03-Apr-2004 -- We seem to know people who live near confluence points. My parents' house is
less than a mile from
53°N 0°,
and my boss lives only a mile and a half from this point, 37°N 122°W.
In stark contrast to our previous
confluence visit, this one is
currently the most visited
confluence point in the world. We were following in the steps of 13
previous visits, including one by
England's premier confluence hunter,
Gordon Spence;
not to mention many more visitors from the
Geocaching website.
The confluence point is located in DeLaveaga Park, just north of the
beautiful seaside city of Santa Cruz. We went there on a sunny Saturday. In
the morning, we cycled to the very mysterious
Mystery Spot — a must-see
while you're in the area! Then at lunchtime we met up with my boss and his
wife in the park. After a picnic lunch, we set off up the hill.
We made the mistake several previous visitors had made, of following the GPS
and ending up too far down the hill. There are paths running along the
hillside at several levels. The trick is to go up the steps behind the
restrooms, and then carry on up the hill rather than turning left immediately.
Terje Mathisen has
made some pictures of the route, and
Richard D. LeCour has directions.
We failed to find the geocache hidden at the same point, even though we were almost on top of it. That was because the
undergrowth was full of poison oak, and we didn't want to scramble around in
it. If you visit this point, please be on the lookout for poison oak —
it's nasty stuff!