Circumnavigating the Little Calumet River

[@sjh60633]

You're taking a great tour of my childhood!! We used to walk on the tracks all the time. Used to be a cool bar by the boats in Burnham. Not sure if it's there anymore. You were close to Piscateer Lake, used to hang out there a lot, too. Easily my new favorite video of yours! Man I wish I was still living close by cause I would love to join you on these adventures!

[@onesixfive]

You have an open invitation to join me anytime! I’m sure you could show me a lot of stuff even I am not aware of!

[@memoriesbywayne]

Excellent video and the unexpected obstacles make it a fun adventure! The abandoned track next to the live tracks was probably my favorite of the bridges. :-)

[@onesixfive]

That one has the last obstacles, but it was also the longest route to find it. It was very high up, I had a moment on that bridge where I got a little vertigo for just a couple seconds. “Don’t look down” as they say. Thanks so much for watching!

[@marthahumphrey3849]

Interesting video. I am in disbelief of the deterioration of the area. I have lived in Dolton, Riverdale and down 135th just before the bridge. You are brave!

[@onesixfive]

brave or maybe just stupid! once I had done the research and figured out how I might see all the bridges I couldn’t stop thinking about it. if I had no camera I’d have gone anyway. some of them were very difficult to get to - I am glad people are seeing this video because I am proud of what it took to complete. I laid in bed that night and thought about it for hours. thanks so much for watching and commenting.

[@Francis_Mouloud]

Très sympa, j'apprécie l'authenticité de ta personne et de la vidéo. Merci 😊

[@onesixfive]

merci d'avoir regardé mon ami!

[@Florida32oz]

That Olive Oyl boat. Would have been cool to poke around in there. Is that pipe leak something that can be reported to the city? I’ll admit some of this footage is truly shocking, the decay throughout and the litter. Reminds me of parts of NY. Construction truly fascinates me, the things man can create. These bridges are a testament to engineering prowess. Having worked with engineers at my job I have a new appreciation for the craft. We also see here the state of infrastructure in one of our oldest cities. We are not spending enough money here at home while billions are going overseas. Do you ever carry any type of self defense with you? Some areas look pretty rough to me, and with the reputation Chicago has, stay safe out there. That outro transition“into the light” was cool. Fantastic Saturday installment.

[@onesixfive]

first of all thank you so much for watching and your constant support. i am not worthy. as far as the boat, 100% i have plans to climb up in there. when i was studying the map to find access points for the bridges i took a closer look at this boat yard. it is an interesting mix of private roads but also actual chicago streets, even though here they are dirt roads. so that segment didnt have that much to do with the video but it was on the way and i wanted to check it out. i was a bit nervous because i was on the borderline of a legit functioning business (and they do have hours on saturday, i checked, so presumably it was staffed) and you never know where all the cameras are. i was glad to get a little footage and bail but i want to go back for sure. yes the decay is shocking, i agree 100%. to be clear, i was in a community in chicago called riverdale, which shares a border with a suburb of the same name. but those two areas were the worst ive seen in chicagoland. i think something that is interesting is the scattered old boats. in my previous video on the calumet river, it doesnt have much access to residential neighborhoods and it is mostly industrial. this however is the opposite, not much industrial and loads of residential. so i have a theory that years ago these communities werent so impoverished and (you can appreciate this, being in florida) if you live on a coast line (even if it is only a river) and you can get an old boat for cheap, why not? but maybe things got progressively worse and now those boats were just abandoned when people fell on hard(er) times. i do not carry self defense, i carry a variety of knives 24/7 but using a knife as a self defense weapon is pretty useless. let me say this. everywhere you see me go in any video is very carefully planned, i cannot tell you how many hours i study the map in prep for a video, or in general. i also have a photographic memory of all chicago streets, i literally study the streets and map like a student in a college. so yes i take some controlled risks but there are definitely places i will not go. also keep in mind i am doing this in the morning, and it is very cold out. so those are things that help me - and as you saw no one on the streets. id never go to some of these places in the summer. so it is never random or just 'winging it', you will get into a serious jackpot doing that. now the run into riverdale (the community) broke some of my own rules, but there was no other way to access that bridge except going for 3-4 blocks through a residential hood, this is just stupid. but i did it anyway, i knew exactly where i was going so i just figure do it fast and get in and out. i also believe the way you look and carry yourself makes you less of a target, always wear dark clothes, never wear nice clothes, never make eye contact, i dont ride a particualrly fancy bike. just be relaxed like you belong there. also keep in mind most of the murders and robberies etc you read about are a) criminals against criminals settling beefs in the hood (doesnt apply to me) or b) robberies in nice areas on the north side (not where i am). also people out wandering after dark, people who look and act like victims, i could elaborate on this point for hours. i actually shot another segment at the lock, on the other side of the river (you see it from the boat yard at the beginning). but #1 it was boring and #2 some of the content i double tapped record (hands were legit frozen). so i had to get creative. yes i am super hyped about it also, and i probably tweaked it 50 times and just kept watching it again and again to make sure it was perfect. i got lucky - it worked. thanks so much for watching and (hopefully ) reading this.

