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The Divine Drain

[Nov.03] - Forgive us our trespasses

Members: Frozen, Undergoth

We had been exploring all night and still had one more place on our to-do list. but didn't mind that the sun had risen.  We wouldn't need the extra security of darkness to infiltrate this location - it's a drain.  Now, I know some explorers don't much care for draining and would rather inhale asbestos in their local abandoned asylum but, well, we didn't have a local asylum.  And hey, is there really anyone who can resist entering a dark and mysterious tunnel?

We, for two, certainly can't resist pretty drains like this one.  I remember the entrance vaguely reminded me of the Star Wars Imperial symbol.  I shouted "tally-ho!" and we splashed in, our boots protecting us from the melted snow making its way to Lake Superior.

(Interesting ice formations outside the entrance)

(The tiny baby drain near the big momma)

(Inside the drain, peering into the dark beyond)

(Glancing back wistfully at the light of day before we plunge in deeper)

(More ice formations)

(The first manhole we came to)

Now is when things started to become interesting.  We approached the room which gives this drain its "Divine" name.  Unfortunately I don't have many pictures of this junction.  Suffice it to say the junction had seen many "enlightened" graffiti artists.  The round pipe we entered had given way to a more interesting old brick-style tunnel similar to those of Nicollet island or the end of the East Kittsondale.

Upon leaving the Divine Junction we encountered the first of several miniature water falls we had to climb over.  One of my boots was immediately filled with 35F water.  One of the joys of draining.  We carefully stepped up a few algae-encrusted "slides" and, to our surprise, found the air was getting cooler.  Soon we saw a distant light and pressed ahead to satisfy our curiosity.

(The Divine Junction)

(Classic brick-style tunnel)

(One of the tiny waterfalls)

(Another tiny waterfall)

(This one was bigger than the others)

(Light ahead!)

(Blue UFO on the left? No, just my C.H.U.D. killer)

We discovered the light was coming from a hole in the ceiling of the drain.  A few similar holes later and we were in an entirely open section.  It ran between some houses/buildings and was fenced off on the sides.  The walls and ceiling immediately before the open section had a very interesting texture, and there was a trap door we couldn't get open.

(What material is this?)

(Looks like a door of some sort)

(Back into more darkness)

(Peaking out between two boards)

(Holding the camera higher up we saw a building)

(The side of a building as seen through a hole in the roof of the drain)

(Same building)

(Here is the open stretch, very interesting indeed!)

(After enjoying the open sun we ventured back
 into the pleasantly-arched entrance of the drain)

(Just inside was a large corrugated metal
pipe with serious water damage)

(A log or something? A mirror? I honestly have no idea)

(Peering out a manhole cover at a building)

(Ah, so it was my right boot that filled up with water)

I didn't take any pictures after this, probably because I was soon too exhausted to worry about pictures.  Let me explain what happened:

We continued along past the point in the above photo, working our way farther and farther away from Lake Superior.  The ceiling started looking a little shorter and soon I had to hunch over in order to keep my head from scraping.  It kept getting shorter and shorter but we pushed ahead hoping for something worth the effort.  Finally, after some time, the drain's dimensions had completely flip-flopped.  The drain was very short, but also very wide.  Turning the above picture sideways gives an idea of what it was like.

The ceiling was as high as the part where the water is running, meaning to walk I had to squat down and duck-walk, holding my backpack in front of me because it saved my legs a few inches.  Being stubborn, we continued in this fashion in ~50 foot increments.  See, about every 50 feet there was a spider-webby manhole shaft which we could stand up fully in to stretch our legs and backs.  So we only thought 50 feet at a time, working to get to the next shaft.

If you have ever been in a position where you can't stand up straight for a long period of time you might understand how this is a very difficult situation and begins to wear on you psychologically as well as physically.  We continued duck-walking through this drain for about an hour, legs burning, back hurting.  We hoped for one of two things: the ceiling to get higher so we could walk normally or the ceiling to get lower so we are forced to turn back.  The ceiling was at just the perfect height so it was as painful as possible to continue without quite forcing us to turn back.  Also, we knew every step we took farther from Lake Superior meant another step through this back-breaking section should we eventually need to turn around.

Just pop out of one of the manholes we pass every 50 feet, you say?  Well, I haven't given you all the information.  My best guess is we were under some sort of highway (35E?) as every so often the manholes would make a deep THUMP.  This sound would reverberate for a few seconds, ample time to think about what might have occurred had I been popping that cover at the wrong time.  No, it was either push ahead and hope we get out from under the highway, or admit defeat and turn back to retrace each very un-divine step.  Short story, we admitted defeat and turned back.  The combination of being awake for 36 hours, spending the last 12 of those exploring, and the most recent 1 breaking our backs for no good reason made the decision for us.  I won't recount how much fun (sarcasm) it was to duck-walk for an hour back out of there.  The experience is categorized in my mind somewhere between being seasick and riding/driving from MN to FL without stopping for more than gas or a bite to eat (it takes ~36 hours by the way).  When we finally re-emerged out into the open section of tunnel, we climbed out, jumped the fence, and enjoyed the extreme pleasure of standing up straight.  My sore muscles recovered in a few days, but Undergoth wasn't so lucky and had back trouble for a week or two after this.

The current plan is to make some Divine drain-boards and return to the not-so-divine section of the drain to defeat it.  If we succeed (or even if we fail) I'll let you know.

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