Log - 2003

 
tunnel trip #28 - December '03

 

 Did the Agnew - New Chem run for what'll probably be the last time. They finally put a padlock on the exit we've been using for years, so we had to get a little creative in trying to get out of the tunnels without being seen. I wonder why they locked up the exit... maybe someone got caught leaving the tunnel that way, or maybe the cops just finally figured it out. So we ended up completely covered in dust (I need a respirator), and I'm still having trouble breathing. Oh well, it was fun.

 
Eggleston Tunnel - November '03

 

 Drove out to Eggleston to check out an abandoned railroad tunnel that I'd spotted a while back. It was pretty cool, although a little shorter than I thought it'd be. Unfortunately, it was raining, so the fog in the tunnel prevented me from taking any decent pictures.

 
tunnel trip #27 - September '03

 

 A friend was in town for the weekend, and wanted to do some tunneling... So we entered at Barringer and went all the way to Randolph. Pretty cool. We were able to confirm that the "LOCKEL LIBRARY" spray-painted on the tunnel wall by the library sub-tunnel actually says "LOCKED LIBRARY". This clears up a lot of confusion and rumor. I forgot to bring my camera though, it'd be nice to have a few more pictures of this stretch of tunnel.

 
crazy abandoned resort - June '03 Finally made it out to West VA to check out this crazy cool huge abandoned resort / hospital that I found last year. And it was amazing, probably the coolest exploration I've ever been on. Halfway through, I ran into a couple walking around the grounds - as it turned out the wife used to work there before it was shut down a decade ago. So I let them inside, and they gave me a guided tour of the place. Awesome. I shot three rolls of film, so it's going to take me a while to scan everything and get a webpage set up.

 
tunnel trip #26 - April '03 I hadn't been tunneling in a while, so Chong and I did the Barringer run. The tunnel was wetter than usual tonight, especially by the bookstore and Library. We went all the way to the power plant (I hadn't been past McBryde before), which was cool. Incredibly hot though, there's actually 100+ degree wind drafts blowing through that section of tunnel. We then headed back to the tunnel behind McBryde, and squeezed our way in. This side tunnel is pretty interesting... there are a number of sub-tunnels going off from it, some of which are accessible. I need to go back though, to check out some of the sub-tunnels.

 
downtown - March '03 Went back underneath downtown, with Chong this time. We covered a lot more ground this time, even making at all the way to where you can see the creek through the stairs by the Art Armory. The water level was a bit lower this time, which was nice. We found a purse in the creek down there... so I had to do my good deed of the month and return it to its owner, even though someone had taken pretty much everything of value out of it. Oh yeah, we found some more graffiti, this time from the 1930's. Cool. And a secret trapdoor to somewhere...

 
downtown - March '03 Yeah, tonight was fun. I had just found out about a really cool way to get to where Strouble's Creek runs under downtown, and just had to check it out. And it was amazing, like only crazy underground places can be. I got completely soaked. Oh yeah, did I mention it's been raining? Bad time to be wading in an underground creek. We found some cool old stuff... some old bottles, and a tag from 1919 (!) on an old building foundation. Nice.

 
tunnel trip #25 - February '03 Nothing much new here. We just did the Agnew - New Chem run again. I think this'll be my last trip down in that particular stretch of tunnel, it just isn't exploration anymore. It's just seeing the same stuff again and again, and it's not worth the risk. Oh yeah, the sub-tunnel to Williams was lit up. Very strange, I think there used to be a wall in the way, whereas now you can see all the way down the sub-tunnel. It'd be an incredibly tight squeeze to get into the sub-tunnel though, I doubt that I could make it (and I'm pretty skinny).

 
Cheatham Hall - January '03 Ah, winter break. When the only people on campus are me and the cops. Tonight I went for a 3 hour walk around campus - yes, that's how long it takes to cover the entire campus - mostly just scouting stuff out. But Cheatham was unlocked, and the roof hatch was open... I couldn't resist. It was amazing. I love rooftops, it's a shame most of them are locked up. I took some long-exposure photographs, we'll have to wait & see how they turn out.

 

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