#5: [23-Aug-22]

#4: [10-Apr-12]

#2: [07-Sep-03]

#1: [21-Jan-01]

10-Oct-2010 -- This report is the last out of a series of four confluences that I visited during an October weekend on a tour from Zurich (Switzerland) to the Region Rhône-Alpes in France and Piermonte in Italy. The story starts from 46°N 6°E. The previous confluence visit was 45°N 7°E.

After typing in the coordinates in my car-navigation device, all I had to do was to follow the instructions given by the routing algorithm. The last couple hundred meters I followed a small single-lane county road named Via Cecca until I came as close as 240 m to the confluence point. However, the final approach seemed to be rather difficult since there was a steep incline ahead with dense and thorny vegetation. Due to some experience made at previous confluence approaches, I searched for a trail first before entering the jungle directly. And indeed, I found a track that lead directly down to the confluence point, but abruptly ended 30 m before reaching the exact location.

These last 30 m turned out to be rather difficult due to dense blackberry bushes (no blackberries but therefore a large amount of thorns). Nevertheless I carried out the “confluence dance” until I yielded the coordinate-zeros. The dense vegetation consisting of bushes, oak trees covered with ivy and small ash trees doesn’t allow good views for taking images at the confluence or even within the 100 m zone around it. A little compensation for this offered a beautiful mushroom that grew near the confluence point.

On my walk back I discovered some chestnut trees with lots of ripe chestnuts on the ground. After returning to my car, I had a long drive back to my home in Zurich that I reached at 11 p.m.

CP visit details:

• Beeline distance from car parking: 240 m
• Walking time (incl. return): 7 min
• Time at the CP: 2:25 pm
• Measured height: 233 m
• Position accuracy at the CP: 4 m
• Minimal distance to the CP: 0 m
• Vegetation: blackberry bushes (posing a difficulty to walk through), oak trees that have trunks covered with ivy. Different types of bushes and small broadleaf trees.
• Distance to a road: 240 m (Via Cecca)
• Distance to a track: 30 m
• Distance to a house: 250 m
• Topography: on a slope, generally hilly area.
• Weather: sunny, 20° C (felt temperature)
• Description of the CP: In the province Asti that is part of the Region Piedmont in northern Italy. Generally populated area, but confluence is right in the center of a forest.
• Given Name: The Nasty Blackberry Confluence

Story finishes here.