Stairway to Paradise

After a long, grey day of rain, nighttime finally brought an end to the showers; so Kowalski, David, and I set out to do some draining. It was a foggy night, with low visibility and a slight chill in the air. We went down to a drainage canal, which we walked along to get to the outfall of Stairway to Paradise. The powerful flow we'd seen earlier had calmed to a peaceful stream, and it was a very nice walk that took us to the outfall.
The black, concrete hole greeted us from the side of a hill with a menacing roar. Obviously, the day's rain was still pouring down through this creek sewer, and the loud roar of water falling was more than a little disconcerting; but I followed Kowalski and his friend inside. The roar of water only got louder, and in the beams of our flashlights, I spied a great waterfall ahead. Made of many large, low concrete steps, the stairway seemed to go on forever. The water poured down the center of the stairs, rushing with a sense of urgency and noise. I'd never seen anything like it- it was beautiful.
Climbing up the stairs was a cautious, slippery affair. Sticking to the edges of the wide platforms, we slowly made our way forward. Step by step, my feet often slipping and sliding on the slimy, wet concrete, I walked up the staircase. Reaching the top, the first thing I did was turn around and look back down at the falling water. It felt great, being at the top of the roaring cascade.
At the top, we continued up a large 3500 RCP. This pipe was set at a pretty steep angle, judging from the speed of the water rushing down it. There was a good six inches of water flowing, and every single step into the stream produced a large spray of water. Even with my thigh boots, I still got fairly wet thanks to the splashing water. David, who only had short boots, was absolutely soaked. The RCP goes on for a while, long enough that, combined with the constant splashing water, is almost enough to make you think about turning back.
Amazingly, at the end of the RCP, there is another stairway. This waterfall was slightly smaller, and I think longer, than the first one; although it seemed equally loud. It was still amazing and wonderful to me, since I'd never even seen a large stairway in a drain before. We climbed this one more quickly than the last, more confident in our footing and technique.
The pipe at the top of this waterfall is concrete duct, with the water flowing down the center and slippery edges on either side. I don't remember much about this section, but it was a fair length.
Near the end of the duct, I could smell fresh air. Sure enough, the pipe opened ahead- but the infall ahead was completely unexpected. Coming out of the pipe into a large, concrete room, at first I couldn't see much in the darkness. But then, slowly, shining my light around, I realized we were in a huge infall cage- the biggest I've ever seen. The barred ceiling was two stories overhead, and the concrete walls loomed large on either side. A huge wall of steel bars stood imposingly where the creek flowed in. It was like a cage for some giant beast. There is no way through the bars, and a ladder leading up provides no hope of escape, either.
The concrete floor slopes toward the center, with lots of room on the sides to sit out of the water, for a rest. It was a fantastic end to the drain. My only regret is that we hadn't gone during the day, and it would be very difficult to get a good photo of this impressive structure at night.
After a brief rest, we traced our steps back down the drain, down the staircases, back to the outfall. The highlight of this was Kowalski jumping down the steps through the water (without falling once!) while David and I filmed him- unfortunately, I lost that video. Emerging into the night once more, the fog had become even thicker. It made for some amazing photos, and an even better walk back through the canal.
I have no photos inside this drain, at all, and as mentioned above, I lost the video. The photos below are from the walk back, through the fog and the canal. If you want photos of this drain, check out Kowalski's website: Stairway to Paradise