Posted by BlackFox2 I see a lot of people here exploring abandoned buildings and mines which (to me) makes sense due to the wide variety of structures and history present in each location. I am a bit confused why storm drains are such a popular location type that people explore. Maybe I haven't gone down the right drain or it might not be for me, but storm drains seem a little repetitive in nature. The two that I have been down were fun but I felt they lost most of their vanity after the second iteration. It was mostly crouching and walking with occasional graffiti. What's been your experience with storm drains? And if you love them, what makes them so special to you?
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I could write pages on this, but I'll try not to (edit: I failed
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This is obviously just my opinion.
Drain Exploring is definitely not your standard type of Urbex. Drains aren't abandoned so it fits into the Infiltration side of urbex, however generally with Infiltrating active locations you need to travel light & engage in stealth exploring - this is definitely not the case with drain exploring
Drain exploring is much more sociable than general exploring. This helps when you are exploring a repetitive drain (having a chat, catching up with someone you haven't seen since the last expo, etc.)
In regards to them being repetitive, I feel the same way about farm houses with a chair sitting in the middle of the room. When I'm exploring topside I'm looking for a prison, school, power station, hospital or the like - the other boring sheds, houses, gas stations, etc, are part of the challenge.
Finding drains (and underground locations in general) is part of the fun. Most of my Topside explores I just drive by & think "that looks abandoned and cool. There's a way in" (yep, I know many locations take much more work to find) whereas underground locations are often totally hidden.
When I find a new drain, I see a question mark: is it going to be a shrinker (a pipe that does nothing other than get smaller) or is it going to have stairways, slides or waterfalls? Will it get bigger, become Red brick, bluestone or sandstone? Will it change shape to square, rectangular, arch, hallway, coffin or other shapes I can't even name. Will there be old bridges now buried underground. Will there be a sign of other explorers (or as is the case in Melbourne, an Alf Saddlier tag from the 1950s - he built many of our drains.)
In regards to the history of drains, it's definitely lacking compared to the history of a Boys Home, prison, psych hospital, etc, however there is history if that's your thing. Most drains were once creeks or rivers that had names. You can find out when & why they were put underground.
There's also the exploring history of drains. Drains tend to last longer than many abandoned structures - especially in areas where real-estate is valuable. I know drains where people have died or injured themselves, had sex with a friend, fallen asleep drunk, dodged a storm (not all at once).
There are tributes in our tunnels to explorers no longer with us. The longer urbex exists, the more history there is in the artificial underground.
I almost forgot - the victory of rebirthing
When you go so far up a drain that doesn't end & it's getting smaller and you don't want to walk all the way back so you end up crawling up side pipes to try and find a safe manhole cover to exit. In those scenarios finding a way out is such a rush - a victory. You defeated the drain! Everyone is all smiles
People say it's more dangerous than Topside urbex. You definitely need to be aware of the dangers, but when exploring Topside, one slip could be your last, so there are dangers everywhere (even abandoned farm houses if you get shot at for trespassing
I'm definitely not saying draining is better than other types of urbex - I love exploring just about anything - draining is just different.
Cheers