22-Apr-2001 -- Having read the report from the first attempt to reach this confluence point I was quite curious as to what I should expect there. The approach to this point is really beautiful from both "sides" you can come as the Black Forest is a dream of a region. I came from the highway A81 via Villingen-Schwenningen and further on the B31 through some beautiful valleys. The snow that had fallen the night before really improved the picture, too. Luckily the roads were cleared and by the time I reached the point the temperatures were up a bit and the weather stayed pretty dry all day at least from above.

The map from mapblast.com indicated only one "road" to lead into the area and from the description of the first attempt this one should not lead to the point as fences would block the road. I had taken the "letter to landowners" with me and thought of asking for permission to access the land. Unfortunately at the farmhouse I guess the ground belongs to nobody was at home by that time so I had to start my walk and see how far I could go.

The topographical map I had from the region (TK 50, see map) indicated another pretty direct track just up to the point but arriving in the area I could not find the starting point of this trail. What I did not know at that time, was that this trail was hidden behind the farm building (pict. #4) and most likely a private road.

To make my visit more interesting I also forgot this map at home so I had to remember as many details as possible. One thing I was sure about was the fact that going for the point via the forest road I would have to cross some kind of "river" as the confluence point should be located just on the other side.

Unfortunately the area turned out to have plenty of small wells (pict. #3) and little and not so little streams (pict. #5) which was a bit misleading but made the visit much more adventurous. I left my car down at the main road (see map, waypoint "car") as the signs along the forest road limited access to "visitors and inhabitants" just as the first report said. Hiking up the forest road I set waypoints at all points where an unpaved trail would leave the road to the left. I made an attempt to cut short to the point from WP#3 but had to stop a bit after WP4 as the road ended up in the woods. This obviously was a trail made for forest workers to get out the trees. Although this trail did not lead me to the confluence point it gave me a good first feeling of what I should expect later regarding the mud and hundreds of little waterways finding their way downhill. I sure was glad to have solid and watertight hiking boots with me. Also my trousers were able to make closer contact with mud, thorn bushes and of course the omnipresent water.

I continued my way on the paved road further uphill marking some more trailheads I did not follow. At waypoint "parking" the signs were definite that no vehicles were allowed beyond (forest road). Between the trees I got some really pretty views over the whole valley and the area. After a while I reached waypoint # 8 where the woods opened for a meadow and the bearing towards the confluence point indicated that I had gone too far up.

I crossed the meadow had a look down the hill and there it was - the expected stream. It seemed like the only passage towards the confluence point was following the water. I went down and walked along the riverbed for about 150m (pict. #2). The stones were rather slippery and there was always more water coming from all sides than you would think when placing your steps. It seemed like the whole mountain was leaking water out of any opening it could find. Just shortly before the confluence point I again reached a trail.

The point itself is just about 50 m in the woods. Picture # 1 was taken on the spot and you can see the edge of the forest. When I orientated myself to go back to my car the GPS said "500m straight down the hill, following the trail". Compared to my way up this looked ridiculously short. But I decided to follow the trail downhill to see where it would come out. At waypoint # 9 another trail crossed and I guess this might be another, by far easier approach to the point as this trail seems to hit the forest road at waypoint # 6 or 7. Maybe some later visitors might like to check this out. I took the trail further downhill and saw that this was the direct track I had seen on the map before. I ended up directly in the backyard of the farmhouse.

Now I knew, why I did not find the beginning of this direct track. You would have to go through the garage to get there. Still there was nobody to see so I could not ask for permission to pass and instead of going back all the way I came (over 2 km in all) I crossed the grass for the last 150m and crossed the only fence. I do not know where I should have missed another one.

On picture # 4 you can get a pretty good impression of the starting point of this "expedition". At the left you can see the backyard of the farm house that guards the direct track to the confluence point. Behind it you see the forest road I took uphill and in the foreground the meadow I crossed on my way back to the car down by the other house. On the mountain in the back you can even see some snow. Picture # 6 shows the whole scenery from the mountain on the other side with the farmhouse at the right and the confluence point just hidden behind the trees.

To end my visit I drove back through the beautiful "Glottertal" via St. Peter to meet the Highway A5 at Exit #60 just north of Freiburg.