#3: [28-Jul-14]

#4: [07-Jul-19] (incomplete)

18-Aug-2001 -- 45N 77W is our 4th successfully reached confluence (out of 6 attempted). To get there, we drove east from Toronto for 2 hours (along highway 401) and then north from Napanee for another hour (on route 41). That last hour was very pleasant; we passed small towns and marshy areas covered in hundreds of delicate pure white water lilies. Along the way, we stopped to buy wild blueberries (expensive, but worth it) at one of the many roadside fruit stands.

The confluence is located outside of the small town of Plevna. Mark had done some preliminary research and discovered that the precise location might actually be in the middle of a lake. Luckily he decided to bring his small inflatable one-man boat because it turned out that he was right.

There appeared to be two residences alongside this small lake, one of which looked closed for the season since all of the windows were sealed by wooden shutters. So, we decided to take advantage of this opportunity for easy access to the lake, foregoing our two other options of either disturbing the one existing resident or carving our own access through some dense forest.

From our easy access point, Mark proceeded to blow up his inflatable boat and embark on his short journey to the middle of the lake where the confluence lay. While he was busy accomplishing his mission, I had a great time on the shore; in the span of half an hour I saw a woodpecker, a great blue heron, a fawn and a loon. The fawn was swimming across the lake about 50 metres away from Mark, while the loon was swimming a mere 5 metres from him. The beautiful common loon serenaded Mark for a good and very loud 15 minutes. Apparently all this lake activity aroused the curiosity of the one residing neighbour. Soon, there was another boat on the lake that fast approached Mark’s vinyl dinghy. His boat was bigger, made of fiberglass and was equipped with a small (and very quiet) motor. In suspense, I watched the encounter. Apparently, as Mark later informed me, after getting an acceptable explanation as to what Mark’s business was, the neighbour wished Mark luck and returned to his beautiful home.

Eventually, Mark gave me the signal that he had reached the confluence (after fighting a persistent breeze that kept pushing him to the southeast). I took his picture from the shore and he then took all of his pictures.

We both thoroughly enjoyed the 2 hours that we spent discovering this confluence. Frequently since then, I have found myself dreaming of escaping the city and settling down at this little lakeside paradise.

The photos submitted are as follows:

Photo #1 shows the small lake in which the confluence lies. The confluence is found slightly to the left of the centre of the photo, roughly a couple of hundred metres from the shore. Visible in the photo is the small inflatable boat Mark took to the actual confluence point.

Photo #2 shows the two of us standing at the edge of the small lake.

Photo #3 shows the GPS reading from the middle of the lake. Mark held the GPS between his knees as he struggled to photograph it and to keep from drifting away from the actual confluence point.

Photo #4 shows the view looking west from the confluence. That’s me (Elda) barely visible standing on the shore.

Photos #5, #6 and #7 show the views north, east and south from the confluence, respectively.

Photo #8 shows some wildflowers growing alongside the lake. In the background, Mark can be seen returning from the confluence.

In Shaw Lake, about 120 m from land.