29-Oct-2009 -- Cheryl and I were on our way from our home in suburban Washington, DC to an annual square dance festival near Cincinnati. This year we took a longer southern route so that we could visit this confluence, N38W83, my first confluence in the state of Kentucky. Although by no means the most difficult confluence I’ve visited, it is certainly among the tougher ones.

We had been driving narrow back country roads of West Virginia and Kentucky since leaving Huntington, WV, where we stayed the previous night. When we reached the end of Lewis Fork Road off of KY-1715 where a gate indicated private property ahead, we were only a couple hundred yards from the confluence. The good news was the confluence was to our left (south) and did not require entering the posted property. The bad news, however, was the confluence was up a very steep slope covered with fallen leaves making for very treacherous climbing. With hiking boots on, I hopped over the nearby stream and began my ascent. I worked my way east where the slope was not quite so severe. When I finally reached the approximate elevation of the confluence, I eased my way back to the west along the slope until I reached the confluence. Having most of the leaves on the ground made climbing difficult, but at least GPSr reception was relatively good and the “confluence dance” on the side of the ridge was relatively short. After recording my presence with the obligatory photos, I climbed the remaining 10 or 15 yards to the top of the ridge where I found a forest “road” running east/west along the top of the ridge. On the other side of the “road” were “Posted” signs on the trees beyond. After that I very carefully made my way back down the slope to the valley below.