#3: [12-Oct-08]

#2: [14-Aug-03]

03-Jun-2003 -- I'd had my eye on this confluence, as well as the next one south ( 55°N 120°W), for over a year, but didn't have the chance to visit until June 2003. 1:50000-scale topo maps of the area indicated a road running several tens of metres south of the confluence point on open and flat terrain, so I was surprised that it had not been visited yet.

After a 1200km drive from Vancouver to Dawson Creek, in the northeast corner of B.C., I met up with my cousin Garth who had armed himself with a 1:20000-scale map and air photo. After supper, we headed north from Dawson Creek on the "Rolla Road". This road, not surprisingly, led through the hamlet of Rolla (said to be named after Rolla, Missouri by the early settlers) and the rich prairie soils of the surrounding grain fields to Doe River (which today might comprise just a few buildings and is more an "area" than a "hamlet"). The terrain was flat to very gently rolling farmland, punctuated by occasional bluffs and the odd creek.

We turned east at Doe River and followed a gravel road to the BC-Alberta border. Crossing the border, we overshot the confluence point by 900m due to inattention on our part. We did a U-turn and quickly backtracked, keeping one eye on the GPS coordinate display and the other on the sinking sun.

Stopping less than 100m east of the sign marking the BC-Alberta boundary, we found the road's closest point of approach to the confluence to be about 15m due south. The confluence lay to the north, just across a small ditch and into a recently cultivated field. We marched 15m north and then proceeded to do the "confluence dance" to zero the coordinate display. The mosquitoes were a colossal nuisance, giving this "confluence dance" a more animated aspect than perhaps others. After taking the requisite photographs we retreated to the road and the car. While taking a few pictures from the road, a farmer and his wife drove by. They stopped to enquire if everything was all right; we said it was. Perhaps if the mosquitoes had not been so thick and the sun getting so low in the sky, we would have told them what drew us to this apparently ordinary farm field beside a road not-well-travelled.

As we drove back to Dawson Creek, we saw a young moose with a somewhat mangy coat feeding at the side of the road. I returned from this enjoyable visit temporarily satiated, but ultimately thirsty for more confluence-hunting. Garth while being a good sport appeared less keen for more adventure, saying he had to work the next day and that his sons and their friend would be glad to come along to the next confluence I was after: 55°N 120°W.

The road to this confluence can be handled by any vehicle, except perhaps a skateboard. And the 30m (return) walk on level ground was one of the easier hikes I've done. :) Future visitors should have no problem.

The British Columbia/Alberta demarcation line is passing 3.5 m west of the Confluence.