Posted by Explorer Zero nice write up
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Thank you!
Posted by BloodBoss keep up the good work! never stop looking for the next big drain. you guys need to come to denver and see some of the stuff around here. drains so big it will blow your mind.
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Oh I will! I have a better map for the Denver systems now. There are definitely some big drains in Aurora- from my map scouring, ones 10ft+ in height, some that go on for quite awhile.
I've decided to be more methodical in my search, I'm going through the entirety of Aurora, bit by bit, and marking all the medium-large drains. I'll finish Aurora first (already at 50% marked), then systematically go through Denver in the same way. Englewood is also a possibility, as I've heard of some cool drains there.
I've already found and explored a few more drains, including a pretty large one, using this method. I also got some waders, and a good longboard.
Exploration Update:
I guess this is my unofficial-official drain exploration log now. Well if there is anything specific to know about the area's drains, I guess I'm gonna find out

So far there does seem to be some interesting trends for how the drain layouts are around the newer part of Aurora. The older part of the city seems completely different.
I checked out 3 drains solo since the last update. A few days ago I went just south of the area with the drain I originally went to in this thread, 'shit's creek'. I went to test out the longboard, knowing there were numerous pipes here that I could test it in if I wanted.
I've heard someone else on this forum talk about visiting bandos and having experiences where a trip or location feels 'haunted'. Yeah I had that kind night here.. (not saying it actually was, just in the sense that I was getting the creeps)
First, I couldn't find the first entrance in the dark, as marked on my map, but the area was full of brush and some trees. I psyched myself out a bit, but I had a feeling there could be some homeless out here that I wouldn't want to rudely awaken. I started to hear rustling/movement occasionally, but it seemed like it was on the other side of the creek I was next to. That wasn't too freaky. Until I also heard the distinct noise that a small rock makes when thrown into the water. Now, the sound is almost exactly the same as a frog jumping into a creek, from my experience. However frogs only have done that around me when I spooked them into the water, and this was much farther away from me. And it happened again but louder. Yeah I got some creepy vibes and decided to head north to some of the other drains and avoid this place for now.
I walked for awhile and came up to a previously unexplored drain. This was a 5ft RCP with a grate, it's on a hinge and not very heavy, but also has a bar missing to allow easy entrance as well.
Here's a shot from inside the entrance with the new longboard as well:
And for how the new longboard functions? Night and day difference

It rolls butter smooth and only gets rough with huge gaps in RCPs (usually when it has gouges of concrete missing). These are only 65mm wheels, and they make them huge, 90mm+, so that'll probably be a future upgrade. It takes very little push to roll up an incline. The best part is going down the incline though, basically some pipes you only need to push once and steer by leaning, and you can pick up speed. It's extremely fun and efficient. It's fun enough to go up a smaller RCP just to board your way out!
The board itself is waterproof, and about 35", so a better platform for me. I also got ceramic rust-resistant bearings, and then used a shitload of marine grease on them for further protection, we'll see how they hold up.
Anyways, here's some damage on the ceiling, close to the entrance from what I remember:
A cool chamber(hard to get a proper shot of these due to space constraints):
Two ladders on each size to manholes, and a long curbside inlet opening to the road. I've seen a few of these now, they aren't 'grates' but just a slim but long opening along the curb, with three iron bars vertically along the opening. This room wasn't very wide but maybe 10 long.
This one goes for awhile, staying 5ft then shrinking. The longboard makes it a piece of cake though. Now here's the interesting thing, I only had a map with me for the entrance I couldn't find. Checking the layout of this place once I got home, according to the maps, doesn't seem to match up with my memory, mainly because I eventually came out in some weird grate, I think possibly on someone's property. One I can't seem to find on the map itself. That's kinda what I've been keeping my eye out for. To confirm, I'll go back at some point with a map drawn up and see how it actually matches up with the area, and not my memory. This would be the first that has any major difference.
Had to boost the brightness here, but I'm standing in a tiny little curbside inlet right, with some light coming in from streetlights, and then just ahead is the mystery grate:
Looks like some abstract album cover.
I then headed back, having explored the extent of this drain, now much more enjoyable with the board, as I was going slightly downhill now I only needed to push a few times to traverse the whole thing.
The boarding was so fun I wanted to explore another, so I headed up to that very first drain, finally intending to see where that wide pipe would lead.
This is where I got the shit scared out of me.
I shortly arrived at the beginning of the pipe, trying not to eat shit on the thin layer of ice over the concrete. I peer in with my light, then enter just a foot in, as it's more dry in the pipe than outside. I put my headlamp on and start gearing up. There's some noise from cars going over manholes in the distance, and engine noise.
But then I swear I hear just a little extra rustling, not just from me going through my bag. The reverb/echo in these pipes can be insane, so I stop and wait silently for a moment to check. I swear I heard something slight, so I do it again, make some noise then stop. I definitely thought I heard something now. I'm a little spooked at this point, especially with the weird vibes at the creek earlier.
I turn my light on brighter and click my tongue to make some noise into the pipe. Just around the bend of the pipe up ahead, not more than 30ft, right where might light started to not reach I saw two eyes reflecting my light from the blackness. They weren't low to the ground like a raccoon. This was a 4.5 ft pipe, and it was the height of maybe a coyote... or a person crouching in the pipe. I just kept my light on it for a moment, and it looks away and looks back. Confirming it's not just some optical illusion. I carefully, but quickly, gather my things, zip up my back and just walk out, all while keeping an eye on the spot where it was. I immediately almost eat shit on the ice, but regain my balance and leave. I walked towards the road and just kept an eye out for anything behind me, nothing came out of the pipe, as far as I could tell.
That might be one of the creepier moments in my life. Whether animal or person, I probably freaked them out more than I was freaked out. It does unnerve me that whatever it was remained silent and didn't retreat. Now doing some research, the eyes reflected back a blue/green, not red as human eyes tend to, and likely a coyote, or potentially a smaller animal on it's hind legs, but less likely. If I return here, it will probably be with a friend and a fresh rabies shot

