14-Jul-2015 -- This is the 6^th out of 17 reports of confluence visits while cycling from Kashgar (喀什) to Xī'ān (西安). I cycled through the Chinese provinces of Xīnjiāng, Qīnghǎi, Gānsù, and Shǎnxī, 3600 km in 25 days. The story starts from 39°N 76°E. The previous report is 38°N 91°E.

The confluence is located 8 km from a road. The distance of 8 km can be dangerous when hiking alone at temperatures around 40 °C. When we reached the turnoff to the confluence it was just getting dark. So there were ideal conditions for visiting the confluence in the cool, early morning after spending the night in the tent.

Since my English cycling companions were not interested in a desert hike, I set off alone with the first daylight. At a remaining distance of 6.5 km, I abandoned my bicycle, since there were no more tracks and the bicycle was not ridable cross-country in this sandy terrain. I put on my running shoes and reached the confluence within 45 minutes. The sun had just come up but was already intense. This confluence is located remotely and I felt like I was far away from the rest of the world. Indeed, the landscape looked more like that on the moon instead of the Earth.

I ran back to my bike, cycled back to my tent, took it down and went back on the highway to catch up with the other cyclists.

CP Visit Details:

• Distance to the road: 8000 m
• Distance to a track: 6500 m
• Distance of bicycle parking: 6500 m
• Time to reach the CP from the road: 60 min
• Time at the CP: 7:16 AM
• Measured height: 2704 m
• Minimal distance according to GPS: 0 m
• Position accuracy: 3 m
• Topography: flat, but with distinctive hills
• Vegetation: none
• Weather: clear sky, 25° C (felt temperature)
• Given Name: The Morning Desert Run Confluence

The story continues at 38°N 93°E.