#2: [17-Mar-04]

13-Mar-2004 -- Our first confluence attempt was a brilliant success! We visited 30N 111W on a Saturday morning after sojourning south of the border from Nogales early in the a.m. bound for the Sea of Cortez.

Having had no driving experience in Mexico, and only a rather crude topo map I found online, I wasn't too sure of our chances of success. Nonetheless, the four of us were determined to make a successful mission.

With Javier "no hay topes" del Castillo as chief navagator, & Stephanie Jones and Dara Merin as sure footed motivators, our chances were good.

The only thing we really knew was that the confluence lay just south of the hamlet of Querobabi, not far from the main Sonoran highway, number 15. Getting to Querobabi was easy, but we were a bit concerned of the locals take on a bunch of gringos cruising around their town stirring the hounds into a frenzy and in general looking suspicious. Nonetheless, we set off southward, and got within 4km.

This being our first attempt, we figured we could walk the remaining distance. Several barbed wire fences later, along with increasingly dense foliage convinced us to turn around and try to find another road.

Fortunately, we found an excellent dirt road at the end of town which got us headed in a much more promising direction. We got through a few gates, with the blessings of the campesinos we spoke to and suddenly, with a gleam in his eye, Javier announced we were within a few hundred meters.

As we approaced the confluence on easy hard packed open ground, peppered with ocotillo and mesquite, enormous jackrabbits scattered out of nowhere and ran like the wind.

And then we found it, the dead-on zero point, give or take the 10m accuracy, within the branches of a rather prickly mesquite bush.

Celebrations were brief, but hearty, and we headed back toward the car. That was when we realized, novices that we were, we had broken rule number one of confluence hunting - forgetting to lock in your starting point. It was only a matter of a few hundred meters, but we had virtually no idea where we had left the car, and though we were on open ground, you could only see a dozen meters or so until a bush blocked your vision.

After much discussion and wandering, we finally saw the glint of the Mexican car-permit hologram shining like a beacon through the otherwise impenetrible branches and were likely saved from certain death. A special thanks therefore goes out to the Mexican automobile registry for the extra help!