I was definitely paranoid for the rest of the night after this.
Since that fell through, but I wanted to do some more exploring, I decided on checking out that big drain with all the graffiti I posted earlier in this thread. I hadn't explored the full extent of the side pipe. So with my improved board I was determined to go as far as I could.
This one was maybe 4ft, but began to shrink as they tend to. I found a few cool manhole chambers, one with some pretty old punk graffiti if I had to guess, but then no more graffiti as I reached the deeper sections. It eventually shrank down to just 24", but it's big enough to get through with the board, but a backpack will sometimes scrape the ceiling if it's full. Avoid that if there's lots of webs/spiders. Cars going over manholes jumpscared me a few times in here, if you're right under it in a small drain, it's quite loud.
Finally I came to the end of my journey here:
A final manhole chamber with this odd board blocking my path, seemingly it came from a small side pipe. Even without the board, the drain became too small to traverse, and according to my maps, those small pipes ended pretty quickly.
Oddly enough there was some 'graffiti' here, but someone had taken the weird tar substance that you find in these pipes sometimes (for sealing leaks?) and made some 3D lettering in it, with some vulgar phrasing. Likely some teenager I would guess. Props for getting this far kid
So I then turned around and boarded out, although it was apparent at this point I was pretty spent. I concluded the night after this one.
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This next drain was only a few miles away, this trip was on another day. I brought a map I sketched out of the supposed layout (it was basically correct).
It starts as a 10ft double barrel concrete box at the entrance, goes for maybe 50-100ft. Then it turns slightly, the wall between the boxes ends, and opens up into one giant box drain, 11ft to the ceiling. This continues for about 0.3 miles, and flows into a large body of the creek it's connected to. I got very close to the creek body, but couldn't make the last 100ft, due to the water level rising just enough at the end to get in my boots. Not enough interest to justify going back and putting on the waders.
There's a few smaller drain openings leading into this chamber as well, but all too small to enter:
There were also a few ladders to manholes, and one leading to a small grate you could potentially use as an exit:
This place is absolutely littered with graffiti, even more than the other drain. Another little secret art gallery

Some of the better ones:
Towards the beginning is a cool little side chamber that leads to a 5ft RCP and a 30" RCP, and a ladder to a manhole uptop. After exploring the large box portion of the drain, I returned here and decided to head down the 5 footer:
This goes for a few hundred feet, with some manhole chambers, and along the way there's a curb-side inlet/grate you can peer through.
Then there's this chamber where the path turns, and shrinks to a miserable 40" crawling pipe:
Here's a shot of the 5ft pipe I entered the chamber from... note the ungodly amount of webs on the ceiling:
Not a big fan of spiders, but it keeps me on my toes in the drains at least
After going up this pipe for a bit, I could hear the trickle of running water, and it's a tiny 2ft waterfall coming from a (thankfully) larger RCP up ahead:
And finally that pipe leads into another chamber, one with a storm debris trap? I think that's what this thing is:
As well as another small side pipe (big enough for a board, but I according to my map it just keeps shrinking, not worth investigating), and a way out!
I had left my backpack at the entrance to the 5-footer, so I decided to just head back, but it's nice to know there's an easy exit, should I decide to return.
That's all for now. I think my next step is to finish my Aurora map, sort the drains by which peak my interest the most (biggest and most complex systems), then go from there. Thanks for reading more of my ramblings