06-Jan-2001 -- We embarked from Huntersville, NC, at 9am Saturday morning,
equipped with warm clothes, plenty of snacks, an Etrex GPS
receiver, a digital camera, and a MapQuest map of our
target. This was our first confluence hunt, and we really
had no idea what to expect.
According to the map, the confluence was just off of
Hidden Glen Road. But we soon discovered that Hidden Glen Road
is a private dirt road with a "Keep Out" sign at the
entrance. So we parked the car and went on foot looking
for the landowner.
The first fellow we talked to said that the landowner,
"Old Charlie," would shoot anybody he found snooping
around and advised us to abandon our search.
But then we meet Mr. Slayton, who was out fetching his
morning paper. It turns out that Mr. Slayton
leases all the land by the Catawba River from
Charlie. We explained our errand and Mr. Slayton
happily granted us permission to proceed.
The confluence is in the south end of a clearing a few
hundred feet from the Catawba River. On the right side
of the panorama image, you can see a thin line
of trees, another clearing, and a second line of trees.
The second line of trees is on the river's west bank.
At Mr. Slayton's request, we made a 3-foot tall pyramid
of sticks and brush to mark the confluence, then headed home.
We were back in time for lunch, well ahead of schedule.