05-May-2001 -- 40°N Lat. By 123°W Long is located in the southern part of the Yolla Bolly Wilderness in the Mendocino National Forest. When I first began planning a trip to this confluence, I thought of hiking in from the north where a road hooks into the wilderness north of Rattlesnake Creek. After visiting the area on May 1, I realized that approach would require a decent of over 300 meters into the Rattlesnake Creek gorge and then climb back up to the spot. Also it would probably be foolhardy to try crossing the creek in the deep canyon. After further investigation, I found an old logging road that reached to the wilderness area’s southern border along Ant Ridge, a south-reaching buttress of Hammerhorn Ridge on which the confluence lies. This required a longer hike (about 2.5 km) climbing 350 meters up and over the north side of the ridge. On May 4th I drove to the end of the road and spent the night. In the morning I started hiking, at first traveling through an area logged about thirty years ago. Stumps of fir and pine trees are scattered among the now mature pines left from that prior cutting. Once on the top of Ant Ridge the stumps were left behind and I was walking in a high altitude forest of pine, fir and cedar. As I reached the treeline near the ridge top I crossed open alpine areas with pines scattered through the sandstone outcrops. Dropping over the north side of the ridge, I found the ground still covered with snow to 1.5 meters deep. Actually, travel on the snow was fairly easy and I reached the confluence at 9:30 AM. A small stream nearby was flowing under the snow and though I could hear it I was not sure exactly where it flowed so I had to exercise caution in walking around the location. Pictures took about a half-hour and then the climb back up the ridge and down Ant Ridge to the road. A day of beautiful weather with clear skies and pleasant temperatures. I stopped to take some photos of the general area from 2000 meters on the crest of Hammerhorn Ridge.