#3: [18-Jul-09]

#1: [04-Feb-01]

07-Apr-2008 -- 39N – 79W Durgon, North Virginia, United States

Line Hunting Date: April 7, 2008

Confluence hunting – the best cure for jet lag

After flew for 12 time zone from Beijing to Washington, DC, I spend the first day hunted two conference points. This exercise turned out to be a great antidote for jet lag – I had the best adjustment to a major time shift!

The plan was to visit one point in Virginia (39N-78W) and one point in West Virginia (39N-79W).

The trip started at 6 am from downtown DC. I set the navigation GPS of the rental car to Paris, Virginia near 39N–78W. The navigation system pretty much took all the guess work out of driving toward the confluence point. After a stop for breakfast, I reached a freeway exit for Paris, about 12 km from 39N-78W around 7.30 am. At which time, it was raining hard, so I decided to try for the point in West Virginia first, and set the Navigator to go for Durgon (3 km from this CP) hoping that the rain will subside when I get there.

Only about 1/3 of the drive toward this confluence point was freeway, the remainder drive pretty much followed a two-lane highway (Highway 55). It took almost 2 hours to get to Moorefield, about 5 miles away from the Confluence Point.

From Moorefield, following highway 220 driving south toward Durgon, I found an abandoned farm house by the road side which was 450 meters away from the point. In a light rain, I entered through the yard of the abandoned house matched 250 meters across a wet grass field and entered the woods and found the Confluence point easily. It was around 10 am.

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Rating of this hunt:

Degree of Challenge:

1 – A long drive followed with an easy hike (1= very easy - drive to the point; to 5= a death march – glad it is over)

Scenery:

2– Pleasant West Virginia woods and hilly country, wish the weather was nicer (Scale: 1= not interesting at all; 5= take your breath away)

Culture-social factors:

2 – Sunday morning in small town, nothing very stimulating (Scale: 1=dull; 5= most stimulating)