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Our Urban Exploration Report Of Carson Underground On: 10/22/19

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AngelOfThyCosmos:
Our Urban Exploration Report Of Carson Underground On: 10/22/19

Believe it not this was a two years trip in the making which my son and I planned. For a long time I been hearing stories about the tunnels under Carson City. I never could figure out what my son and his friends meant. I never even knew Carson had a storm drain system like this. While many local kids might know about it they entrance is hidden over two fences and down a hill so you never see the place driving by it.

My son use to go there all the time telling me how he seen shadows, heard voices and apparitions. I thought what a cool place but the way he made it sound is that the entrance was to small for my fat ass so I never even thought about giving it a go. But I also had a theory that maybe the tunnels went under one of the most haunted, historic and oldest prisons on the west coast so it was worth a shot at planning something worth exploring.

Months ago I went there to check out the entrance it was a bit small but I knew I could check them out what I did not know is there is also a back way to them or two other entrances. When I visited I seen tons of graffiti including an alien and thought man this place is cool. All you could see is a tube like dark tunnel and a long black corridor going into the darkness. So eventually I figured when the time was right we would go in.

There is a creek that runs into these tunnels so sometimes they are wetter then other times. My son and his exgf along with her friends use to go in here all the time but he would come home with his shoes all dirty and use to get mad because it was all anyone would ever want to do. I like to put these places to rest figure out why so many are obsessed with these locations or explore them more in depth. I know that many of the local kids claim the tunnels go on forever and they can spend days down here but I was going to prove otherwise.

So after my Bills VS Bengals game and that last minute victory by them and stocking up on some spicy garlic wings we decided to spend the rest of our day exploring the Carson Underground.

Carson City Underground

We went in the tunnels about 2pm I wanted some daylight because there is nature around them but if I came out anywhere I wanted to get my bearings. I was packed for it all wore my backpack with batteries, nightvision, lights, food, water, beer, bud, cameras, chalk and just about anything else you could think of. Its best to go in prepped who knows how long this would take or if we would get side tracked.

My goal was to get out to under the prison today its a museum but at one time it was a place with dozens of deaths its because the first gas chamber execution took place here so they begin to use the facility for chamber executions. But there have been riots, shootings, hangings and many other sinister events in its 150 year history. So my thought was if its haunted above in the halls of that prison the same must be for the tunnels below it.

When we arrived we took some photos at the entrance and I noticed some of the better graffiti was defaced. Hell my son seen a friend he knew put her name on a wall kids do stupid stuff. Not to far down into the tunnels we found a couple boots. You have to wonder why someone decided to take off there boots here and just leave them.

 There was decent water flowing through here believe it or not we have not had much dry weather recently. We have had snow in September, rain storms and hell there is still lots of ground water from last years heavy snows on the sierras. As we made our way down the cylindrical tube which goes a few hundred feet the light began to fade. We then came out into this room with columns it kind of looked like a temple.

The tunnel split three ways but they all followed the same direction none veered off which is odd because most storm drains or tunnels will in any city you go to. I mean besides what is the point of having three tunnels unless its to alleviate water so that its not funneled through to fast or to deep.

We stuck to the left tunnel it was the driest while the middle one had more water in it. Every so often there is a break where you can cross into the middle tunnel or even the one next to it. I would stop walk through these sections shine my light in each tunnel to make sure nobody was with us.

There are smaller cylindrical tunnels that branch off from the tunnel we were in I was not crawling in them although I could have fit I would have been on my stomach. Most of those concrete tubes would ascend then again split in a Y. I would not recommend climbing into them because if it rains and you cant turn around it could be bad real bad or you could get stuck. But I think these cylinder tunnels go up to street level to drainage grates because I could hear vehicles nearby. Jarrod showed me a bigger cylinder then the rest he seen a shadow on in and his friend seen it to so who knows maybe the place is haunted I ran some EVP here.

The tunnel we were in also had ladders leading up to the top above us through rusty manholes. So if we wanted to make a quick exit we could have. I never heard any cars directly above us though so who knows maybe we were under a parking lot. The middle tunnel has no manholes either does the very tunnel to our right as far as I could tell well maybe one but it seemed that left tunnel was more inclined to have the manholes because a street ran along them nearby while the expressway ran along the other tunnel while the middle tunnel was just lacking any of the features like tubes or manhole ladders.

We could hear rushing water at first had no idea where it was coming from we would find out later on. The concrete walls in this tunnel had a date on it which stated 2004 so that is either the year these were built or maybe the year they produced these concrete molds. I say molds because you could tell the concrete forming these tunnel was probably brought on in already formed then they just fitted it and put mortar between each tunnel piece. Each tunnel piece is about 10' in height and about 12' wide so you figure three tunnels running parallel with one another that this all together was over 40' in width underground because you have to account for wall thickness also.

