After buying an entire abandoned ghost town in California, a man is stuck out there due to a snowstorm and the coronavirus

Matthew WilsonApr 18, 2020, 02:26 IST

Brent Underwood in Cerro Gordo.Brent Underwood/Cerro Gordo

In 2018, Brent Underwood purchased an abandoned mining town in California named Cerro Gordo.
During the coronavirus pandemic, he has been living there alone for the past month in his own personal ghost town.
A heavy snowstorm has trapped Underwood in Cerro Gordo, but he has enjoyed the scenery and he's even taken up astrophotography.
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Brent Underwood is living inside what could be mistaken for a Stephen King novel: The story of a caretaker snowed in at a place with a long, sordid history of violence could just as easily describe "The Shining." But unlike Jack Torrance and his family at the Overlook Hotel, Underwood is living alone in an abandoned mining town. Hopefully, Underwood's having a much better time. All work and no play ...

During the early stages of the coronavirus lockdown, Underwood packed up his truck and headed to California. "I think I'm taking socially isolating to an extreme," he told Insider.

Underwood spoke with Insider about his experiences in the ghost town and how he's been spending his time.

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Despite being snowed in, potential ghosts, bobcats, and Bigfoot, Underwood wouldn't trade his experiences for anything else.

If Bigfoot wasn't enough, Underwood might also be living with ghosts.

On another one of his hikes, Underwood came across a print that he thinks may have belonged to Bigfoot.

Every night a bobcat visits Underwood's porch. He thinks it probably lives in a nearby mine.

He's also been learning how to track animals in the snow.

To entertain himself, Underwood has started taking astrophotography outside.

He's also been exploring the buildings in town and discovered artifacts left by miners.

During his stay, Underwood has been trying renovate some of the buildings. He even built a deck.

Underwood is fully aware of the comparisons of his own journey to Stephen King's "The Shining."

If there was an emergency, Underwood knows a few people in a nearby town.

But he's running low on supplies, with the closest grocery store 30 miles away.

Satellite internet allows Underwood to check his emails and work from home.

Underwood has been living in a house that was built in 1871 and has no running water.

Walking around Cerro Gordo today, Underwood is constantly reminded of its violent past.

Since then, a snowstorm has had Underwood trapped in the ghost town for the past three weeks.

Underwood came up to Cerro Gordo in March of this year to temporarily relieve the town's caretaker, pictured here.

Founded in 1865, Cerro Gordo used to be California's largest mining town, but it's been abandoned for almost 100 years after the silver mines dried up.

In 2018, Underwood bought the ghost town of Cerro Gordo for $1.4 million.

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