#3: [26-Aug-09]

#2: [24-Jun-03]

02-Jun-2001 -- This was my fourth confluence visit and by far the most difficult. Though no more than a one kilometer hike, my destination was located near the bottom of a ravine which is covered in heavy thickets of Alder and Vine Maple. The confluence is located on a mile square section of Oregon State land isolated within the Siskayou National Forest. I approached the area on the Low Divide Road which runs near the California/Oregon border at the northern edge of the Smith River National Recreation Area. My timing for this trip was perfect. The area was covered with blooming wildflowers including the large, beautiful Rhododendron blossoms.

Along the top of the ridge, I left the truck at the northernmost bend of the road in open pine forest and after walking north a few hundred meters, crossed into Oregon. At this point, my route started downhill. I descended to the 124th parallel then turned east and headed down into the ravine. Almost immediatly I encountered the heavy brush. It took a half-hour to drop just one hundred meters to the bottom. The confluence appeared to be located in a thicket of Vine Maple so I found a large moss covered rock laying in dappled sunlight to stand-in as the spot.

After taking a few pictures, it was time to head back up, something I was not looking foward to. I decided to go straight up the ridge so as to reach the comparative openess of the ridge top as soon as possible. An hour and a half later, I reached the road covered in bleeding scratches. What an absolutely great day!