02-Jul-2012 -- Story continues from 36°N 113°E.

We leave Chángzhì County (长治县) at around 8:45 am, rejoining the freeway north towards Yúshè County (榆社县). To pass the time, we exchange stories about our past lives: adventures and misadventures that should probably not be reproduced here.

The time indeed flies by, and before we know it, we are taking the Yúshè South freeway exit. A short drive several kilometres north along the west bank of a river, across a bridge, and then an equal distance down the eastern bank, south along county route X921, gets us to the turn-off to Lǐyù Village (李峪村).

From Lǐyù, we follow some country roads, encountering a flock of sheep blocking the way at one point. We also have to deal with a muddy patch or two.

We stop with the confluence just a couple of dozen metres to the left of the road, up a small hill. As we prepare to start our climb, a local comes by on his bicycle, and chats with us briefly.

Climbing the hill to the confluence is relatively easy. We document the point with the requisite GPS, north, south, east and west photos, then Peter takes one of the confluencers. We look happy in this photo, but that’s only because we are blissfully unaware of what happens next!

Story continues at 38°N 113°E.