#18: [21-Jul-21]

#17: [19-Sep-15]

#16: [21-Aug-14]

#15: [22-Jan-12]

#14: [15-Aug-10]

#13: [04-Apr-10]

#12: [19-Jan-10]

#11: [03-Mar-09]

#10: [02-Aug-08]

#9: [07-Dec-07]

#8: [07-Oct-07]

#4: [12-Jun-04]

#3: [15-Sep-02]

#2: [28-Oct-01]

#1: [20-Jan-01]

#19: [26-Jul-14] (incomplete)

#7: [31-Jul-05] (incomplete)

05-May-2005 -- This is the first visit out of a 10-confluence-hunt along the 50 degree latitude line. The special purpose of this trip was to visit as many confluence points as possible within one single day! According to our friends' estimation one could visit 3 points a day, may be 5 at the very most. But we thought, that with some optimization and clever organization it should be possible to visit more than 5 points.

The critical time frame is given by the daylight time. We had to arrive at the first CP with the first daylight and reach the last point before it got dark. Unfortunately, we were a little to hasty, arriving at this CP too early in order to take clear shots. I apologize for the bad quality of the pictures at this CP. The blurriness is due to a too long exposure time for hand held shots. This was the first out of three major mistakes we made that day.

The key issue was to find directions while driving without any delays. Not having a navigation system, we had to learn all critical intersections by heart. We brought all our food with us, since buying groceries or eating out would have taken precious part of our daylight time.

Altogether it took us 17 hours to visit all 10 points, starting at 4:20 a.m. at our home and arriving at 21:10 p.m. at the last confluence nearby Amiens in France. On average, we remained 13 minutes at the confluence points and needed 1 hour 27 minutes to get from one point to another. The total driving distance was 1120 km (mainly on country roads). Thus, we covered 112 km on average between two CPs, which is 57% more compared to the geometric distance of 71.3 km. The following table gives some more detailed statistics about the trip.

50°N	11°E	10°E	9°E	8°E	7°E	6°E	5°E	4°E	3°E	2°E
Arrival at CP [hh:mm]	05:15	06:30	07:55	09:10	11:00	12:55	15:40	17:48	19:40	21:10
Driving time [hh:mm]	00:55	01:00	01:15	00:45	01:35	01:45	02:35	01:48	01:40	01:20
Driving distance [km]	64	94	145	84	107	127	192	112	98	97
Parking distance [m]	87	231	498	45	39	19	262	96	307	41
Minimal distance [m]	3.11	0.37	4.4	22.7	1.25	1.25	1.32	0.49	91.5	40.4
GPS accuracy [m]	6	4	6	5	6	5	6	4	5	4
Country	D	D	D	D	D	L	B	F	F	F

Here is an overview over all 10 confluences, including a snapshot the of confluence hunters as they appeared at the sites. In the last two columns of the stitched picture are photos of the GPS display and some interesting features nearby.

We got up at 3:45 a.m., had a mug of coffee and left our home at 4:20 a.m. Unfortunately, it was raining, cold, dark and unpleased outside. Nevertheless we drove off to the nearest CP from our home in 46 km beeline-distance. Arriving in Windischletten, some tracks lead directly to the confluence. Walking though the wet grass made our shoes completely wet, which was somewhat suboptimal considering that we had another 9 visits ahead.

CP visit details:

• Time at the CP: 5:15 a.m.
• Driving time to get to the CP from home: 55 minutes
• Driving distance: 64 km
• Distance of car parking: 87 m
• Distance to a track: 49 m
• Distance to a road: 49 m
• Distance to houses: 600 m
• Topography: hilly
• Minimal distance according to GPS: 3.11 m
• Position accuracy at the CP: 6 m
• GPS height: 344 m
• Vegetation: Oak and cherry trees, next to the border of a meadow.
• Weather: light rain, overcast, 5° C (felt temperature)
• Specialities: Just getting daylight. The grass is wet and our shoes get soaked with water.
• Description of the CP: Just above the village Windischletten in the Bavarian area of 'Mittelfranken'. The location is on a hilltop that does not allow to see the village. The point is just 10 m into a forest, bordering a grass field.
• Given Name: The Soaking Shoes Confluence

Story continues at 50N 10E.