#1: [08-Oct-01]

14-Jul-2016 -- This is the sixth out of 11 reports on confluence visits in Canada’s Yukon Territory and Alaska. The story starts from 61°N 137°W and continues from 62°N 150°W.

We visited this confluence on our way from Anchorage to Fairbanks. The George Parks Highway not only links those two cities with each other, but also gives access to this confluence which is located 6.5 km east of the highway. The start off point for this confluence is definitively the village Ferry, located at the Nenana River 6 km from the confluence point.

In Ferry, there is a railroad bridge across the Nenama River, but the bridge does not allow for crossing of vehicles. On the other side of the bridge, there are cars and quadbikes which have most likely crossed over the frozen river in winter. People working on the other side need two cars, one on each side.

We however had only one car. Therefore, we had to walk all the way on foot. With the expectation of a 15 km roundtrip hike, Elionora decided to stay with the car in the village Ferry. I crossed the bridge and ran along a forest track up to a distance of 2 km from the confluence point. Then, I continued my hike though different types of forest but also over tussock meadows and muskeg.

The confluence is located very close to a creek in a valley. The vegetation consists of mostly dense bushes and shrubs. At the confluence point hundreds of flies bothered me. The evidence can be seen when looking at the confluence picture where one of these flies can be seen in the lower right flying directly in front of the camera lens.

A piled cumulus cloud built up in the sky and I feared that I might get into a thunderstorm during my return. But in fact it didn’t rain and the way back was much quicker as expected (less than one hour!). Just when I had reached the dust track, two engineers from a nearby windfarm came along with their vehicle. They were so nice to give me a ride all the way back to the bridge. On the hike I had collected one kilo of birch boletus.

CP Visit Details:

• Distance to a road: 6 km
• Distance to a track: 2 km
• Distance of car parking: 6 km
• Time to reach the confluence from car parking: 2 hours
• Time at the confluence: 2:08 PM
• Measured height: 565 m
• Minimal distance according to GPS: 0 m
• Position accuracy: 3 m
• Topography: hilly
• Vegetation: bushes, shrubs, tiny spruce
• Weather: sunny, 26° C (felt temperature)
• Given Name: The Railroad Bridge Confluence

The story continues at 66°N 150°W.