16-Jan-2000 -- I had been planning a confluence trip for this weekend for some time, but a few days beforehand, I learned that another confluence-seeker had beaten me to my southern AZ destination. A couple of extra hours took me to eastern AZ and 33N 110W, located between the Gila Mountains and the Coronado National Forest. I hiked in about a mile in from a dirt road. It was a fairly hilly area, populated by small cactus and desert brush. Along the way were ATV trails and rock boundries demarcating BLM and private property. I crawled under a barbed-wire fence, and eventually ended up on a hill overlooking a horse pasture. The horses noticed me, and I thought "somewhere, someone is watching me". What a nice target I'd be for a rancher having a bad day. Of course the confluence was at the bottom of the hill, on the edge of the pasture, which gave me even less cover when the bullets started flying. I snapped a few quick pix, and scrambled up the hill to safety from the imaginary rancher cum high-powered rifle. On the way home, Arizona Hwy Patrol pulled me over for speeding, but gave me only a "Waste of Finite Resources" warning. Whatever that means.

At Fort Thomas, turn right onto Black Rock Rd. Immediately cross the Southern Pacific railroad tracks, and the Fort Thomas Canal. Go 1.6 miles on this road, cross Browns Circle and immediately come to Sanders Road/Hog Holler Road. At this point you have a choice:

Approach 1: Continue 0.87 miles on Black Road Rd., crossing over Fine Wash. Take a left onto an unnamed road, and cross over Fine Wash again. Go 0.93 miles to the end of this road. The confluence is located 2000 feet south-southeast of this point. (True bearings. Adjust for a magnetic compass).

Approach 2: Turn left onto Sanders Road/Hog Holler Road and go 0.87 miles to the end. Walk 900 feet due south to Black Rock Wash. Walk 2400 feet up the wash (southwest), and then walk 3700 feet due west to the confluence.

Depending on the terrain, it could be very difficult to maintain an accurate position with this one because of the lack of mapped landmarks.