#2: [11-Dec-09]

#1: [23-Dec-04] (incomplete)

21-Dec-2019 -- This is the 14^th out of 21 successful revisits plus 2 unsuccessful attempts on unvisited confluences in Saudi Arabia. The story starts at 28°N 48°E and continues from 23°N 39°E.

We visited this confluence point on our way from Jeddah to Ta’if. The point is located 40 km straight south of the Holy City Mecca. To visit the confluence point, we could not use main Highway 15, but another road that runs more south. 6 kilometers straight line from our goal, we left that road and took a minor asphalt road up to a distance of 900 m. There, we parked and expected a not too difficult hike.

The first 500 m were easy walk across a sandy plain. The challenge was avoiding coming too close to houses. Dogs were already barking when I passed by, but no one came to ask us why we had come. The second part was more difficult: a big mountain had to be climbed. I decided to follow a valley, that would be less steep than the mountain flanks. This was a very wrong choice. Huge boulders blocked my way. When I finally managed to climb over them, even larger ones appeared in front. Leaving the valley was out of question, because its flanks were far too steep to be climbed. I ended up climbing all the way up the valley to the mountain top. From there, I had to climb down to the confluence point, which was not even half way up the mountain.

The confluence is located on a less steep valley flank. There are boulders of all sizes. The vegetation consists of dry grass and some bushes. There is a great view into the valley to the west. The way back to the car took not even one quarter of the time compared to the way to the confluence. Actually, this is an easy hike – if you do it right.

After visiting the confluence point, we continued to Ta’if and spent the night there.

CP Visit Details:

• Distance to a road: 900 m
• Distance to a track: 700 m
• Distance of car parking: 900 m
• Time to reach the confluence from the car: 90 minutes
• Time at the confluence: 12:20 PM
• Measured height: 534 m
• Minimal distance according to GPS: 1 m
• Position accuracy: 4 m
• Topography: mountainous
• Vegetation: dry grass and bushes
• Weather: sunny, 16° C (felt temperature)
• Given Name: The Wrong Boulder Valley Confluence

The story continues at 21°N 41°E.

More pictures of the trip can be found here.