Possibly the largest drain dimension-wise in all of Canada, the Mountain Juggernaut is a drain that had eluded me for the last year and a half. To be precise, 3 times prior to the trip where I finally made it in... something about seeing a drain large enough to drive a car through was extremely alluring.
Location | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hamilton Mountain | ||||||
(Hamilton, Ontario, Canada) | ||||||
Built | Status | Difficulty | ||||
1977 | Active (Non-Public Access) | ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ | ||||
Hazards Risk | Security Risk | AUE Rating | ||||
★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ | ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ | ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ | ||||
Hazard Observations | Security Observations | |||||
None Specified | None Specified |
And so, with sloth having done the scout to the outfall for us, I finally got into the Juggernaut. At least, the lower part of the Juggernaut. It was a long time coming, as the first attempt was met with a frozen manhole cover... followed by a second attempt that was rained out... followed by a third attempt where we discovered that the ladder underneath the now not frozen manhole had collapsed.
But this time was it. We got in, and I let out a cheer, having finally conquered this beast. At least, until we walked 300 or so meters into the drain, and encountered the gross pollutant trap, which despite being mentioned elsewhere, I had failed to account for. And after testing the depths with a metal rod we found in the drain that was almost my height and watching it submerge fully in the trap, we realized that we had found an impassable obstacle. Once again, the Juggernaut had given me the middle finger.
So sloth and I took a few more pictures in the section I now refer to as the Lower Juggernaut due to it's different construction, then retreated once again, defeated.
But we'll be back, with some new tricks. And one day, I will conquer the Juggernaut.