#2: [07-Jul-07]

#1: [13-Sep-03]

08-Aug-2011 -- This is the last out of 6 confluences that we reached on a 3-week trip through Honshū and Hokkaidō and the 4^th confluence visit on this day. The story starts at 36°N 140°E. The previous report is 43°N 144°E.

We drove through the coastal city Kushiro (釧路市), and continued further east on road L44 and then along the coast on the small county road L123, which brought us within a vicinity of 290 m to the confluence point.

We parked conveniently next to the road in 300 m distance from the confluence at the entrance of a little forest track. The hike through the deep conifer forest with ground cover consisting of ferns wasn’t too difficult. We only had to climb across two little canyons, but the general area is decently hilly. At the confluence, there were many fallen trunks that give the impression of an untouched jungle.

But when we were ready to take the pictures for the documentation, the camera didn’t have any battery power left for image capturing. This was bad news indeed. We took the battery out of the camera and warmed it in our hands. Nightfall was already coming, but we managed to get the battery back to life with the last bit of remaining daylight. Right next to the confluence point, there was an area covered with Coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara) plants with giant leafs.

We spent the night in Hamanaka (浜中町) which is located 14 km further east at the coast. The next morning we visited that fascinating rock coast in Hamanaka. The remainder of our travel in Hokkaido was ‘confluence-free’ as I had promised to Elinonra. So, the story ends here.

CP Visit Details:

• Distance to a road: 300 m
• Distance to a track: 300 m
• Distance of parking: 300 m
• Distance to houses: 2.7 km
• Distance to the coast: 730 m
• Time starting the hike: 5:35 p.m.
• Time at the CP: 5:50 p.m.
• Measured height: 67 m
• Minimal distance according to GPS: 1 m
• Position accuracy at the CP: 8 m
• Topography: slightly hilly
• Vegetation: conifer trees, farns, deep underwood.
• Weather: partly cloudy, 20° C (felt temperature)
• Given Name: The Huge Leaf Confluence