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

Cerro Gordo is an important part of California history that Underwood is glad to own and experience first-hand — the mining town helped Los Angeles develop into what it is today. According to Los Angeles News, "To [Los Angeles], Cerro Gordo trade is invaluable. What Los Angeles now is, is mainly due to it. It is the silver cord that binds our present existence. Should it be unfortunately severed, we would inevitably collapse."

"I came up here looking for an adventure and I found that," Underwood said. "We're living through history, and I thought to myself, what story do I want to be able to tell in that period of my life?"

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In the past few weeks, Underwood said he's experienced a few incidents he can't explain: Books have fallen off book shelves when no one's around, his wallet keeps getting moved around, and the lights have also been turned on in buildings that are fully locked.

"I went in, turned them off, re-locked the building, and they were turned on again that night," Underwood said. "Just stuff I can't really explain. I think if you're in a town like this, when you're not expecting to see anybody or hear anybody, [and] nothing could be moving or happening, when something does move or happen you obviously first jump to ghosts."

The crew of the TV show "Ghost Adventures" once investigated Cerro Gordo for paranormal activity, and they believed the ghosts of two children are trapped in the closet of the Belshaw House where Underwood has been staying.

Underwood had decided to hike to Death Valley for the day, and on his way back, he discovered the large print in the snow. He posted it to his animal tracking community on Reddit, but they couldn't explain what animal caused it.

"To me it looks like Bigfoot," Underwood said. "I might be dealing with Bigfoot. It just makes the whole experience something else."

Underwood decided to track the bobcat's prints. "I started following where it came from and it seemed to visit my porch in the night, go down to the hotel that we have, and go into the hotel," Underwood said. "It seems to live in one of the old mine tunnels. The tracks go in and out of there each night."

The idea was slightly terrifying, because Underwood said he used to walk in that mine tunnel alone. He had just recently been out there two weeks ago and was lucky not to come across a full-grown bobcat.

"I never knew anything about what different animals' footprints looked like, but because we have so much fresh snow when I take hikes in the morning, I see different animal prints," Underwood said.

He's taken pictures and uploaded them to an animal tracking community on Reddit to help identify them. "It's become like a scavenger hunt for me. I found bobcat tracks a couple times, fox tracks, rabbits and different things."

"I've never done it in my life, but out here we don't have any neighbors for 20 miles, so there's no real light pollution," Underwood said. "I was able to break out the camera and try to learn how to take photos of the stars."

Almost every day Underwood finds something new. So far he's discovered a bible from 1875, a psalm booklet dedicated to a student in 1841, and a briefcase in an old general store.

"The briefcase just had everything about these miners' lives — their highs, their lows, their bank statements, their divorce settlements, lawsuits, mining claims, love letters, hate letters," Underwood said. "It's crazy to find something like that, and it just takes you back into an era. It just puts what you're going through into perspective."

"I don't know how to build a deck, but I tried and it kind of worked out," Underwood said. He's learning as he goes along.

Underwood had originally planned to open the town in May for an overnight experience, but understands that the coronavirus has delayed those plans for now.

"All work and no play, right? It's something that my friends pointed out to me when I got snowed in acting as a caretaker," Underwood said with a laugh.

Coincidentally, Underwood found a copy of "The Shining" among the VHS tapes in town. It's been sitting on his desk — he's too scared to watch it right now.

"I can't bring myself to watch it," Underwood said. "I would get too freaked out."

The small town, which has about 20 residents, is nine miles away at the end of a mountain road. Underwood said he knows a few people who could drive, at most, halfway to him, but he would have to hike the other half.

In a worst case scenario, Underwood hypothesized that a helicopter could reach him, but he's not anticipating things getting that bad.

The closest grocery store is 30 miles away in a town called Long Pine. Underwood had planned to make a grocery run every one or two weeks, but the heavy snow has blocked the road.

Underwood said he's currently eating his way through his supply of rice, beans, and canned soup. He also stumbled across cans of food that previous people have left behind.

"Some of it may have been expired, but when desperate times call for desperate measures ... I hope these somewhat-expired baked beans don't hurt me too bad," Underwood said.

Underwood can communicate with his employees and business partners and check in on family members, but the internet has been too slow for streaming sites like Netflix. He even missed out on the "Tiger King" craze.

"I'm all right with that," Underwood said. "It kind of makes me slow down a little bit, which I think is important in times like this."

Underwood is staying in the Belshaw House, which has two bedrooms and a bathroom, minus the running water. The original owner of the house, Mortimer Belshaw, was one of the leading figures in town. He built the toll road, owned the general store, and had claims on the mines.

"He just owned everything, and he touched every part of commerce here," Underwood said.

"There's a story that 30 miners got trapped in one of the mines underneath the building I live in," Underwood said. "As grim as it is, they're still down there."

There are bullet holes in the walls, blood stains on the floor of the saloon, and a cemetery filled with the graves of hundreds of miners.

Underwood said he finds solace among the remnants of the past, given these current uncertain times. The town has weathered everything that's been thrown at it, and its 22 buildings are still standing.

"People have been going through issues since people existed," Underwood said. "This town was around when the Spanish influenza hit, and it's still standing, so there's some kind of strength in that."

"I'm a Florida boy, so a couple feet of snow to me is something else," Underwood said. The weather outside was a frigid 25 degrees Fahrenheit.

"When we get up to four or five or six feet and it's on the banks of the road, that's a recipe for dwindling supplies."

The town usually has a caretaker, Robert Louis Desmarais, who lives on-site and oversees the property, but when the coronavirus hit the United States, he wanted to check on his wife.

Underwood, who normally lives in Austin, Texas, agreed to take over the duties of watching the town. He packed up his truck and drove the 24 hours to California in search of adventure.

"It was fun. I've never taken a long road trip," Underwood said. "I figured I would roll a nice road trip into a little break, and that little break has become a longer break. I'm OK with that."

According to Underwood, the town has a long and bloody history. Its 5,000 residents were left to their own devices by law enforcement, since it's three hours outside of Los Angeles.

At one point, the town averaged around a murder a week, and miners used to put sandbags in their bunks to stop stray bullets during the night.

"I fell in love with the combination of hospitality and history," he said. Underwood also owns a hostel in Texas, HK Austin, that was built in 1892.

Underwood was looking for a larger project and a challenge when his friend showed him Cerro Gordo. Underwood and his business partner purchased the abandoned silver mining town in 2018.

"I was looking for a challenge, and I certainly got that, and more," he said.