#3: [13-May-15]

#1: [07-Jul-01]

24-Aug-2017 -- It was dark by the time I got back into McDermitt following a successful visit to 42N 117W. I thought that there might be a room available at the Diamond A Motel but saw a No Vacancy sign as I pulled in. Rats! I guess it was people who were busy at the Casino next door.

Since the next nearest hotel was about 70 miles south in Winnemucca, this would be another night camping in the Tahoe.

I continued west on Cordero Mine Road and turned north onto Disaster Peak Road and back into the state of Oregon. This was a fairly good road that was very desolate and dark. I stopped at a double track leading south to the confluence to camp for the night.

I woke up to twilight and unloaded the RZR for the trip down the double track. I stopped about a quarter of a mile short near a steep south facing ridge and hiked the remaining way to the confluence. I found all zeroes near the edge of a western facing drop off created by a horseshoe bend on McDermitt Creek. It was very scenic with the views enhanced by an eastern pink sky and sunrise.

I set up my Trimble GPS and sent a SPOT message and took my pictures. Interestingly, there was strong cell phone coverage here but there was none where I had camped.

Picture 1 looks west down McDermitt Creek and shows how close this point is to the very steep sides. Cows could be heard somewhere in the distance. Picture 2 looks north with the RZR being visible at the top of the ridge. Picture 3 would have been better if I had taken it prior to the sun rising above the ridge to capture the colorful pre-sunrise sky. Picture 4 looks south. Picture 5 shows my GPS position. Picture 6 shows a very muddy RZR – mostly from the adventures the day prior. Picture 7 shows the differential position.

The total time from the double track and Disaster Peak road where I parked was just over an hour and 2.8 miles round trip. I did not see another human or vehicle until I got back into McDermitt.

Post processing of the GPS data (571 positions) reveals that my Trimble GPS receiver was 0.6 meters bearing 125 degrees from the actual confluence with a Horizontal Precision of 2.1 meters.

What an tremendous confluence adventure this had been: Ten days; Eleven successful confluence visits; 3,568 miles on the Tahoe; 250 miles on the RZR; one very worthy and challenging confluence; a few very remote confluences; and meeting fellow confluence visitors to experience a Total Solar Eclipse.

What a wonderful trip!