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the Degree Confluence Project
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United States : California

5.4 miles (8.7 km) WSW of Big Bend, Shasta, CA, USA
Approx. altitude: 878 m (2880 ft)
([?] maps: Google MapQuest OpenStreetMap topo aerial ConfluenceNavigator)
Antipode: 41°S 58°E

Accuracy: 6 m (19 ft)
Quality: good

Click on any of the images for the full-sized picture.

#2: View East #3: View South (up the slope) #4: View West #5: The confluence point lies on a very steep slope that had been burned by a wildfire one year earlier #6: All zeros! #7: A National Forest boundary sign, next to a burned tree trunk, about 300 feet from the confluence point #8: Mount Shasta - a 14,179' (4322 m) volcano - seen from near the clearing above the confluence point #9: The "Pit 5" power station, passed en route to the confluence point

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  41°N 122°W (visit #6)  

#1: View North (down the slope)

(visited by Ross Finlayson)

02-Sep-2013 -- I spent the US Labor Day holiday visiting this remote confluence point in far northern California. I had originally planned to visit this point a year ago (en route to a vacation in Oregon), but at that time a large wildfire was raging in the area. So I was looking forward to visit this point - one that I had yet to visit - to see how the fire had affected it.

Driving northeast from Redding, I turned onto "Pit 5 Road", near the small community of Big Bend. This road crossed a river (the Pit River) next to a power station, then turned into a narrow, winding dirt road that meandered up a steep hill, down to a creek, then up a hill once again. (The road is very steep in places, and quite loose and dusty, so I recommend 4WD.) I ended up parking at 41.00087°N 122.00498°W, about ¼ mile from the confluence point, which lay down the hill.

As I hiked down the hill towards the confluence point, the effect of the wildfire - and the battle to control it - became apparent. Several large trees had scorched trunks, and several more trees had been cut down and removed. Scattered among the cleared trees were several empty drinking water bottles, presumably left behind by the firefighters.

Farther down the hill, the terrain got steeper and harder to hike. (The soil here was very loose, as most of the ground cover had burned away.) After a very slow, arduous hike/slide down the steep hill, I reached the confluence point, and - after some time - was able to get 'all zeros'. All around me were burned tree trunks.


 All pictures
#1: View North (down the slope)
#2: View East
#3: View South (up the slope)
#4: View West
#5: The confluence point lies on a very steep slope that had been burned by a wildfire one year earlier
#6: All zeros!
#7: A National Forest boundary sign, next to a burned tree trunk, about 300 feet from the confluence point
#8: Mount Shasta - a 14,179' (4322 m) volcano - seen from near the clearing above the confluence point
#9: The "Pit 5" power station, passed en route to the confluence point
ALL: All pictures on one page