Since I'm going to give a tour of UCLA today, I figure I may as well post a secret treasure map of the university's soft underbelly: the steam tunnels.
The sweet adverturous nectar your departmental overlords don't want you to see!
Legend has it that the tunnels have been sealed since my conspirators and I last explored them, but I'm sure an enterprising urban adventurer could find her way in. There's all sorts of treasure to be claimed and mysterious chambers to explore, like the Toilet Graveyard, the steam plant, and the Royce Towers (as seen on the seal of UCLA).
Dangers await as well, such as certain expulsion (so we hear), rats, burning hot steam pipes, exposed electrical wires, and zombies. Haha, just kidding about the rats. Also: Shelob. Take a flashlight, because the tunnels are mostly pitch black; wear long pants and sleeves, despite the sweltering heat, because there are lots of hot and sharp things that will hurt you. Occasionally the tunnels are flooded with up to a foot of water, and maybe more if it rains a lot. Remember: water + electricity == fun + zombies.
If you go, write up an account of your quest and leave a comment here to let me know how it was.
Here's are a few accounts, some with pictures: one, two, three, four.
When I tried to go again in September (last successful tiem was two summers ago)the entrance was sealed, but perhaps some persistent people have managed to get it open again in the past few months.
I shot some video under the bridge and in the Toilet Graveyard back in 1983. There wasn't enough light to tell there were hundreds of toilets stacked down there. I wish I had photos!
How about some pictures of the tunnels, and not just
a usless map!