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Outside Magazine October 2001
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Adventure
Wild in the Streets (cont.)

Spies like us: Reneé Rogers commits another act of trespass, July 2001
ANOTHER NIGHT, a Saturday. 10 p.m. Back on the town with the Jinxsters. After two hours in the bowels of Grand Central Terminal, navigating maintenance and train tunnels, we make our way to the roof. My adventures with Jinx have me convinced that its members could use a few days in a climbing gym—they are clumsy at best—and I have half a mind to buy them each a good helmet. Still, moving about the roof of Grand Central in the rain, I feel the buzz that comes only from ducking under the safety railings to see what you can see. Looking up at the Chrysler Building, all the while afraid of falling or being caught—it feels like the final moments of Blade Runner. Like I'm 12 years old. Which is to say, I'm having a blast.


THE WELL-EQUIPPED SEWER RAT
Outdoor Adventure Image Adventure Tourism Adventure Travel Photography

It's never too late to live out fantasies that involve climbing into or crawling through the darkest corners of your hometown. But don't be a witless tourist. Gear up so you live to tell it, and peruse the resources below so you can impress the cutie at the bar with your worldly knowledge of this figurative—and literal—underground pastime. Finally, and this is rather key, please do steer clear of the third rail.

TOOLS
Newcon Optik Monocular Night Vision Scope ($449), helpful in peering down intriguing passageways. Nalgene Lexan water bottle ($8.50), because steam tunnels tend to be hot. Petzl Meteor A40 Helmet ($75), to protect your noggin from crumbling masonry.

WEB SITES
Outdoor Adventure Image Adventure Tourism Adventure Travel Photography

Dark Passage, www.darkpassage.com, where art and adventure intersect. Urban Exploration, www.urbanexploration.com, a forthcoming UE portal. Jinx Magazine, www.jinxmagazine.com, home of the men in black.

BOOKS AND VIDEOS
The Urban Adventure Handbook, by Alan S. North (Ten Speed Press, out of print, $12 used), an indispensable how-to. The Meadowlands, by Robert Sullivan (Scribner, $23), armchair travel through postindustrial Jersey. The Warriors (1979), a primer on how to get to Coney Island by subway in the off-hours. C.H.U.D. (1984)—it stands for Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dwellers. Any questions?








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