My long drive down to Seattle wasn't disappointing by any means.
I met TunnelRunner33, learned some really cool stuff about Seattle and heard some really cool stories.
The Jungle was interesting to say the least.

Having no idea where to park, TR rode with me and we parked in an alley near the jungle. We were a bit sketched out by a few guys at the entrance so we entered a few blocks down. I kept my camera in my bag much of the time. I did not want to give anybody any ideas...

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After weaving around the jungle while trying to avoid the came across our first drain...
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TR and I continued looking for the next place and found it quite shortly after...

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I went down. It didn't look too promising to me..

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When we returned back to my Yota, the back door was slightly ajar. TR said that he may have left it open by accident but I later tested how the locks work and determined that it was unlikely that the door was open, let alone unlocked when we stepped away. it was the only door that was unlocked. Nothing was missing...




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Thanks again, TR

This is cool! Any other notable things you saw there that you didn't take a picture of that you want to share? I'm curious as to what else is in the "jungle".

Post by Silent Wav This is cool! Any other notable things you saw there that you didn't take a picture of that you want to share? I'm curious as to what else is in the "jungle".

It was really an interesting experience. There was a bunch of furniture. Mattresses of course and couches, recliners etc set up as if it was a designated "living room" of sorts.

I didn't look too close, but it almost seemed like people had "built" little structures under the overpass as living quarters.

There were clothes laying pretty much everywhere along with shopping carts.

We didn't go very deep in to the trails, but it was interesting for what it was.
I wouldn't suggest going there alone for sure and I don't know that I would go back without good reason.

"The Jungle" is a greenbelt area along the Interstate that is known for being a popular spot for homeless encampments. I had been there a few years ago in a semi-official function. I remembered encountering a few drains which looked interesting to me even then, before I was into exploring as a hobby. At that time, I never would have considering climbing down some random manhole (now I think about it at least once a day!). Anyway, it seemed that they were really old, especially one made of brick that stuck up crazily out of the side of the hill.

We ended up finding three drains in total, with pipes much too small for a person to explore. They were old, but nowhere near as old as I had hoped. And we found the brick one by following a trail of gravel on a forest hillside. Clearly it is maintained and inspected by someone. We guessed that they had been built at around the same time as the nearby Interstate (I think around 1968-9).

I had hoped to find an old, old drain, maybe something left behind from the days of Eugene Semple's cut. With the drains being ruled out, there isn't really much else there I can think of worth looking into, and the area can definitely be dangerous. And as a good friend mentioned to me, it can certainly feel a little morally dubious moving through an area that some folks only inhabit because they don't have many other options. We just tried to be respectful and avoid the people and camps.

Even though we didn't find much, I am glad we went. I was able to quash these mental images of a Goonies-style drain complex in the hills, and it is always good to meet another regional explorer.


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Man, I would have climbed down there and expected some sort of crazy Goonies labyrinth, so disappointing! That manhole/shaft look promising. I have been looking more into drains in the area lately and have found a couple of possible leads, if you are interested you should PM me as we get into the dry(er) season.

Glad you didn't get chased away/held up/stabbed!!

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Posted by YotaMan20 I didn't look too close, but it almost seemed like people had "built" little structures under the overpass as living quarters. There were clothes laying pretty much everywhere along with shopping carts.

Welcome to Seattle!

Post by LuminousAphid

if you are interested you should PM me as we get into the dry(er) season.

If I'm not in Florida by then, I'd totally be down both literally and geographically. haha

So the shaft didn't really go anywhere? Sad days. It is just plugged up or cut off? Awesome pictures and a cool explore though!

It looked like the shaft was dug simply to give access to the opening of the drain's pipe, maybe so workers can climb down and dislodge any branches/dirt/whatever that could potentially block the pipe and cause a clog. But the pipe itself was only a few feet in diameter, and had a little running water flowing through it. So, much to small to explore inside.

That's a pretty neato-looking manhole! But the lack of a big drain is par for the course. Seattle's hilly, and surrounded by large bodies of water. You don't find many big drains in cities like that, no matter the rainfall. The topography already does most of the work. I'm sure there are a few drains big enough to move around in, but they'll be a maddeningly small minority.

I remember cruising the Seattle storm water/sewer system map a number of years ago, and nothing really jumped out at me. I'd sooner chase waterfront steam tunnels or isolated chunks of The Underground City.

Posted by MoleNet94 That's a pretty neato-looking manhole! But the lack of a big drain is par for the course. Seattle's hilly, and surrounded by large bodies of water. You don't find many big drains in cities like that, no matter the rainfall. The topography already does most of the work. I'm sure there are a few drains big enough to move around in, but they'll be a maddeningly small minority. I remember cruising the Seattle storm water/sewer system map a number of years ago, and nothing really jumped out at me. I'd sooner chase waterfront steam tunnels or isolated chunks of The Underground City.

Yeah, from my experience, this appears to be right on the money. I only know of a couple of drains here large enough to stand up in, and those soon shrink right down to be too small for use. I guess I was just hoping that anything left from Semple's day might not be on the main system anymore, thus not on the maps.

I wish we had a setup like LA or SF, drains large enough to ride bicycles through. Ah well.

Oh well? Nah

Let's go to Paris.

I could spend months underground there!

Posted by TunnelRunner33 Yeah, from my experience, this appears to be right on the money. I only know of a couple of drains here large enough to stand up in, and those soon shrink right down to be too small for use. I guess I was just hoping that anything left from Semple's day might not be on the main system anymore, thus not on the maps. I wish we had a setup like LA or SF, drains large enough to ride bicycles through. Ah well.

Ouch. That's a lot of sweat for very little. I was hoping you find some 100 year trash dumps at least.
Train tracks are always a good indicator of the possibility of heavy industry. If nothing else the RR infrastructure it's self which is fascinating in its own right... no tracks are a bad sign.

Posted by TunnelRunner33 Yeah, from my experience, this appears to be right on the money. I only know of a couple of drains here large enough to stand up in, and those soon shrink right down to be too small for use. I guess I was just hoping that anything left from Semple's day might not be on the main system anymore, thus not on the maps. I wish we had a setup like LA or SF, drains large enough to ride bicycles through. Ah well.

From my extensive sitting-on-ass in another country experience, I wonder if this is entirely true. I suspect there may be one or two very worthwhile systems in Seattle.

Is anyone interested in checking them out or discussing more? I'm not in Seattle, but I'm not far away.

There are exactly one or two. Problem here is the city is too new for old stuff, close proximity to water, relative absorbency of soil means easy drainage that doesn't require big and long systems.

There are a few drains in SoDo which are completely full at high tide (historically SoDo was all tide flats anyway).

King County has been doing a lot of work lately in storing massive amounts of sewage in underground tanks or tunnels to reduce combined overflow events during large storms, if that's anything promising. Many other cities are conducting the same projects (e.g. Chicago's Deep Tunnel system).

htp123,

I would always be willing to discuss Seattle more, or look around. I've gotta be honest though; I'd much rather come up to your area and explore the drains you have up there. Artemis offered to show me around last year, I got the passport, and then never actually set a plan to come up. You have a lot of photos up of pretty neat looking stuff.

I'll send you a PM.

Thanks for the info both of you.

I didn't realize there used to be tidal flats in Seattle, it looked too hilly.

Could I run a few things by you Crypton?

Thanks for the PM TunnelRunner33. I'm not sure what our quaint village has to offer you big city dwellers, but please do come up. More than happy to show you around. It's a nice boat ride over and no need for a car.