LSU Utility Tunnels
After hitting some of the drainage tunnels under the city, Kurt and I headed back to our alma mater, LSU.  While I was there, I had been down in these tunnels on numerous occasions.  The tunnels run all along under the campus and deliver steam, electricity, etc. to all the buildings.  They are well-known spots for adventure seekers, and I have taken quite a few people through them with me.

Since this was the xmas break and LSU was about to play (and win) the Sugar Bowl down in New Orleans this weekend, the entire campus was deserted, which meant that sneaking around and "submerging" was uncharacteristically easy.  Unfortunately, this trip turned out to be a bust.

This is (normally) the single easiest spot to enter.  Rather than having to climb down a shaft out in the open (see pic below), this entrance is below eye level from anywhere nearby.

However, since it was "winter" (a foreign concept in Louisiana), all the pipes were carrying steam.  You can see how the wall just outside is soaked with condensation from it.  This was unbearably hot, so we skipped this trip.

Now why does my camera always make my eyes do that "Village of the Damned" thing?!
This is another, more typical entrance at the opposite end of the Quad.  As you can see, there are ladders into here.  You can just barely get a glimpse of the tunnel running along under the sidewalk beneath Kurt's feet.

I tried going into here as well, but again found it impossible to deal with.  These tunnels are pretty much always hot, but you would need a spacesuit to brave this!
 

For more info check out this archived posting at UrbanExplorers.net.
After this we were kind of at a loss what to check out next until I remembered another set of tunnels near Independence Park.  If I had been thinking, I would have remembered to check out the abandoned racquetball courts while we were on campus (we drove right by them!), but that's a journey for another time.
Alexplored 1/3/04.
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