We started with a group of seven. A knee problem cut us down to six strong before we climbed the fence in groups of two. Our limping man behind took one radio, I took the other. If the authorities rolled up behind us we’d at least know about it. For some this was the first crane, for others it was the tallest, for me it was another that I had had my eye on for some time.

Thats what they manufactured here. HUGE is a good word for this place. Abandoned, dilapidated buildings spaced evenly, so as to avoid the spread of gun-powder fueled fire, as far as the eye could see.

The kind with stairs. The big fat ones. I’d wanted to climb one of these for a while. Had to leave my car in a sketchy spot. Had to climb a barbed wire fence with a mean looking dog barking its head off at me. Had to dyno the bottom of the ladder from a small bolt as a foothold. These last two made for a nice challenge on what would have been a rather mundane mission.

A few locals had labeled this huge underground tunnel system as “Sealed up tight,” and “not worth attempting.” They were completely fucking wrong on both counts. Though access was difficult it was far from impossible and this was the coolest set of underground structures I have yet seen. As in many other places the graffiti reminded us that we were far from the first to trespass into the system.