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Infiltration Forums > US: Four Corners > Colorado Springs, my favorite drain here so far(Viewed 2016 times)
Floodway location:
Colorado Springs
 
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Colorado Springs, my favorite drain here so far
< on 6/25/2020 5:24 AM >
Posted on Forum: UER ForumQuote
Let me preface this writeup by saying that I am still relatively new to draining. I have explored around four drains now, five if you count a brief foray into the CSOs of midtown Atlanta(the most promising location, but obviously the most foul. Will hopefully return there sometime with more PPE, as the site was pretty fascinating.) My explores have not been terribly long, as I get accustomed to the various sounds and critters draining has to offer, but this is my most exciting find in the Springs so far.

I usually document my draining in my journal, but this new drain I've found is big enough that I felt more excited about sharing it to the public. Without further ado, let me talk about it!

I've been scouting out this drain for a while. If I recall correctly, I found the location via lots of digging on Google Maps, my second-favorite tool after bike paths.
The POE on this spot was the trickiest I've dealt with so far. A canal, surrounded on either side by fences(some sections topped with razor wire) runs right through the middle of a bunch of businesses. In the heart of this block is the entry point, an(I'm guessing) 8 foot RCB outfall. I decided my best route was to park in a nearby neighborhood and enter where the canal passed beneath the street. From there I would make the hike up the canal to the RCB, avoiding the need to fence-hop.

The canal was steeper than it had appeared on my scouting, but with some careful footholds I was able to get into it with no problem. Nerves high, I began my trek. One of the first things I took note of was the slippery moss. It would be good to wear something other than tennis shoes next time. Though there was a good amount of vegetation on either side of the canal, some of the buildings had floodlights cast in my direction, which kept my nerves up. I did my best to stay out of these. Being seen after midnight creeping around a business district in a canal doesn't look good to the authorities, I'm sure. The hike up the canal was longer than I had anticipated, or it just felt that way due to the nerves. At one point, I had to slog through knee-deep water, which wouldn't have bothered me too bad if it didn't make so much noise! I feared the deep water would continue into the drain, but as I approached the entrance, the water got shallower to the point where some spots on the concrete were dry. After what felt like 20 minutes of canal hiking, I finally slipped away into the blissful darkness of the drain.

After a few minutes of walking in the RCB, it opened up into a chamber which branched off into a few directions. Though the night was dry, some water was still flowing in from side pipes, presumably due to rainfall earlier that week. For scale, the bottommost part of the right RCP was about waist height on me. This section, in my opinion, is simply gorgeous! I'm hoping for even more interesting intersections later in the drain.



The right side split off immediately into two tunnels, an RCB and an RCP. Below is what it looked like from the main tunnel, since you can't see it in the first photo.



Though I wanted to explore the big RCP on the left first, I did hop up here and take a photo from the inside looking out into the main tunnel, because I thought it was cool. Below photo was taken from inside the RCB in the previous photo.




After hopping back down, I started my walk into the left branch, the big RCP. Lots of graffiti in this part, but none that looked new. The graffiti is one of the most compelling aspects of drains to me. I wish everyone would write the date they were there, I love to imagine when and why people were hanging out in these places before me.












The tunnel took a turn towards the right after a while of walking, and it was here that I started to hear some sounds. I brushed them off as dripping water initially, but the further I went, the more they sounded like footsteps, and I was starting to get creeped out. The noises sounded bigger and heavier than water, and were spaced far enough apart to give me pause, despite there being no observable lights or voices ahead. There was also some construction going on not too far up the street, and I began to get nervous about encountering someone else– either a worker, or a curious citizen enticed by the easy access while construction was taking place. That being said, it was around 2 AM at this point, so my sleep-deprived paranoia was no help. Overly cautious person that I am, for better or for worse, I decided to turn back. I'm thinking that if I return and hear the same sounds, it'll be safe to assume that it's just water being amplified by the pipe, and that I was just being a coward. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing what I find deeper in this section of the drain.

I opted to at least explore one of the smaller branches before I left the drain for the night. I returned to first branch I encountered and hopped back up into the right side. Not wanting to walk hunched over, I opted for the right branch(the right branch of the right branch, that is. The right-right branch?)
This one went on for quite a while, with no particularly notable features. Finally, I reached an end. In front of me was only a wall and a small pipe, and above me was a manhole, which must have been quite old, and appeared to be sealed shut. The graft from manhole to pipe was rather crude, and as you can see in the picture, there was a lip around the edge. I was temped to pull myself up and sit for a little while, and would have done so if it weren't for the spiders.
There was no thud-thud of tires going over the manhole lid, but there was a loud humming that seemed to go on for about a minute and then trail off. If anyone has any clue what that might have been, please drop a comment!




the dead end




the manhole, perfect place to sit and take a breather


On my way back, I noticed a narrow(probably 2 foot) side pipe with the word "OUT" and an arrow pointing into it. Graffiti isn't exactly a reliable source of information, but I thought I might as well give it a shot. The upwards slant of the tunnel meant it would be easy to slide back if there wasn't space to turn around at the end.