[@Florida32oz]

@@onesixfive thanks for the detailed response. Props. Great tips all around for staying safe. You definitely go the extra mile to capture dramatic footage and I think I speak for everyone that we appreciate that. This is super unique content and more importantly, evergreen. Cheers

[@onesixfive]

@@Florida32oz I think there is a line, and I see creators exceed it. I am conscious of not being exploitative, or doing my best not to, of certain places because this is somebody’s home. And second, there is a line where it becomes like click bait, doing really dumb shit, even if that does get clicks now I am a clown. I am packing my bag right now, going out to shoot another segment for ramen raid #7 which will be released prob in 2 weeks. Boiling my own water for each one, and shooting all 3 segments at the coke plant, but spots I’ve not shown before. Thanks for everything man, these videos are so much work to shoot and edit and sometimes I get very discouraged. Getting some feedback means a lot. Have a good weekend brother

[@sjh60633]

That olive oyl boat has been there as long as I can remember. At LEAST 25+ years now!

[@onesixfive]

Whoa, how do you know? You were running around in this marina also?

[@scumbagsupreme5567]

You def needed a beer or six after this trip. great video cheers man !!!

[@onesixfive]

Lol bro it was stressful at times! It was a wild one! Thanks so much for watching!

[@scumbagsupreme5567]

@@onesixfive Always bro !

[@7x.Indian777]

*Nice Vlog Bro* 👌🏻👍🏻

[@onesixfive]

Thank you my brother, yeh dosti 🤝

[@AleksHarborBelt]

You wouldn't have wanted to go up on that last bridge, anyway, That's the old Pennsy RR Pan Handle line. Been abandoned a long time. Nothin up there

[@onesixfive]

From your user name I sense you are a rail fan so thank you for watching my friend. I didn’t intend this video as any legit analysis of the railroads. I am an urban explorer going places I should not go. I don’t decide to go or not to go because it is or isn’t worthwhile or abandoned or not. There is “nothin up there” in 99% of the places I go around the country. That isn’t my motivation. Hopefully my documentation wasn’t too disappointing to you.

[@AleksHarborBelt]

@@onesixfive Not at all, brother. Love your videos. They help for a homesick person. I have a good friend that lives in your neck of the woods, there. Im from Albany Park, but my favorite part of the city is everything east of the Calumet. My dad worked in the steel mills down there

[@AleksHarborBelt]

But there's still nothing up 'er

[@onesixfive]

Where did he work? South works? Thanks so much for watching! That means a lot. More SE side content to come and believe it or not have a huge Albany Park (Mayfair) project I am working on that will publish in a couple weeks. Please stay tuned my friend!

[@jansobolewski708]

Yo those are some sick boots, what model are they? Love your videos man, you seem very in tune with yourself and many people lack that these days. Keep on exploring!

[@onesixfive]

This comment is so kind I feel like it has to be a troll in disguise but I’ll take the bait. They are made by Bates, they are a 5” composite toe. They cost about $120, I have gone through close to 10 pair over the years. I recommend them to anyone, I am wearing them as I type this and I can’t say enough about them. They have a side zip as well, that wasn’t a reason I bought them but I grew to like it pretty quickly. I have spent so much time alone that now I’ve melted my brains and can’t tolerate anyone’s company anymore. So call it a humble brag but yes I am in tune with myself, or at least I can say I have put thousands of hours considering the topic for whatever that is worth. Your comment made my day, I can’t thank you enough. I am so proud of this video, I work hard not to post things I am not proud of, nothing is thrown together, it’s pretty carefully thought out, edited etc. so hopefully it comes off that way, if it doesn’t then I ought to work a little harder. Thank you so much for watching and commenting. I have lots of other videos, I hope to hear from you again sometime. Have a good weekend!