Pond Creek Stormdrain

TERMS/Definitions
CMP - Corrugated Metal Pipe.
RCB - Reinforced Concrete Box.
RCP - Reinforced Concrete Pipe.
RCB Slide - An RCB, that is on an angle down, creating a "Slide" for the drainage. (NOT FUN to go up or down generally)
I think that is about all.... CREDITS for pulling the abbreviations based on the AOTU entries...And Google work. Not their terms, but never would I have known.

I had started this thinking that the Tri-Cities didnt have any larger tunnels. I was wrong. I first shot this with a kit lens (18-55mm) and a higher water level in Summer 2019. I had a car and could get here MUCH easier, but the time was harder to find. Ripping thru gas, yup. Dont miss that part. But the convenience.

This starts as a backbreaking walk up a RCB then there is a fork, with the RCB Slide on the right, and the CMP that opens up in front. I walked up the CMP. Careful to look for the water shooting up (I DID shoot it, but its hard to gauge context) at the rotted part. I assume its sharp. Then it warps to a RCP with a "Ledge" that has a access that is capped TIGHT on both ends. This is sewage that runs parallel to the storm water/buried creek. If you stop, you can hear the chunk of the flow....

Inside this section there is a great amount of GREAT LIFE ADVICE and words to live by. "Kick Harpers Ass" & "Foxy As Fuck" being ONLY 2 of these brilliant sayings. After this there is more RCP and then a fork with a pipe I did not enter as its too small for me to bother. Ahead I go and on the right was a pipe that was not all that long and only had a trickle. There was a cylindrical chamber with access to a second level with another RCB (Backbreaker) that went around a few curves until it ended at a sediment collector.

I turned around and headed back (made some light paintings) and hit the RCB Slide. I had noticed that it had a rope! MINT. I go back and with the second look, rope is confirmed. No idea the age either, so I went up. VERY hard to do without getting you, your equipment (around my neck as it was) and your backpack (with far more items than you should have in a damn drain) WET. I got a drop on my lens and had to edit a drop out of many photos. I think it was light painting at the chamber. At the top of the slide, is the first indication of the buried pond, as opposed to storm water. Limestone wall greets you on the left side and a solid stone floor (could be older worn dirty concrete too). This is a nice scene. I was pushed to go further, but I never found the SECOND old section. Possibly a third. But I WILL be back. The rest of what I travelled after the limestone wall where the old met the new, was a absolute backbreaker and slightly hellish. Debris falling from the concrete ceiling, with what appears to be a patch of some kind, peeling off every so often. This is NOT for the people who dont like tight spaces, humid air, and truly wondering if you will be able to make it out after going in. VERY physical. I felt the burn. You will too. But there is FOR SURE MORE UNDISCOVERED GOLD (by any member of this website) in this buried creek.

Worth going back. It was nice to mash my Nintendo DS down there and get my fix of Final Fantasy III and pot smoke. Just relaxing place. As long as its not raining or melting fast. WHEN IT RAINS, NO DRAINS. And I ALWAYS check the weather. It can change, but if there is even a slight chance of rain or melt, I begrudgingly stay away from drains, no matter how inspired Im feeling.