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Log - 2001
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| tunnel trip #11 - December '01 |
This was a pretty lame trip... I just dropped back into the run along West Campus Drive (Greenhouses to Hillcrest), to see where in relation to Hillcrest the tunnel becomes impassible. After much crawling and squeezing, it is possible to reach Hillcrest (but not enter it). There's also a side tunnel near Hillcrest, that would be large enough to explore, but is unfortunately blocked by floor-to-ceiling pipes. The pipes near Hillcrest also have asbestos insulation, instead of fiberglass. Oh, and there was an article about urban explorers in a recent Washington Post, including an interview with someone here at Tech who may or may not be me...
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| Litton Reaves & tunnel trip #10 - December '01 |
Crawled around in
Litton Reaves' crawlspace some more. Kinda neat, but all I really accomplished
was getting dirty. Also got into the basement mechanical room, kinda cool. While
I was in the area I figured I might as well explore the stretch of tunnel
running in front of Litton Reaves & Wallace. It was pretty neat, but I was
dumb and wore two shirts and a winter coat... so needless to say I was a little
toasty by the end of the trip. The strangest thing about this stretch of tunnel
is being able to hear music playing in cars passing by on West Campus Drive. But
now I need to go back - if for no other reason then to figure out where the
tunnel becomes inaccessible in relation to Hillcrest & Wallace.
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| Whittemore Hall - November '01 |
Not much to say
here... I was trying to get up onto the roof through the penthouse mechanical
room, but all the doors and the one roof hatch were locked. So I just poked
around the mech room for a while, taking pictures and checking out all the
machinery. It was pretty cool, but I wish I could have gotten out on the roof...
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| tunnel trip #9 - October '01 |
So a while back I
found this great steam tunnel entrance through the basement of Dietrick, but
haven't gotten around to using it until tonight. I had loaned my Mini-Maglite to
a friend (who decided to keep it), and didn't feel like carrying my 2D Maglite
around, so I just cracked a glowstick and went in. For the first time since I've
been going down there, the basement mechanical room was locked, but that wasn't
too much of a problem. Also, the lights were off in the tunnel (except for a
couple by Cheatham). I was wearing my winter coat too, oops. It kept snagging on
wires and hooks. I had hoped to be able to access the sub-tunnel to Slusher, or
any other building, but they were too small. I really like this little section
of tunnel (Dietrick to Fralin), despite how short it is, how hot it can get, and
the single entrance,.
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| Hancock Hall - September '01 |
This was one of
those deals where I've been checking the mechanical room door every time I've
passed by the building, hoping that it'd be unlocked, and always being disappointed.
Until tonight. There's all kinds of crazy stuff down there... up to and
including a forklift!. I was hoping to be able to gain access to the section of
steam tunnel between Burruss and McBryde, but unfortunately there was a wall in
the way.
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| Upper Quad - September '01 |
...Haven't been
exploring in over a month, thanks to school and work. Some lady from a major
east coast newspaper was supposed to come down here for some tunneling though,
but she bailed (something about liability...). My plan for tonight was to try to
get into the section of tunnels in the Upper Quad, but I couldn't find a decent
entrance, so I just explored the crawlspace under Femoyer instead. It was pretty
cool, but I should have brought a dust mask too keep me from inhaling too much
dust and mold spores. A few days later I returned to the upper quad with
the intent of exploring the basement of the ceramics building (on the Lane side
of the building, not the power plant side!). The basement was locked, but
fortunately the next day it wasn't. There's some cool stuff down there, but a
couple of locked doors impeded my progress. I'm hoping that there'll be fewer
locked doors next time I go back there.
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| tunnel trip #8 - August '01 |
Decided to try to
make it from the Ag Quad to Derring tonight - entered around 2:15, and ended up
spending about 35 minutes underground. The ceiling of part of the side tunnel
running to Price seems to be caving in (there's chunks of cement on the floor
that weren't there in July), so it probably isn't too safe to go in there. I
made it all the way to to locked metal door into Derring's basement (watch out
for asbestos and leaky steam pipes), stopping along the way to check out the
door to Burruss again. The manhole thing going up into the Burruss crawlspace
(?) looks like it might have some potential for future explorations. I ended up
slowly working my way out through Pamplin's crawlspace and mechanical room - not
an exit I recommend or plan to use again. It was crazy tight, and I kept
snagging on wires and other debris.
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| some buildings - August '01 |
Went down in the
Dietrick mech room again, with a new buddy of mine. She pointed me towards a
storage room in Burruss that offers a view out over the auditorium, so I had to
go check that out too. Came back to Burruss a couple nights later & poked
around some more, but didn't find anything new (too many locked doors). Oh yeah,
there's a hatch on the east side of Burruss that looks to offer access to the
crawlspace under the building. I'm sure there's asbestos down there though, and
the hatch is kinda out in the open...
