Storm Drain
Rochester, NY

Not all storm drains are alike. While some empty into a tiday addy or stream, others empty directly into the ocean. Still others empty into large concrete containers that can hold hundreds of thousands of gallons of street runoff overflow. This was one of those drains. Hence, the only way into the drain was dropping about 60 ft down into the overflow collection area. Although I own the professional climbing gear (11mm static rope, rappel device, harness, carabiners, ascenders) needed for this feat, we were'nt sure if this was going to be our exit, so we insteat opted to use knotted rope. Although dropping in was scary, it was nothing compared to the physical and emotional strength needed to get out the same way. We explored the drain for a bit, but as drains go, interesting things were few and far between. Next time we'll bring bikes.