A Man Who Bought An Abandoned Mining Town Decided To Isolate There And His Story Will Make Your Current Situation Seem Less Miserable

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I got my first real taste of what it’s like to be placed on lockdown when I was in college courtesy of one of the perpetrators of the Boston Marathon bombing, who somehow managed to lose the army of law enforcement officers on his tail and sparked a citywide manhunt in the process.

As a result, I wasn’t allowed to leave my dorm for the majority of a seemingly endless day that came to a merciful end when police discovered he’d been hiding in a boat that found itself on the receiving end of a hail of gunfire after his location was confirmed.

Little did I know that was just a small preview of what was yet to come, as that surreal experience has nothing on what’s transpired over what my calendar tells me is “the past month or so,” a span of time during which the concept of time has become an increasingly abstract concept. 

I’m lucky enough to have an apartment with a backyard but stepping out onto the deck is really the only way I’ve exposed myself to the outside world over the past few weeks. It’s been a tough reality to adjust to, but thankfully, I’ve developed a fairly effective coping strategy that involves drinking a lot and getting way too into Skyrim again—which works until I start harboring feelings of jealousy toward my character for having the freedom to roam the outdoors as he pleases.

I didn’t have the luxury of being able to relocate to a remote location to ride this thing out but the same can’t be said for Brent Underwood, who decided there would be no better place to self-isolate than Cerro Gordo, the abandoned California mining town he bought with a friend in 2018.

Underwood viewed the $1.4 million that went into securing the 380-acre property as an investment, as the master plan was to renovate its 22 buildings and bring it back to life as a tourist attraction. However, he recently ended up sequestered in a ghost town located a few hours north of Los Angeles after he agreed to look after the property so its usual caretaker could be with his family.

Based on what he told The New York Post, he may be questioning whether or not he made the right call, as he’s run into a number of unanticipated issues since arriving—including the ghosts he thinks are haunting the property.

However, nature has been a much bigger thorn in his side than the supernatural since he arrived last month, as the seven-mile journey to the closest town became an even bigger undertaking after five feet of snow fell on the hill leading down to it.

He recently provided some more insight into his current status during an AMA on Reddit, where he revealed his supply of food is steadily running low and can only be replenished by a visit to the nearest grocery store 26 miles away. On the bright side, he’s swimming in provisions compared to the amount of running water at his disposal, as he’s been forced to melt snow to make up for the total lack of plumbing.

I have to say I suddenly feel a whole lot better about my situation. Thanks, Brent!

Connor Toole avatar and headshot for BroBible
Connor Toole is the Deputy Editor at BroBible. He is a New England native who went to Boston College and currently resides in Brooklyn, NY. Frequently described as "freakishly tall," he once used his 6'10" frame to sneak in the NBA Draft and convince people he was a member of the Utah Jazz.