Malinta Hill

[sherwino]

As far as I can remember before you get to the east entrance it goes downhill. But at the east entrance and to the west, I didn't also noticed that slope.

[fots2]

Hello Chad,

You have an amazing sense of timing. I am on a short 3 day trip to Corregidor and as I am writing this message, I see Malinta Hill outside my window just 400 feet away. In an hour or so, I will be on top of the hill.

Thank-you for posting “The Hard Way Home” map. I have not seen air shafts shown on any map before either. Here are a few comments about the map:

- It is correct in that there are only four airshafts total for the whole tunnel complex. Their placement on the map is also correct.

- The east and west ventilation passageways of the hospital do exist but are much larger than the 4’ x 6’ dimensions quoted.

- The NE corner air shaft shows a “V” shape on the map but this makes no sense to me. From this corner, you can look straight up a single (estimated 60 degree incline) concrete shaft.

- The Malinta Gasoline Tunnel portal is quite a bit longer than the Malinta West Tunnel portal. They are shown of equal length on the map. The east portal sticks out further than the hospital laterals so the map may just be cropped to fit on the page.

Regarding the second tunnel map you posted showing two additional air shafts (Lateral #2 and #3), they do not exist. There is nothing but solid rock at the end of these shafts. The only way to determine how many air shafts there are is from inside the tunnels. There are only four.

Unless everyone is wrong, the Nurses Quarters was not in the location shown (end of Lateral #1). Today I cannot determine if there are any washroom pipes in this corner as the control room for the Sound and Light Show is located here. Actually I am surprised at all the washrooms shown on the map.

In my humble opinion, the elevations shown at the North portal (83.7ft), the East portal (93.7ft) and the West portal (60ft) are ridiculous. (okla is right on the money again) One author got it wrong and the second one copied the errors. As you walk in the tunnels, you will notice a downward slope (for drainage) as you walk from east to west. In the main east-west tunnel and the hospital laterals this is noticeable.

When I walk from the East portal to the North portal I do not feel a change in elevation at all however the maps show a difference of 10 feet. I have a bit of proof that I am not totally crazy in that I have GPS waypoints of the two entrances. (From what I read, unlike locations, GPS elevation readings are not real accurate but certainly not too far off either). The GPS difference in elevation between the East and North portals is 3 feet.

That is all I can think of at the moment. Malinta Hill is beckoning me so I had better saddle up. If I have time I will refresh my memory on parts of Malinta Tunnel on the way back.

[chadhill]

Fots, you lucky old devil you! How I wish I could tag along with you over the next three days. I would learn so much. Have a great trip, watch your step, and please provide us with a photo feast after you've returned and rested up (don't rest too long). ;D

Thank you for your comments about the maps. I'm not surprised there were inaccuracies in them. Here's another head-scratcher: I can't even positively find out how long the main tunnel is. Various sources say it is 835 feet, 1000 feet, 1500 feet long...pick a number! The most accepted figure seems to be 836 feet, guess I'll go with that for now.

Interesting that you could notice the downward slope, for drainage, when walking from east to west in the tunnels. With all the rain pouring downside Malinta Hill during the wet season, it would seem a slope towards Bottomside would help prevent pooling inside. If the east entrance is indeed roughly 34 feet higher than the west entrance and the main tunnel is 836 feet long, that's about 1 foot of slope for each 25 feet, or 4% if my math checks out.

Guys, I found a link on this website to the construction of the tunnels, if you haven't already seen it. The engineers began their task from both sides of Malinta Hill and met in the middle. They were constantly concerned about their heading as the work progressed. The tunnels were lined with concrete bought from Japanese vendors, who low-balled their price for the business. Does anyone think they didn't know why all that concrete was going to Corregidor?

corregidor.org/chs_lean_years/leanyear_01.htm


I've been looking over the 1936 map in the area of Malinta Hill. It's not easy nailing down a contour line for accurate MSL elevation in the area of the entrances, but guys, while those numbers from the book map may be off, they don't seem to be way off. Cheers-

[okla]

Hey Guys....My near 80 years old eyes may be failing me, but it appears to me that the Contour Map shows the East Entrance to be at approx 300 feet and the West Portal to be approx 200 (250???)with the Tunnel, maybe) reaching about 300 shortly after entry. This falls into the SWAG category, certainly, but it's my story and I have to stick with it.Tell me I ain't hallucinating, please. Cheers. Postscript....Fots...You have to be the most fortunate human on the Planet. Another "3 Day Pass" on the "Rock". You are, indeed, blessed. Nice work if you can get it. Have fun. Chad...I had no idea that there were so many different reports of the actual length of Malinta. This spooky place has no limits to "puzzles". As I have always understood it, the American builders of this project got around the Treaty limits, by saying the tunnel was for a Trolley line and not for Military purposes. Of course, nothing was said about the laterals, which could be utilized for storing Ammo, other Military equipment, and, of course, the famous Corregidor Military Hospital Complex.

[fots2]

Hi Chad and okla,

Getting accurate height/altitude measurements of the east and west portals is beyond my capabilities here. Last year I bought a new GPS so I took some updated waypoints today. Old GPS, new GPS, the 1936 map and the “The Hard Way Home” map readings of the three portals vary so much that I won’t even suggest what may be correct.

As I was walking today I thought of one error I told you in my post #141 where I said “When I walk from the East portal to the North portal I do not feel a change in elevation at all however the maps show a difference of 10 feet”. (An example of thinking one thing and typing something else I guess).

What I should have said is I do not feel any change in elevation when walking from the main East-West tunnel at Lateral #1 to the North portal. Note that from this intersection I am not counting the distance (and slope) from the East portal and the Lateral #1 intersection. When you consider this, the North portal definitely is lower that the East portal.

