haul me back up since I don't have ascenders. Here's the pics!

Jipsta, thanks much for the information. It was awesome.

Post by **White Rabbit** » Sat Jul 24, 2004 4:43 pm

Excellent work guys.

Underground Ozarks

Sinkhole and cave behind Wal-Mart in Springfield

Sinkhole and cave behind Wal-Mart in Springfield

Hmm... Sounds Very Interesting