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For me, the best time to explore is in the winter. Cold, bleak winter days put me right in the exploring mood. Here's why:
- I think the pictures come out better against a stark winter backdrop. It's just an aesthetic that I prefer. Naked trees, snow, ice, overcast skies, light rain - yes please.
- I like the feeling. Places feel like they're frozen in time and I'm moving through them unnoticed.
- There are no bugs and less vermin. This is particularly nice when you have to go through brush. No one likes ticks.
- The cold weather means that you wear more heavy-duty clothing - more coverage and more padding. That means more protection. And I'm almost always warm enough. (Well, except for my fingers, which are often exposed.) Sure, you can wear pants and long sleeves in the summer, but that sucks!
- There are fewer people likely to be exploring, which means that you're more likely to have the place to yourself. And there are fewer people out and about in general, meaning there are fewer people who are likely to see you coming and going.
Sure, there are drawbacks, but I think they're outweighed by the benefits. ----------
Ok so, I've taken "time" to mean "season." But feel free to interpret it as "time of day" or "day of the week" or "time in your life" or "when you're feeling X." When is your exploring happy place?
ABANDONR. | abandonr.tumblr.com |
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The perfect day to explore for me is.. Any day. I don't get nearly enough chances being in the middle of Wisconsin, so when i have an opportunity, i take it. No limits or requirements.
"When it rains, just find bigger drains." |
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I completely agree. Yes, summer is generally nicer out and less of a pain to spend lengthy amounts of time outdoors, but winter takes every other advantage. Pretty much all the examples you gave. Something about the bleak feeling of winter just fits exploring the shells and memories of the fading past.
Check out my Instagram profile for more awesome pictures: http://instagram.com/danielburgess_/ |
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Summer is too hot over here, so I don't get much exploring done then. I agree that winter is best. You don't overheat and there are fewer people out. Although the foliage can get pretty great in the warmer months, especially if you go out when the blossoms are in bloom in spring or the leaves are turning colours in fall.
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While I can definitely appreciate the appeal of exploring in winter for the reasons described, I'm going with Summer. Sure, it can be uncomfortable, but you gotta love it when a building looks like it's half tree.
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As much as I hate the cold, I enjoy exploring in the winter the most because it's less likely there are people out and about. I've gotten into some pretty well populated locations (as a while male in housing projects) during the winter with much less stress than when I went to the same location during warmer months because a lot of neighbors were out on their front porches.
http://www.flickr....jasonjacksonphoto/ |
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I'm going to vote late spring / early summer! I'd much rather be hot than cold. And my #1 favorite time to explore is when it's raining or storming really hard!
"You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go..." -Dr. Suess |
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I happily explore whenever. Winter has it's perks but also it's drawbacks in the shorter amount of daylight. My personal favourite time though is very early on a summers morning - way before anyone else is awake but when it's still light enough to see to get into somewhere. Beautiful. I too love exploring in heavy rain/snow/storm etc as there are less likely to be people out and about being nosey.
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Every season has its pros and cons. For me, my fave time to explore is in Autumn. Beautiful colours, warm temps and next to no bugs. Winter can be great, however up here it can lead to another thing, getting caught due to tracks.
Zen and the art of infiltration... http://www.flikr.com/photos/zenslens Zen is an uber explorer, a demi god of craning and purveyor of the finer things in life. |
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I don't have much free time in the winter, so I do my exploring in the spring, summer or fall. I like to have some foliage cover, and I just like the way abandoned places look when they are grown over. It also gets pretty cold here in Western New York, and we get a lot of snow. Making some places difficult to access.
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Snow is a double-edged sword. You leave tracks, but so does everyone else. There is nothing like a swath of pristine, unbroken snow to definitively demonstrate that nobody has been patrolling or checking up on a site. Personally, I'm fond of late afternoon/early evening when people are getting off work. It's completely normal and unsuspicious to be out and about then, but people tend to be distracted by their evening plans so they are somewhat less likely to notice you or give you grief. Plus, late afternoon sun can be pretty darned gorgeous! Obviously that approach doesn't make sense for every location, but it has proven fairly versatile.
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December 25-26th have always proven their worth
Belief in ruins |
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Whenever I have time.
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when nobody is watching..
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Posted by Carmen_Sandiego Snow is a double-edged sword. You leave tracks, but so does everyone else. There is nothing like a swath of pristine, unbroken snow to definitively demonstrate that nobody has been patrolling or checking up on a site.
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One of my favourite explores I've ever done wasn't to anywhere special - simply the local haunt I went to countless times before it was demolished last year - but I decided to go there alone early one December morning after we had had a sizeable fall of snow. Climbing over the gate into the site I immediately saw a vast expanse of pristine untouched snow, and I sat on the roof watching the sun rise in total peace and serenity. Beautiful.
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In the winter in the middle of the night.
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At dawn, whenever. Do your shit/shower/shave deal, eat a hearty breakfast, get yourself a monster coffee, ice your IPA's and get movin'! FUCK!
"Are you happy now with all the choices you've made?" "Are there times in life when you know you should've stayed?" "Will you compromise and then realize the price is too much to pay?" "Winners and losers... which one will you be today?" ***Social Distortion*** |
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Posted by Radical_Ed At dawn, whenever. Do your shit/shower/shave deal, eat a hearty breakfast, get yourself a monster coffee, ice your IPA's and get movin'! FUCK!
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Hell yes. Go hard or go home! Worst case scenario, you'll have a good meal in your stomach when they drag you into the back of a cop car!
Posted by GC Intercept December 25-26th have always proven their worth
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TRUTH. I went out and took some photos while everyone was stuffing their faces at Christmas dinner.
Oh good, my slow clap processor made it into this thing. |
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Late weekday nights. Summers are best for travel exploring because you can set up camp in any building without getting too cold.
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Posted by GC Intercept December 25-26th have always proven their worth
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yup, I took advantage of the holidays this year. On Christmas day, I got into a building that normally has a caretaker living at it. The funny part is that I just watched a news interview of the caretaker (they recently filmed some sort of ghost hunter show there) and he mentioned some people broke in on Christmas day. He described every detail about our entry. Watch those footprints in the snow...
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