You tend to hear quite a few strange things when your in a place like this and we both hear other people or voices in the tunnels coming from a quarter mile back behind us. We never seen any lights and we did distance ourselves then again there are three tunnels. While the tunnels may curve a little they are mostly straight therefore id thought we would have seen something but my son told me most kids who hang out here never even bring a light they just use there cell phones which my friends is a bad bad bad idea. You drop your phone in the water or it goes dead your going to be hugging the walls here for a half of mile to a mile and half just saying.

Eventually the tunnels come out to this open area there is grass growing, flowers etc. Call it a break its about a fifty foot area of the tunnels that has no ceiling. The water is deep here its just this big open pool with a ramp that goes up to the streets. I could hear cars and traffic so if we wanted we could have left then but why would we? We came to see the tunnels and explore them! Out west urbex is really unheard of I came here to introduce it to the people of the west coast give them something they can build off of and network with others who enjoy this kind of thing so we were going to finish this.

Before you get to the break you can hear water rushing and see light around the bend. My son told me he had never been past this area so we were in some unknown country. I think its kind of funny how local kids go in here all the time and my first time in I seen the entire tunnel system. Id say entirely its less then a mile and half underground but time slows down or you lose track of time when your busy looking at all the graffiti. I seen quite a of political banter, monsters, tags and art work on the walls. There are these concrete walls which look like wood paneling and people were tagging notes saying please remove wood paneling then you touch it and find out it was just concrete. Maybe they had wood up against it when they were being built till it dried who knows.

Eventually you start to see light and you come on out along this creek where the water flows out of the tunnels at. These are the Carson City marshes and wetlands not far nearby is the water treatment plant. There are cattails growing everywhere, flowers and id say about four different ponds/lakes. The amount of bird life back here is amazing water fowl, ducks, seagulls, geese etc EVERYWHERE! The water is full of birds and there is even a dry lake. We also seen a few dirt roads which were a bit wet so if you do not wear waterproof boots your feet are going to get wet. Besides the fact that there is weeds everywhere and brush so you have to watch for ticks and that sort of thing.

We were not set on any path we just were enjoying the nature up here. I like to bird and chase nature myself so I integrate it into my explorations even if I am chasing the paranormal. Nature, ghosts, bigfoot, aliens, birds, flowers etc what does it matter its all there for true explorers to take advantage of and that we did. My son mentioned to me that their are quite a bit of snakes back here in the tall grass lucky for us weather is cooling down so we never seen a rattle snake but one wrong step and that could be game over or risk getting bit in hotter months so words of the wise to the teens of Carson City if you come out of the tunnels and you want to explore know to always look down snakes are gonna live here too.

My son and I climbed a fence hell we climbed a few but we found this lake under the expressway among the pillars its very weird. But its a part of Carson most folks do not know exist that was pretty cool. You can go roaming right under the expressway and there is water everywhere with a path in the middle of it all. I do not know if the lakes have any fish but we did find one dead fish at the tunnel exit here dead on its side so maybe a bird brought it there. I know the birds build mud nest at the exits and entrance into this tunnel system. The mud nest are all up along the walls towards the ceiling and go about 80' on in and the darker you go into the tunnel the less nests you begin to see.

From the marshland we could see in the distance Nevada State Prison the guard towers up on the hill, razor wire fences etc. My son and I were let down because the tunnels ended but we thought if we walked around the wetlands under the road nearby we could continue to explore more tunnels maybe go under the prison and do a ghosts investigation. You see the prison itself is now closed and has been and executions are now being done in Ely Nevada. You can see the old stone buildings in the distance many similar stone buildings exist downtown Carson with rock that the prisoners quarried. This prison has allot of history it once held a casino and prior to it being leased for a prison a hotel sat here where many prominent folks including Mark Twain Visited when Nevada was forming statehood and writing there Constitution so yes the property is very old aside from the prison itself.

Before we headed on over to the prison we found this massive sewer grate not storm drain but sewer looked down into it and I turned around real fast. That is death if you go down there they have no ladders, tunnels have rushing water yes its full of shit and the tube is full almost to the brim so if you fall in you probably will end up drowning. Plus its a 12' fall almost to the bottom unlike some sewer tunnels that might have walkways etc but not in Carson. Carson does not have a good sewer system because its not a major city. So we were not going to explore anymore new tunnel systems and I did not want to end up being washed up at the nearby treatment plant a few hundred feet away which is probably why the water was rushing like rapids nearby because all the sewage from the city is funneled through here nearby.