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| tunnel trip #7 - August '01 |
Entered by Cassell
around 2:30 am. Campus is empty (it's between summer II and fall semester) so I
wasn't worried about getting spotted. Made my way to Miles, popped out of the
tunnel long enough to grab a drink from a nearby vending machine, the climbed
back down & headed towards the Chapel. I really like this section of tunnel,
aside from the long stretch with 4" of water on the floor. Not wearing a
hat really helped to keep me cool - there were only a few places where I could
really feel the heat. My Maglite died while I was trying to see if the Library
sub-tunnel was passable - it's a good thing the lights were on in the tunnel,
but either way I had a spare flashlight just in case. I exited by the Chapel
around 3:15 I guess. I'd really like to try to explore the library sub-tunnel
sometime - I'm skinny enough to squeeze through the pipes, so getting in
shouldn't be a problem.
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| tunnel trip #6 - August '01 |
Boredom makes me
go tunneling. Tonight, I dropped in the Cassell entrance, with the goal of just
doing another short run. I dressed more appropriately this time, but I'm
beginning to reconsider wearing a hat while tunneling, since a hat would prevent
heat loss from my head (not a good thing). And my calves hurt a lot from walking
hunched over 'cause the tunnel isn't tall enough. Oh, and any VT Utilities
people who might be reading this, it's be really nice if you could cover the
sections of un-insulated pipe. I had a few tense moments where I had to squeeze
by uncovered pipes without getting burnt. The lights were still off from Cassell
to the left turn by Miles & Barringer, but they were on from that point
onward. I exited by Miles and Barringer, having spent only around 20 minutes
underground. However, I like short trips like this one because when I exit I
still have plenty of energy, and without the fatigue that sets in from longer
trips, my adrenaline rush lasts longer and I become more enthusiastic about
future trips.
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| Shanks Hall - August '01 |
Now that the renovation
to Shanks is more or less complete, I thought it'd be fun to stop by tonight
(dragging a friend along for emotional support) and see what interesting stuff
we could find. First of all, the building is pretty damn nice on the inside now,
it looks a lot more modern than its original 1902 construction date. On the
basement level we found a mechanical room and an elevator equipment room, both
unlocked (for now). The mech room opened into a cool crawlspace (I think this is
the level referred to on the Conglomerate's
web
site as the "catacombs"). I crawled around for a while, getting
all dusty and dirty, and snapping plenty of pictures. The crawlspace under
Shanks is pretty damn cool, well worth the time and effort of exploring.
Surprisingly, there wasn't much graffiti down there though, and I forgot to
bring a marker along... Also, it's kinda weird to walk out of a crawlspace
covered head to toe in dirt and into a nice, brand new, super-clean hallway.
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| Dietrick Dining Hall - July '01 |
A friend and I
tried to get into the giant storage room in Dietrick's basement this evening,
but the door was locked. We got spotted by a couple of managers, but quickly
walked away before they could say anything. Next we hit the crawlspace (the
entrance is by the mechanical room) - pretty cool. We checked out the mechanical
room again, including the ventilation areaway outside. I got a couple more
pictures too. I still need to check out that stretch of steam tunnel, but it may
be too hot to explore.
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| Dietrick Dining Hall - July '01 |
Snuck into
Dietrick's basement this evening - too easy really. There's a cool mechanical
room down there, with lots of giant pipes and machinery. Didn't take enough
pictures though - damn. Found a door (full-sized, looked like a door into a
closet) that led into an incredibly tight and hot section of steam tunnel. I
don't know if I'd be willing to risk exploring it, because of the heat and the
tunnel being to small to turn around in if I needed to get out quickly. It could
possibly lead into a stretch of tunnels that I don't believe has been explored
by any Tech students in quite some time. Anytime I can get in and out of an
exploration without anyone even seeing me just gives me so much more confidence.
I don't know why I didn't check out Dietrick before now - and I've wanted to get
into that mechanical room ever since my freshman year.
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tunnel trip #5 - June '01 |
Just got back from a short run from the tunnel entrance by Miles and Barringer to the one by Cassell. After having spent all my tunneling time in the relatively cool and well-ventilated tunnels on the other side of campus, I really wasn't prepared for the intense heat and lack of space I encountered. I had my winter coat on too... oops. I've never been so relieved to get to the surface. It was surprising how much un-insulated pipe there was down there. I'd like to go back, but in the far future, in cooler clothes, with a water bottle or two, and not by myself. I only got a couple pictures though, so that's more motivation to go back. It was kinda creepy down there too...
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| tunnel trip #4 - June '01 |
Went exploring tonight... solo as has been the trend so far this summer. Plan A was to go in the tunnels at the Chapel and pop out at Cassell, but the Chapel entrance was locked (the motion detector has been disabled though) so I just did the Ag Quad to Cowgill run again. Found a small room under the Ag Quad (by Price) which would be a cool place to chill if there wasn't a steam discharge in it. There was more water in the tunnels than usual, but I made it all the way to the end of the tunnel behind Cowgill. The lights are still on between Burruss and Cowgill, but they're off in the Derring sub-tunnel. Damn I'd love to get that door to the front section of Burruss open though... who knows what coolness lies behind it. Oh, thanks to the Utilities people for tying up the loose wires by GBJ. And as always, more pictures coming soon (as soon as I finish the roll).
There is no log for tunnel trips 1-3 or any building explorations before July 2001.
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