#13: [31-Oct-19]

#12: [05-May-15]

#11: [23-Mar-14]

#10: [22-Jul-13]

#9: [28-Sep-12]

#14: [18-Sep-10]

#7: [01-Aug-10]

#6: [30-Aug-08]

#4: [25-Sep-04]

#3: [28-Dec-03]

#5: [23-Aug-02]

#1: [05-Jun-01]

#2: [03-Jun-01] (incomplete)

12-Aug-2011 -- I had a couple of days off and wanted to visit my 6 unvisited Confluence Points in north eastern Germany.

Yesterday on my way from my hometown to my camping site I visited the points 52°N 013°E and 53°N 013°E. Very easy and nothing special to report, hence I am too lazy to write a report.

But this point turned out to become the most challenging point in my Confluence career!

On my way from my camping site I saw the fields covered with water. Huge puddles and muddy fields gave an impression how the way to the point could be.

I drove to the village of Zarnekla and further to the west to an intersection where the paved road changes into a dirt road. I parked my car there, 970 metres in a straight line to the point. I followed an agricultural way until I reached a meadow. But a look at the meadow showed it was covered with water. Not only puddles but a few centimetres of water. I decided not to walk through the meadow and I decided to go through the adjacent forest parallel to the meadow but a bit more elevated. While I planned this lots of mosquitoes came and try to suck my blood. This was not pleasant at all. Lots of water, lots of mosquitoes.

As I walked through the forest it was quite OK but the undergrowth increased and wet my trousers. But better than getting wet shoes. At about 520 metres from the point I needed to cross a ditch, which in fact was a creek with lots of water. Impossible to do this without wetting my shoes. And in addition the mosquitoes tortured me so I gave up this attempt. Walked a couple of metres through a corn field and then through a harvested field back to my car.

Not willing to gave up I checked my topographic map from the survey office and saw that a forest road leads from the east to the CP. It is a longer stretch to walk but I would be on the correct side of the ditch!

So I drove east through Zarnekla and at the eastern limit of the village I turned south. I parked my car where this way turns to the east and the unpaved forest road begins at 1.23 kilometres distance. I applied lots of mosquito repellent (yes I had one with me, but forgot to apply it at the first attempt - city slickers in nature ...) and followed the forest road.

When the Confluence Point was perpendicular to the road I walked into the forest. The deeper I came into the forest the more the undergrowth grew and the wetter the ground became. I managed to keep the right direction and for the last 130 metres I needed to walk through a couple of large puddles. Well, my shoes were wet anyway and I was so close so I waded through the puddles. Finally I reached the edge of the forest and I managed to get as close as 30 metres to the actual point. The Confluence Point itself is located on the edge of the meadow and the forest. To get all zeros I had to step into even deeper puddles so I decided not to.

For the way back I chose to walk at the edge of the meadow, much easier then bush whacking and my shoes were soaked anyway. Interestingly I crossed the point where I aborted my first attempt. If I had known this before ...a couple of metres through the bush and the forest road began, which led me to the car.

Indeed this was the toughest Confluence Point of my life: wet ground, mosquitoes and bush whacking; this is very unusual for German Confluence Points. But I was happy I managed to capture it finally!

For tomorrow a more relaxing visit to 54N-13E was on my plan ...