Way too many spiderwebs in that little pipe, crawling up it got me absolutely covered! However, the writing was correct. The pipe opened up into a small chamber with a gutter box, a manhole lid, and more spiderwebs than I've ever seen. Looking out the gutter box it appeared I was under a large parking lot. Later on the surface, I tried to figure out where the lot was, but I haven't been able to find it so far. I did scrape off the webs under the manhole and give it a little push, it was definitely mobile enough to be a decent exit in case I ever need it. Thanks, previous explorer!

After shimmying back down the skinny tunnel, I did a quick spider check and found a long-legged, transparent spider on my pack. Probably not venomous, but enough to give me the willies for sure. I shook out all my clothes before continuing on.

At this point, I was pretty tired, so I decided to resist the temptation of the unexplored branch and head home for the night. I think I prefer draining in the daytime, but the exit looked pretty beautiful in the night as I was emerging.




As I left the canal, I opted to exit through the parking lot of one of the unfenced businesses, rather than walking all the way back to my original point of entry into the canal. I'll probably look into entering this way in the future, as the walk up the canal was definitely not a fun part of the adventure.

More to come soon, hopefully! If you have any advice on improving my writeups, please feel free to drop it below. I love reading about other's adventures and want mine to be as enjoyable as possible for you all.



[last edit 6/25/2020 5:30 AM by Floodway - edited 2 times]

There's more to life than what you see on the surface...
theradioguy location:
Saanich, BC, Canada
 
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Re: Colorado Springs, my favorite drain here so far
<Reply # 1 on 6/25/2020 7:59 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER ForumQuote
Great writeup! Love all the details you included.

I'm always surprised by the weird bugs I find in drains. Got a buddy who I dragged along with me on one explore. He has a bit of a fear of spiders and noped out of some subsequent explores because of it lol.



Floodway location:
Colorado Springs
 
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Re: Colorado Springs, my favorite drain here so far
<Reply # 2 on 6/25/2020 10:15 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER ForumQuote
Posted by theradioguy
Great writeup! Love all the details you included.

I'm always surprised by the weird bugs I find in drains. Got a buddy who I dragged along with me on one explore. He has a bit of a fear of spiders and noped out of some subsequent explores because of it lol.


Thank you! Yeah, spiders are what keep me from going into a lot of the smaller drains. I don't have a phobia of them or anything, but I prefer to avoid them crawling on me when possible! It is pretty cool seeing the critters which have adapted to the dark conditions underground, though I always feel a little bad when I wreck their webs.



There's more to life than what you see on the surface...
Floodway location:
Colorado Springs
 
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Re: Colorado Springs, my favorite drain here so far
<Reply # 3 on 3/4/2021 11:25 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER ForumQuote
I've returned to this drain several times now and pretty much know it like the back of my hand! I found a more discreet neighborhood entrance, which has proven helpful, but the most exciting part? The city has been funneling a lot of money into drains lately, which has resulted in some brand-new additions to this place! They added some plastic pipes, which I've not seen before, and some beautiful new junction chambers. I've yet to explore the full extent of the addition, but I'm pretty thrilled with the city building me a new playground. Thanks, taxpayer money!
I'll have to return for some better photos, but here are a couple I've snapped recently. The first shows a small segment of the new plastic pipe, the second is a (very dark, sorry) bird's eye view of one of the new junction chambers, taken from a side pipe which I had to investigate.




[last edit 3/4/2021 11:26 PM by Floodway - edited 1 times]

There's more to life than what you see on the surface...
Twystr location:
39.2N, 104.17W Elev. 6535ft
 
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Re: Colorado Springs, my favorite drain here so far
<Reply # 4 on 12/18/2022 6:41 AM >
Posted on Forum: UER ForumQuote
Well, lookie there! You stumbled upon the Citadel drain. Some buds and I checked this place out in 2006/07. Amazing to see others explore it too. Check out that RCP branch. It goes to about Galley and Academy as at least a 5ft pipe.



