There is a known phenomena among the urban adventure culture that the unsought for places are usually the best. Popping open a random manhole for no real reason can lead one to an unexpected, and usually spectacular, find. So it was on this night. We had bailed on two prior endeavors and were heading back to the car when we passed over a hatch which was sort of in the middle of nowhere. As it rattled under our feet Snail decided to go back and open it up. He went down and we closed the hatch above him and kept watch. A few seconds later he came back up and told us to come on down, it was a massive steam tunnel.
Apr 212010
It had been on our minds for a little under a month already. The huge gaping whole in the surface of the earth we had stumbled upon which we could not see the bottom of had inspired great speculation. Plans were laid out, equipment was purchased and a date was selected. Our group of no good kids assembled at a laundromat in the late morning hours before piling into a pair of cars and departing. The shear size of the breach brought to mind childhood fantasies of a journey into the center of the earth. One by one we climbed up onto the edge of the abyss, clipped into the rope, took a deep breath, and descended.
Feb 272010
Picture a parking lot, any regular old slab of asphalt with a few lines painted on it. A single car sits idling at the far edge. Its the middle of the night and nothing else moves. You see another car come barreling into the lot, the driver’s jerky motions behind the wheel throwing off screeches as the rubber grinds along the pavement. Both vehicles parked, four suspicious looking characters emerge. One grabs a large piece of metal from the trunk of his car and they cross the lot. The four of them stop and look down at a manhole cover, the one with the metal bar inserts it into the large round lid and pulls. Quickly and without words the four climb down into the hole, pulling the heavy lid back behind them. It falls into place with a low pitched clank, punctuating the preceding action, and returning the stillness to the scene.
Jan 182010
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.
Feb 092008
A local University, like most of its counterparts, is sitting above a large network of utility tunnels that carry hot steam to heat all of its various buildings. Last night the roommate and I descended into the depths of one section of that network and learned that we were following in the footsteps of many intrepid adventurers before us.
Every steam manhole was ratchet-strapped down from the inside. After walking through every inch of the section, dodging leaks of superheated steam capable of melting skin, we made a dramatic exit from the 120 degree heat via a trap door into a public pedestrian tunnel that was of course full of onlookers. I kicked the door open and jumped out with a surprised look on my face. I looked left, looked right, and took off like a bat outta hell with the roommate in tow. You should have seen the look on their faces.