I have also read the Malinta Tunnel length figures you mentioned but do not have the actual figure recorded. Tomorrow morning I will walk over to the tunnel and get you a ‘reasonably’ accurate length of the main east-west tunnel.

This afternoon I made it down off the hill in time to see the final “day tour” crowd pass through Malinta Tunnel before being dumped back on the ferry. After that, the tunnel was mine so I spent 2 ½ hours wandering around.

The 4’x6’ ventilation passageway numbers shown on the map are closer to what you see in the East-West shafts at the ends of the main tunnel laterals. Often though, a height of only 4 feet is quite common. The ventilation passageways at both ends of the Hospital laterals are huge compared to this which makes the map incorrect.

Here are some estimated heights/widths in the Hospital for you.
Main North-South tunnel = 12’ high x 12’ wide. (concrete lined)
Laterals = 8’ high x 9’ wide. (concrete lined)
Ventilation Passageway (West side) = 15’ to 25’ high x 18’ wide. (unlined rough rock)
Ventilation Passageway (East side) = 20’ to 25’ high x 18’ wide. (unlined rough rock)

There are only four air shafts as mentioned earlier. The NE corner air shaft is one straight shaft up to the surface at approximately a 60 degree incline. I can see sunlight at the top. No “V” shape.

I cannot find evidence to support the second map showing so many washrooms.

Whenever I get around to it I will make a trip report on Malinta Tunnel, for some reason that place fascinates me. No ghosts or snakes today but I did have an Alfred Hitchcock moment. I walked around a corner and my flashlight startled about a thousand swallows building nests. There are bats in the nearby Gasoline Tunnel but I have never seen so many birds in the laterals before.

[okla]

Hey Fots...I get what your saying i.e. "saying one thing, writing another" in your description,etc of the East Entrance Slope,etc. What you said is akin to what I was trying to say with my drivel pertaining to the West Entrance Slope or Grade between the actual portal and the first Lateral on that end. Do you get my drift? Here, again, we have conjured up another puzzle that will have me up the wall by sundown (Oklahoma time). There is no end to this kind of stuff. Again, I say, "may it always be so". Cheers. Postscript...Do I detect a bit of "elistist" bias toward the "day crowd". Off with heads, I say. They are just a hindrance and delay my receiving "Fots Fantastic Foto Tours".

[fots2]

Hi Okla,

Since we both have the same Corregidor addiction then it make sense that we share an inability to write about it at times.

Occasionally I do make fun of the day tour crowd. They enjoy doing what they want though and I do the same. Actually considering many places I visit on the island, I rarely see them during the day. If our paths cross, I just wait 10 minutes and they are gone. ;D

[chadhill]

I was afraid I'd open a small can of worms by posting that section of the 1936 map; the contour lines, referenced to MSL at 50' intervals, are sometimes difficult to trace and necessarily subject to interpolation at some locations. The tunnel entrances are shown with extended dashed lines, too, which have to be figured in (see red arrows). I also wonder how accurate surveying methods sometimes were in the 1930s. I'm assuming the mean sea level hasn't changed since 1936. When I posted the map I hadn't yet found the photographs seen below.

Anyways, I SWAGGED the North Hospital entrance elevation at about 90', and the gasoline tunnel entrance at about 75'.




The west tunnel entrance elevation is more difficult to interpolate using the contour lines, but I figured it ran parallel to the gas tunnel and its MSL elevation had to be similar, about 75'. Here is a broad view of the west entrance. Bear in mind that the heighth of Malinta Hill is about 390 feet:

(courtesy margarita-station.com)




The position of the east entrance on the 1936 map seems to me to have a bit of a discrepancy, since the dashed line extends past the road which comes from San Jose Point. Or maybe the road's position is off instead. Depending on how you look at it, my SWAG is that the east entrance elevation is between 120-140 feet. The following photo is the best broad view I could find. Again, Malinta Hill tops at about 390'.

(courtesy fots2)


Yep, lots of SWAGS...so feel free to fire away, y'all-

[chadhill]

P.S.-Fots, those hospital ventilation passages are huge. Can't understand why they were labeled 4' x 6'. Thanks for setting the record straight about there being only 4 air shafts. I can only guess why the NE air shaft is shaped V-ish on the book map, but since it has other inaccuracies it's pointless. The two air shafts in the main complex are similarly shaped, do they extend upwards at 60 degrees, too?

[okla]

Hey Chad....I am embarassed. I, honest to God, thought that was "300" ft on the contour map as regards the East Entrance to Malinta. After utilizing my "Sherlock Holmes" magnifying glass (really), I find that it is actually "100". My age (and vision) is beginning show, and to think that I used to do some Photo Interpretation work in the Air Force, but I was 19-20 years old when performing this function in frozen Chosen. Believe it or not, I actually did "pick up" on the East Entrance error that you pointed out, thinking it "odd", but still accepting it as Gospel. If the map maker in 1936 says the road from San Jose Pt passed over the East Entrance rather in front, that suited me just fine. Gawd, this is fun, doncha think. SWAGS are one of the spices of life. Cheers. Postscript....Chad..I am modifying my post. I have stared at the black/white photo of the east face of Malinta and I swear the road that creeps along said face passes over the East entrance of the Tunnel unless I have the entrance spotted in an erroneous (just to the left of the letters RG43)location. Please straighten me out. I want to sleep this evening and my enlarged prostate deprives me of enough slumber as it is. I wonder if the route of this road could have been changed after 1936 to pass below, in front of the portal. This is really a double header SWAG.