I guess I was doing a little urban exploration before I knew what it was called. For example, on a bicycle trip last year, I climbed down into the bowels of a derelict bridge in Pennsylvania; I walked around Princeton and Yale, "sneaking" into empty classrooms and onto a couple of rooftops; I climbed up an abandoned ski jump. But most of these forays were pretty timid -- hardly recreational trespassing at all.

Years ago, living in Victoria, I heard someone mention the "Hall of Wonders." I did a little research online, scoped out Bowker Creek, and found a couple of entry points. Still, I just daydreamed about it for a long time, longing to explore, but not quite daring.

About a year ago, I did more research, and came across Reduxzero's "Bowker's Tomb" story on his (excellent) website. I was finally, eventually, inspired to put on my boots one weekday afternoon and climb down into my first drain.

It was thrilling, and terrifying. Periodically deep resonant rumbling sounds reached me; I had no idea what they were. I came out into a long tunnel with lots of headroom punctuated by sunlight shining down through grates, like a road at night lit by streetlights. The sounds got louder as I reached the "end" of this street. I paused, looking into the pitch blackness, out of which came a clattering reverberating roar, like the sound of a gargantuan Satan's bowels digesting souls. I could not go any further.

I later figured the sound was probably gravel being dumped somewhere around the construction site aboveground, by the mall. I never made it to the "Hall of Wonders."

I looked more closely at Drains of My City, and found a link to infiltration.org, among others. I browsed, and made a mental note to do more.

But my moment of revelation came about six months ago when, shortly after moving to Burnaby, I finally checked Access All Areas out of the library. I read it breathlessly in a day or two. Something about this urban exploration thing struck a very deep chord in me. It appealed to the wanderer in me, the ruin fetishist, and perhaps most strongly, the antiauthoritarian. There's nothing I hate more than a rule or a sign that tells me what not to do, without any explanation why. There was also of course the commonplace allure of forbidden fruit. And Ninjalicious's stories of "social engineering" (a terrible, because ambiguous term; I guess I'd prefer "human hacking") made me realize that this could be a hobby that would enlist every part of oneself: charm, intelligence, ingenuity, quick wit. I could see connections between infiltration and improv, an art form I've long been fascinated by. And above all, urban exploration obviously required one to seize the day, and to make every moment count -- because you never know if that open door will still be open when you come back later tonight.

Well, I immediately ran out and "infiltrated" such daunting locations as the "On Duty Employees Only" back hallways of my local mall, and countless stairwells in office buildings, and so on. I didn't have much luck, or chutzpah, at first. But the world had suddenly taken on a fascinating new sheen: every unmarked or "Authorized Personnel Only" door, every construction site, every hotel, indeed every building everywhere, now seemed to be a portal to adventure. I just had to step through.

In this (my first) thread on UER, I will post some photos and stories of what I've been up to these last few months, since my awakening.

Hi!