Most people don't think about what goes on beneath their feet. And it's not like there's anything wrong with that.

But there are those of us who take interest in storm drains and sewers and other subterranean paths of transportation. I mean, you see those little drains by the side of the road, leading who-knows-where, and there's something in you that says 'hey, let's figure out how to get down there!'

As I may have stated before, I like draining. I like the cave-ish feeling of it, the way your eyes never quite adjust to the dim light.

I chose a drain I'd been in the entrance of once before, but had never actually explored. It's quite large- I can reach as far as possible above my head and not touch ceiling. This particular one doesn't have very much graffiti, which is surprising given its size. It's at a creek near my house, so I got up early and biked over to it.

Once there, the obvious thing to do was get my bike inside the drain, which is something I've had to do countless times. This particular drain is situated on a ridiculously steep bank. Cue bike falling on top of me as I struggle in vain not to fall into the creek.



Looking around, it became obvious that someone had been in the drain.



But anyway. the initial tube is about 40 feet in length, then it branches off and becomes a main tube and then another, smaller one. This happens several times throughout the drain.





So I crawled down this tiny little tube, the size of which isn't really apparent here, with my backpack catching against the top of it and my flashlight banging against the cement each time I moved my hand. . .



And eventually you come to what my friends and I like to call a honeycomb. I'm not sure how to describe it, but it's a common feature in the drains in my city. It's like being inside a hive, the diameter of the tube becoming more and more narrow as you look up.



At this point, I dropped my flashlight.

Turned it off, then on. No light.
Shook it. No light.
Swore at it. No light.

Awesome.

Luckily (Actually, no. Not luckily. This is common sense, guys.) I had brought a second flashlight. So I was good to continue on.



As I continued down the main tube, the drain began to branch off into those drains you see on the curbs of streets, where people think it's funny to dump grass clippings and trash.



They let in a lot of light, which is nice. And you can sit in the part underneath the manhole and listen to peoples' conversations as they walk by. I didn't hear anything today, it was too early.



And then continuing onward, I had a wildlife encounter! A very small snake.



Which I avoided going near.

After this point, the water (which had previously been up to my ankles) got considerably deeper (almost up to my knees). But it leveled off soon enough, and it's not so hard to stay up on the sides of the tube.



It's funny how much junk gets washed down (and thrown down) into these places. Everything from kid's playthings to awkward adult toys, fine china to plastic cups. . .



I've heard of understanding a person by going through their trash, but this is a whole different level. It's all the parts of a person that they might not have wanted to lose, but ended up losing anyway. Not everything down here is trash. Some of it is stolen (I found an old car radio, once), and some of it is things that were left outside just before it rained.

Eventually, I reached the endpoint of the tunnel, where it branches off into three separate, smaller ones. I chose the one on the right, which was the only one large enough to continue into.



I went in about 30 feet, until I hit one of the 'rooms' (a larger area under a manhole, usually big enough to stand up in. The drain always gets smaller after one of these, though). I looked up and found myself under a net of spiderwebs. I looked forward and saw that the next section of the tunnel was half as tall as the one I was already in. It was time to make the return trip home.



On the way out, I found a flat section of wall and made my (awkwardly formed) mark.



I have plans to explore the last three tunnels. I just need to find a skateboard.