I have seen photography of the caverns, quarry and tunnels under the prison its actually amazing. I wanted to explore them but my guess is you can only see them if you visit the prison on site. You see the prison is built into a place called prison hill in November I am going to do the trail above it so ill get some better photos. The ones from the top of the hill should be awesome and worth getting eventually. But id still like to get permission to get into the museum and prison to investigate it. Ghost Adventures did it but honestly I cant stand that dang show and based on what I know the legitimacy is really in question. I want to do my own research and work not something on television I work alone therefore you can expect good work out of me.

My son and I have seen over the years an old stone building its in bade shape but I wanted to check it out. So we got away from the wetlands cross the road hiked on this small trail through these old cottonwoods it was kind of overgrown. We found some old foundations, bricks and then of course the stone building which we decided to break at so I could do a historical documentary of the prison. Behind it is the fence for the prison which we were not planning on messing with. I just wanted to see the stone building up close. I think this building may have been part of the original hotel that was here or homestead before it became a prison which is why it does not sit inside of the prisons walls or fences. From where we took a break at you could see some of the old buildings including the old license plate factory which offered back in the day prisoners here a job manufacturing plates for the state of NV in turn offering them employment while being incarcerated here.

My son was out wandering down some freshly paved road past this structure when all of sudden this big marine pulls up in an SUV and is like can I help you. I explained to him that I was out urban exploring when I wanted to take some photos of course he was like you need to leave now immediately. He made it clear he could arrest us on the spot and then he seen my gun on my side and told me that he could arrest me for too. I found out that while the old part of the prison is closed and a museum there is a newer section also on site which is still being used to house prisoners but most sites do not clarify that. Everyone on these sites makes it seem like its abandoned and yeah maybe the stone buildings are but not the newer stuff which you really cant see from the road oops. I promise I was not breaking  anyone out it was just a misunderstanding and glad he did not arrest us but he was PISSED woooo. I tried to show him my printout about the place and he was like do not move one step I was like sheesh. But I am not mad he is just doing his job and glad he was cordial and just told us to leave.

Of course he said to me how do you not know you cant be here did you not see the sign and locked gate. Well I took a little dirt trail through a patch of trees there was no fence and it was a path probably used by quite a few people who have checked out this building. Its all boarded up and stone nobody is getting in but for a black and white shot its worth seeing up close hell the history alone. I was nice to the guy told him is it okay I get my backpack on the side and my son get his. Then he says stop to me and says are you stealing. Can someone tell me what is their to steal back here?

Its a stone structure surrounded by old trees and high grass there is NOTHING of value here to make matters worst I took a really hard fall on a rusty wire, rock and piece of wood. My foot got wrapped up and I could not step forward fell so hard on my leg I was in tears had blood running down my leg so I figured that was enough punishment. In the end he let us go we got our packs and he watched us walk for a quarter mile standing there arms folded lol. Man people read into shit more then what it is would I be carrying a five hundred dollar camera around my neck if I was some crack head think about it? You could tell based on how we were dressed, our gear, packs, cameras etc that we were not some fucking turd burglar sheesh!

I felt a bit bad about the incident but whatever I went across the road took some photos with my good zoom did a ten minute film about its history, tragedy etc. Their once was a riot here where the warden was shot well that same warden once down the road refused to give up his command so the military had to be called in. This prison had been a war zone from years of riots, murders and over 50 executions. The warden almost went to war to keep his post here also. But the one thing that is even more strange is what they found when quarrying here which was a set of massive tracks fossilized in sandstone. Over the years some have said they were the tracks of a giant. Yes giants did roam Nevada as some of you are aware those giants are known as Bigfoot/Sasquatch or a cousin of the Gigantopithecus. Over the years other scientist claim that they are just the tracks of a giant ground sloth. At one time folks would come from all over the world to see them and eventually they were covered up were just not sure as to why perhaps their is a deeper conspiracy to the entire thing.

No less the prison is one of the most haunted on the west coast its full of ghost stories, strange tales and travesties too. Id love to check it out but tunnels going under it are a no go which is fine ill get my permission one day to get on in maybe donate to the museum and turn this into a force for good. I am glad we got arrested the girlfriend would not have been happy to have to come bail me out lol. We had a nice dinner across from the prison just before sundown Prison Hill was orange during sunset and it just gleamed over the old stone buildings this glowing dismal orange. If those walls could talk its a very sad, dark and dismal place.

But its also a part of Nevada's history and its where the birth of Nevada came to be when we came a state. So when you come out of the tunnels the prison is virtually right in front of your face so its just something you need to make note of and anyone else who wants to photograph the building by the main road don't walk up to it because the next guard may arrest you or hell the same one we dealt with as my guess to it all is he has dealt with others visiting it too I could see how he had the I am sick of folks checking out this place. My whole view is if you really don't want people walking up to it and checking it out then fully fence it off and hang actual signs all around it because I had no idea this stone building was even part of the prison since everything else on the property is surrounded by razor wire, gates and towers!