"The man who trades freedom for security does not deserve nor will he ever receive either."
-Ben Franklin
MakoSieverts   |  | 
Re: Colorado Springs, my favorite drain here so far
<Reply # 5 on 12/20/2022 10:08 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER ForumQuote
Looks like I found a new spot to go to haha! I haven't been draining in a while but your great pictures made me rethink my recent stationary tendencies. Hopefully I'll be able to make it back with some great pictures of my own. If I don't make it back then it's probably because I took bad pictures and the UE gods saved this thread from seeing them.



Ugh, another storm drain? -Kwyjibo
Floodway location:
Colorado Springs
 
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Re: Colorado Springs, my favorite drain here so far
<Reply # 6 on 2/20/2023 8:25 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER ForumQuote
Posted by Twystr
Well, lookie there! You stumbled upon the Citadel drain. Some buds and I checked this place out in 2006/07. Amazing to see others explore it too. Check out that RCP branch. It goes to about Galley and Academy as at least a 5ft pipe.


Oh, sweet! Glad to know there are still drainers here, and I'm not the only one, lol! Appreciate the rec! I believe I did explore the branch you're talking about, is it the one mentioned in my follow-up comment? They've actually added some sections in the past few years; not too long ago they did some work near Chelton and Academy and put in some new plastic pipes, worth a looksee if you want to see how it's changed!


[last edit 2/20/2023 8:30 PM by Floodway - edited 1 times]

There's more to life than what you see on the surface...
Floodway location:
Colorado Springs
 
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Re: Colorado Springs, my favorite drain here so far
<Reply # 7 on 2/20/2023 8:29 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER ForumQuote
Posted by MakoSieverts
Looks like I found a new spot to go to haha! I haven't been draining in a while but your great pictures made me rethink my recent stationary tendencies. Hopefully I'll be able to make it back with some great pictures of my own. If I don't make it back then it's probably because I took bad pictures and the UE gods saved this thread from seeing them.


If you ever want an exploring buddy feel free to hit me up! It's a very cool spot, I highly recommend it for sure. Since going the first time, I've been back to this drain numerous times and it quickly became my favorite in the springs.



There's more to life than what you see on the surface...
BoredFun27 location:
Boston
 
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Re: Colorado Springs, my favorite drain here so far
<Reply # 8 on 2/21/2023 1:55 AM >
Posted on Forum: UER ForumQuote
Love the write-up! One of my worst feelings exploring for me personally is going through a small spot and having the spider webs hit my face. Well done!



Aran location:
Kansas City
 
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Re: Colorado Springs, my favorite drain here so far
<Reply # 9 on 2/22/2023 4:19 AM >
Posted on Forum: UER ForumQuote
That's some cool monster graffiti, thanks for sharing!



"Sorry, I didn't know I'm not supposed to be here," he said, knowing full well he wasn't supposed to be there.

SViper5227 location:
Littleton, CO
 
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Re: Colorado Springs, my favorite drain here so far
<Reply # 10 on 10/3/2023 4:24 AM >
Posted on Forum: UER ForumQuote
A few days ago, I managed to locate this drain after countless hours spent on Google Maps, and today I decided to drive down to Colorado Springs to explore it with a good friend of mine. We decided to explore the left branch, the 8 foot RCP first since we always prefer to explore the biggest sections first. When we got to the first junction room in that branch, we noticed the plastic pipes that were put in recently, and it was unlike anything we had ever seen.
450007.jpg (49 kb, 800x600)
click to view

One other thing to mention is that some of the older pipes leading into the tunnel were sealed off. Perhaps those pipes failed, or were going to fail, and the plastic pipes were there to replace them? I'm unsure of the reasoning for it, but I thought it was a good idea to mention.
450008.jpg (57 kb, 800x600)
click to view

We managed to reach the end of the left branch, which ended up shrinking from 8 foot RCP to 6 foot RCP. We reached the second junction room, which split off to a small 4 foot RCP and 2 boxes, one of which was dammed off for some reason. We continued through the box tunnels and ended up outside, in another drainage ditch.
450009.jpg (47 kb, 450x600)
click to view

Since the 4 foot RCP tunnel looked like it went quite a distance, and we didn't bring our longboards, we decided to turn back to spare our backs. One thing that was shocking to me was the amount of new graffiti we found in the tunnel, particularly in the part that splits off 3 ways at the beginning.
450010.jpg (56 kb, 800x600)
click to view

450011.jpg (62 kb, 800x600)
click to view

Unfortunately, we never ended up getting to explore the remaining 2 branches of the tunnel (The RCB and the smaller RCP) because on our way back we began to smell bad air, and decided to get the hell out of there for our own safety. However, we will certainly return sometime soon, since this was a really fun drain and it was quite unique due to its interesting architecture.




