#5: [18-May-21]

#4: [01-Jul-13]

#1: [18-May-01]

#2: [23-May-01] (incomplete)

13-Jun-2012 -- This is the fifth of eight planned confluences on our expedition along 38 and 39 north. We had left 38N 111W earlier in the day.

It had been three long and grueling days for my wife and I so far. We planned to approach this confluence from the south. In my planning, I did not spend as much time preparing for this visit as I did for others on this trip. I should have created a quick route and loaded it into my GPS.

It was late afternoon as we headed up the road leading to the confluence only to discover that it was washed out here, so we decided to try the next road to the east only to discover that it was also washed out here.

My Tahoe would have easily fit into these deeply eroded ravines across the road and there were no easy options to get across to the other side. Since we were only about 6 km south of the point, I decided I would continue by bike.

My Camelbak was full of camera gear which squeezed the water bladder giving the impression that it was full. Travel along the road was slower than expected: a couple inches of soft sand were not compatible even with wide mountain bike tires. My progress was slow consisting of a combination of walking and riding. Did I mention it was pretty hot out?

At 1.2 km east of the confluence, I discovered that I was nearly out of water. It was very hot and windy and continuing on would mean at least a couple of hours before I got back which would also be after my planned return time. I decided to abort this attempt and leave it for another day. I relayed my decision back to my wife over our new Garmin Rino’s and arrived back hot and very thirsty.

We spent the night at a hotel in Green River. We weren’t sure which was better: the long hot showers; an entire large pizza that we devoured in about 15 minutes; the cold BEvERages; or the ability to sleep in a real bed for the night. We did agree that all of them were required.

Somehow, our GoPro turned off a few miles west of our first attempt. During my hike I did not take any pictures when I turned around – I was just a bit thirsty. Picture #1 is enroute along County Road 803 a few miles before the western attempt visible in my GPS overlay onto Google Earth shown in Picture #2.

I’ll come back another day – next time with my ATV and also with a full water bladder!

Our adventure continues at 39N 110W.