Jarrod and I made our way back into the tunnel system we decided to work with the middle tunnel system and the one on the opposite end. I did not want to miss anything so we took the other two tunnels back crossing between the corridors to see what else we could see or find. These other two tunnels had more water in them lucky for us we have water proof boots so even six inches of water my feet did stay dry. I like how folks tagged monsters around some of the drain pipe holes as if they are mouths. By the time we reached the breaking area halfway between the storm drains it was pitch dark outside. I used some night vision on my way back through the tunnels just to get some for youtube.

We found the medium sized drainage tube where water was just pouring down through into the main tunnel. Not sure where all this water was coming from because another tube was dry so it was a bit odd. Then again not far from here water was dripping on our heads like light rain in a section of tunnel not to far way. So maybe there is some ground water or this is drainage from another nearby creek nearby there are a few small ones in Carson.

We found in the tunnel were in something very strange to top off the night. It was this concrete window I call it a window because it was this carved out rectangular area with a small four inch ledge. On that ledge was feces and a ton of it. It looked like mountain lion or bobcat some of it had hair in it so it was a predator. I thought it was weird like what does this thing stand up propping itself up along this ledge and crapping? Nearby was also somebodies medical paperwork so who knows but its just a bit odd. Their was quite a bit of feces and stool some of it probably was human but not all of it. I mean if it was a human they could just crap anywhere in this tunnel no need to go in that deep crap on the ledge then leave especially with there being other places like those lakes or fields so who knows it was just very weird.

Were not even sure what is behind the piece of wood covering this underground window up but there was a huge hole in it like someone took an axe to try to get behind it or break the thick wooden panel. We tried to look behind this piece of wood and it just appears to be earth. It might be another tunnel system or maybe a hidden room but its sealed off even if you could remove the piece of wood there was mud, earth and clay through the hole packed tight. Its just so odd of a find maybe this was going to be another drain and they never finished it or they filled it in with earth. I have no idea its a big mystery along with the ledge of crap. No less its a hollowed out indent in the tunnel wall boarded up and something or someone is using the ledge leading up into it as their own personal toilet. With the wetlands nearby we get animals that come down off the mountains so a bear, big cat etc could potentially see this tunnel as there den and this is where it chooses to shit who knows.

Eventually we made it back to the tunnel entrance my son and I did some funny scary clown photos around the room with all the pillars and in one of the storm drain tubes. They came out pretty freaky but you guys already know we like to do some gigs, bloops and scary photography. You could say we were just clowning around I guess IT 2 inspired me because I seen a week prior so I wanted to bring our clown mask underground. I almost bought an IT mask the night before at the store but it was busted but its all good they turned out pretty funny and scary for those that hate clowns lol.

Eventually we left the tunnels with some sigh of relief we were gone for nearly eight hours exploring. Tammy text me told me a storm was on the way and well even though it did not rain there was some lightening out. I am sure if it would have rained we would have gotten wet because it seems the tunnels do have some leakage from the ceilings. I know I came home quite muddy and dirty but its not an exploration unless you delve into things a little. I never once seen a rodent down here I thought we would see a rat or mouse but nothing it was dead not even any ghosts. You hear allot of campfire tales about the tunnels but I think underground your mind takes over and not everything is what it seems. These are not some old historic tunnels this is a storm drain the city put in to relieve there issues with flooding in the valley which can be an issue when snow melts heavily or we get our spring rains.

On the way to the truck some idiot living in some trailer comes out shines his cheap flashlight in our eyes my son shines one of our tactical lights back at him blinded him lol. Don't shine your lights in our eyes for being on a public sidewalk you reap what you sow. The entrance to the tunnels is not in the best area of town and we had to hike back to the truck through it so be forewarned you may get people like this you have to deal with who are nosy. All in all I did not lose any of my electronics in the water but I did tear a couple holes in my backpack on some barbed wire a casualty of war I guess. All in all this was a fun exploration and I could finally put all these local tales about these tunnels to rest! Plus we had gotten to see nature and although no paranormal some strange or weird things while journeying.

I could not wait to get home put on some drier clothes, clean up and eat dinner. I had left over pizza and wings from the football game earlier so I did not even have to cook. Nothing like a hard days of exploring and coming home already having dinner done lol. I probably wont go back down here I mean I felt I seen as much as I could see down here or as much as the journey would allow me to see. Storm drains can be dangerous and we had to have good weather just to be safe because I am sure in storms a river flows through here but with three massive tunnels the water is a little more fluid making them safer then most storm drains I been to. I wish I had gotten to see something paranormal but I did take some EVP so we shall see you never know it may not be a paranormal place but its a strange popular place for locals to party and chill at. I at least now can say I experienced them to and fully! I got some pretty nice photos down there of the tunnels that most of you are sure to enjoy!

Peace,
Lord Rick
PGS Founder

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