Pachkilo Gufa

Various descriptions

Herbert Daniel Gebauer - 06/01/2018

Two unspecified cave entrances (unidentified shape, unidentified dimensions, unidentified orientation, unidentified characteristics), of which one was identified as a low entrance (H&K), are said to give access to an almost horizontal and rather vadose than allegedly phreatic stream cave as the known part consists of air-filled cave passages which contain not only much mud (keyword: backup zone) and an active streamway (Harper 2001.02.28 Mss) but also unexplored continuations and, last but not least, a certain stal blockage in the sense of unidentified varieties of secondary calcite formations (stalactitic speleothems). ETYMOLOGY: The meaning and origin of the recorded cave name Gufa Pachkilo (Harper 2001.02.28 Mss) neither was understood nor makes any sense but obviously formats words of an Indic language in a Mon-Khmer manner. The Hindi -gufa- (Assamese, Bengali, Nepali, etc.), from -gupha- (Sanskrit), is the same word as the Indo-european cave (English) -- hence -Pachkilo Gufa- insead Gufa Pachkilo (Harper 2001, McManus 2001) -- and -pachkilo- may be a corruption of the Hindi (Nepali, etc.) adjective -pachhilo- (least, furthest), the opposite of -pahilo- (first). CAVE DESCRIPTION: Low entrance (H&K) leads to small chamber (3 by 4 by 2 m), at T-junction. Right a wide low crawl (3 m by 0.8 to 1 m), in small gradually ascending passage with miniscule stream not pushed to a conclusion but very close to surface sink. Left 15 m of horizontal passage (3 m by 1.5 m) over gours to active streamway. Gradually enlarges to 3 by 3 m meanders for approx. 150 m to stal blockage. 3 m section of flat out crawl ,(0.4 by 0.35 m), in mud canal with 0.2 m airspace inspected but not pushed due to lack of time despite howling draught and inviting black space beyond (Harper 2001.02.28 Mss). PROSPECTS: Somewhere in this cave there is not only an apparently ascending (sic!) but orographically descending cave passage with miniscule stream not pushed but also an Inspector's Canal represented by a mud canal with 0.2 m airsace inspected but not pushed … despite howling draught [air current] and inviting black space beyond (Harper 2001.02.28 Mss). CAVE LIFE: Relatively small fish (pisces, some pale) of unspecified size, shrimps (Crustacea: Palaemonida), snot gobblers (larval stage of fungus gnats, Diptera: Mycetophilidae), and snail shells (bivalves and gastropods).