#2: [06-Aug-01]

23-Aug-2001 -- This was my ninth and final stop on a 7-day, 3200km confluence hunting trip to the BC interior, covering 51N121W, 52N121W, 52N122W, 52N123W, 52N125W, 52N124W, 54N124W, 54N125W, and 53N123W.

The motel in Quesnel had good curtains, so it wasn't until I looked outside in the morning that I discovered that instead of rain, there was sunshine, so I decided to try for 53N 123W. I left 'downtown' Quesnel just after 10AM, and headed west over the Fraser River, then onto North Fraser Drive, which turns into Blackwater Road. I then turned west onto Nazko Road, and was keeping an eye on the GPS as I approached the area of the confluence, expecting to find a logging road shortly after crossing 123W.

Just past 123W, down the hill, I turned right onto the gravel 3100 Road. Just a short way up the road 53N crosses, almost exactly where someone has nailed a piece of wood to a tree. I parked, and started out towards the confluence, which was 680m to the East. Initially heading down a steep slope, and soon came to a swampy area, which wasn't unexpected, based on the maps. Unlike in Tim's visit on August 6th, I didn't find a good spot to jump across the creek. I decided to head back to the car and try a different approach.

I drove back to the spot on Nazko Road where 123W crosses, and the confluence was 963m to the North. I went back to a spot on the road that seemed to be the closest to the confluence - 704m. I left this spot, and reached the confluence 20 minutes later. Doing the hike in this direction avoids having to cross the creek, and is fairly flat. I took my pictures and video - in Tim's visit, the confluence is marked by a "little yellow flower", but in my picture(#1), it is marked by a 'little yellow marker flag' :)

Having gained another confluence successfully, the sixth this trip, I decided that I would head back to Vancouver. On Nazko Road I took a picture of Sylvia's Cafe - an ad in a Quesnel paper lists the following: Groceries, Home Cooked Meals, Catering, Licensed Premises, Gas & Diesel, Videos, Post Office, Hunting & Fishing Licenses.

I departed Quesnel at 1:40PM, after taking a picture of the Fraser River from an old bridge that has been converted to a foot bridge. The Fraser River is the longest river in BC, at 1,360km, running from near Jasper to the Pacific Ocean. On the way home, I also took a picture of a information plaque, as well as of a Ginseng farm, showing the coverings that are needed to produce the required 70% shade cover, necessary when ginseng is grown outside forested areas.

694 kilometers after leaving Quesnel, I arrived back at home in Vancouver just after 10PM. It had been an interesting and worthwhile trip - 9 visits, with 6 successful :)