Thecurious location:
Wisconsin
 
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Re: Colorado Springs, my favorite drain here so far
<Reply # 11 on 2/20/2024 4:49 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER ForumQuote
This makes me jealous. I'm planning to fully explore my first drain this weekend, but I'm from a city of about 70,000 and I'm not sure how this will make the underground look, and I hope I find some of the things like what you found, instead of super long, tight backbreakers that hopefully get wider and more interesting under busy streets. I've located many drain entrances but never had proper time to go explore any of them, except a tiny bit of one in my neighboring city.



extAcy location:
Hyrum, Ut
 
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Re: Colorado Springs, my favorite drain here so far
<Reply # 12 on 2/21/2024 4:53 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER ForumQuote
someone should film a movie or something in these lol



Mossybread   |  | 
Re: Colorado Springs, my favorite drain here so far
<Reply # 13 on 2/22/2024 3:08 AM >
Posted on Forum: UER ForumQuote
Posted by Thecurious
This makes me jealous. I'm planning to fully explore my first drain this weekend, but I'm from a city of about 70,000 and I'm not sure how this will make the underground look, and I hope I find some of the things like what you found, instead of super long, tight backbreakers that hopefully get wider and more interesting under busy streets. I've located many drain entrances but never had proper time to go explore any of them, except a tiny bit of one in my neighboring city.


I've never heard of draining until now. What is the appeal? Some of the graffiti art looks insane, but I'd probably be concerned about smell...





Nature reclaims what we ruined
Thecurious location:
Wisconsin
 
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Re: Colorado Springs, my favorite drain here so far
<Reply # 14 on 2/22/2024 3:50 AM >
Posted on Forum: UER ForumQuote
Posted by Mossybread


I've never heard of draining until now. What is the appeal? Some of the graffiti art looks insane, but I'd probably be concerned about smell...




What people usually explore are storm drains. These drains don't have much a smell other than just being danky and earthy. Sewers are what smell of course, but that's not really what people are usually concerned about with sewers. Apart from obviously containing nasty human waste, they often contain harmful and sometimes deadly organic gasses and other gasses. Gasses like methane, hydrogen sulfide, carbon monoxide, high or low oxygen, you name it. So I plan to stick with storm drains from now on.

When it comes to the appeal, it kinda just goes with any other urbex site. If you see an outlet or inlet point, sometimes even a manhole, and realize it could lead to a tunnel network beneath the city, I personally would go right on in to explore the damn thing. Who knows what kinda cool stuff you will find.

Of course storm drains come with their own dangers, but much of them are common sense. Main one being do not go when its raining or when snow is melting, as water will be flowing through at sometimes deadly volumes, and no one wants to drown somewhere beneath the city in a confined space. But again, just using your brain and you probably will get out with just some wet feet. Remember "when it rains, no drains".

If you research the "Cave Clan" from Australia, you can see some of the sick shit they find in those tunnels. And some pretty badass photos as well. But it's not for everyone it seems.


[last edit 2/22/2024 3:51 AM by Thecurious - edited 1 times]

Aran location:
Kansas City
 
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Re: Colorado Springs, my favorite drain here so far
<Reply # 15 on 2/23/2024 11:48 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER ForumQuote
Posted by Mossybread


I've never heard of draining until now. What is the appeal? Some of the graffiti art looks insane, but I'd probably be concerned about smell...



Storm drains don't smell bad because storm drains and sewers are usually separate systems- one goes directly to the nearest waterway, while the other goes to a wastewater treatment plant. Sewers can get pretty nasty, but storm drains don't usually contain much worse than rainwater, mud, and whatever got washed into the drain during the last rainstorm. Some are actually entire buried creeks that were paved over when the natural waterway got in the way of development.

As for the appeal? Besides graffiti, they're "secret" tunnels you can use to get around the city unseen. How can that not be cool?



"Sorry, I didn't know I'm not supposed to be here," he said, knowing full well he wasn't supposed to be there.

Wowee location:
Littleton, CO
 
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Re: Colorado Springs, my favorite drain here so far
<Reply # 16 on 2/24/2024 5:48 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER ForumQuote
Posted by Aran

Storm drains don't smell bad because storm drains and sewers are usually separate systems-


I will say though. When my friend and I explored this drain, there was one part that did smell pretty awful.



I will stop procrastinating tomorrow...
Infiltration Forums > US: Four Corners > Colorado Springs, my favorite drain here so far(Viewed 2016 times)
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