20-Apr-2010 -- Because I'm not a rock climber, I knew in advance that this was going to be an "incomplete" visit, but I wanted to see how close I could get to the confluence point, and what the view would be like.

From Longview Point (0.7 miles from the confluence point), I hiked westward across several gullies (some shallow; some deep). The elevation (almost 7500 feet) made the hiking somewhat more strenuous than it normally would be. Finally I got to the rim. Stepping out onto the lip of a rock outcropping (noted by previous visitors), I found that I could get 403 feet (+/- GPS error of 14 feet) from the confluence point - i.e., 127 meters; almost close enough for a successful visit, but not quite. (Of course, that 127 meters is the horizontal distance to the confluence point; there's also a substantial vertical drop.)

Even though I didn't reach the exact point, I could tell that this confluence point may have the most spectacular view of all of the world's confluence points.

Someday I would like to try to make a successful visit to this confluence point (and get "all zeros", which nobody - not even Woody Harrell - has yet accomplished). One approach would be to hike from a point partway down the Longview Trail; this is apparently what Woody Harrell did (although his commentary is not particularly clear). However, this seems like it would be a long (about 1 mile) and strenuous scramble across the side of a steep hillside. Another approach might be to start from the rim just above the confluence point, and tie a rope to a tree on top of the rim. Then, use this rope to lower yourself down to the sloping hillside, and then scramble from there down to the confluence point. However, this is not something that I'd want to risk during a solo visit.