Post by EXO on Jan 30, 2008 23:51:53 GMT 8
I always enjoy introducing people to aspects of Corregidor they might not ordinarily see. It had been a while since I had been through to the far southern drives of Malinta T brought myunnel, and in January John Moffitt and I decided to venture there again.
The prior occasion, some years back, I'd been in there myself - alone - which essentially is quite unwise of me. The southern section was badly fractured by massive explosions, and the roof of the main shaft has collapsed in some regions, forcing the venturer to crawl above the rock falls. I had gone some considerable way, but had suddenly noticed that the air around me was perfectly still - so I immediately withdrew.
This time, I brought along my "still air detector" - a cigar. At any time when the smoke wasn't being blown in a breeze, I was going to withdraw again.
This time, John and I kept on going, and came very close to the area where the south entrance would have opened to the south road. Don Abbott had told me that he had felt the remaining lateral must have been very close to the road, as a whistle blown inside the tunnel could be plainly heard by someone waiting on the roadway.
attached is evidence that the lateral comes so close to the roadway, tree roots from above have grown through the airspace of the lateral. It's a panorama of photos taken inside the tunnel showing the roots coming down from above. The panorama is courtesy Charles Morford.
Incidentally, when we could go no further, there was still a strong breeze coming from the far reach of the lateral.
corregidor.org/bb/malintapan_s.jpg
exo
The prior occasion, some years back, I'd been in there myself - alone - which essentially is quite unwise of me. The southern section was badly fractured by massive explosions, and the roof of the main shaft has collapsed in some regions, forcing the venturer to crawl above the rock falls. I had gone some considerable way, but had suddenly noticed that the air around me was perfectly still - so I immediately withdrew.
This time, I brought along my "still air detector" - a cigar. At any time when the smoke wasn't being blown in a breeze, I was going to withdraw again.
This time, John and I kept on going, and came very close to the area where the south entrance would have opened to the south road. Don Abbott had told me that he had felt the remaining lateral must have been very close to the road, as a whistle blown inside the tunnel could be plainly heard by someone waiting on the roadway.
attached is evidence that the lateral comes so close to the roadway, tree roots from above have grown through the airspace of the lateral. It's a panorama of photos taken inside the tunnel showing the roots coming down from above. The panorama is courtesy Charles Morford.
Incidentally, when we could go no further, there was still a strong breeze coming from the far reach of the lateral.
corregidor.org/bb/malintapan_s.jpg
exo