04-Aug-2002 -- I just happened to be looking around the US confluence map and noticed that this one was still not attempted. We're in Spokane, a little over 100 miles from it. I've had my GPS for a year or two but never tried a confluence. What an opportunity!
I checked the online maps, topos, even Terraserver (gotta love the internet) and found a road that would get us within 1/2 mile. It was even in the Kaniksu National Forest. Early the next morning we set out. I brought my two daughters (Kerryn and Kara) and my nephew (Alex).
We parked on the dirt road, admiring the rugged Montana beauty, but a bit surprised by the apparent density of the forest, and the steepness of the terrain in the direction of the confluence. But off we hiked.
We started about 0.46 miles from the confluence. The first 0.3 miles were on fairly level terrain. A couple small pastures, a beautiful little creek (shoes removed - pants got wet) and then into thicker forest. As the terrain began to climb steeply upward the forest became thicker. Fallen timber (avalanche debris?) and thick undergrowth definitely slowed our progress. Our trek, as marked on the eMap, started looking like scribble - a combination of the terrain, debris, and trees blocking satellites. Not an easy hike.
Finally made it as close as the accuracy would allow. At that point we stopped in a bit of a clear spot, and I watched the latitude and longitude jump around - hoping to catch a photo at the zeros. Got close.
Trip back we lost satellites once in deep stuff (no compass.) Had to hunt for a small clearing and wait patiently. Nerve wracking. Too much reliance on a small battery powered device. :)
As a bit of an aside - we had been making plenty of racket during our trek up. We didn't want to surprise any bears. Didn't see any, but on the trek back I noticed plenty of fresh bear "sign." Kind of an unsettling feeling. Didn't tell the kids at the time, but they heard me say "stay together" an awful lot on that trip back.