important correction inserted
--- In
BoundaryPoint@yahoogroups.com, "aletheiak"
<aletheiak@y...> wrote:
> happily many intertwingles below
>
> --- In BoundaryPoint@yahoogroups.com, spookymike@a...
> wrote:
> > Interesting that the obvious, the District of Columbia, hasn't
> been mentioned
> > in this context.
>
> actually there is a fleeting mention of it deep in message
14866
>
> > Concerning D.C., has any group member ever visited the
> northern DC-MD-VA
> > trifinium?
>
> yes but i dont know what class of visit to claim
>
> some mentions of this try are in messages 1350 & 1366
>
> > Jack Parsell's book shows a picture of the approximate
> location, taken
> > from the bluff above the Potomac River gorge, and says it
> would have taken
> > ropes to enable a safe descent.
>
> i did it emptyhanded & barefoot many years ago
>
> getting back up was the harder part
>
> > Looking at the topo, it appears there may be
> > marker,
>
> yep i had noticed that too & risked all for it
>
> i scoured the right bank on what was very probably the correct
> alignment & at a time of particularly low water
> but never found it
>
> i cant really account for that marker number 1 on the topo tho
>
> my best guess is it refers to the 1877 or 1927 matthews &
> nelson maps mentioned in messages 12405 & 12413
this guess was a blunder by me
i now realize
but it only underscores the importance of the matthews & nelson
data
the wm1 marker you noted
situated in fact very near but not precisely at the dcmdvan tripoint
proves to be not any part of mdva nor dcmd at all
but is the first in a series of 14 dcva markers installed by the
usgs in 1947
some other examples of which are also depicted at intervals
along dcva on the topos
the bible says all these markers stand on the high water line
which dcva legally follows
whereas we are seeking a point very near the low water line for
dcmdvan
so no matter that i never looked for nor found marker wm1 up
near the veggie line
except that it might have corroborated the critical alignment of
dcmd & at least helped to point correctly toward dcmdvan
but i didnt realize that til today
& it is reason enough to bring a weedwhacker with us so as to
bag wm1 first if we can for ready reference
also
message 4045
previously almost dismissed here below for its marginality
now becomes a bit more relevant to our task
as it will explain the improbable fact that dcva follows high water
while mdva runs more nearly along low water
or more technically & precisely
runs just where the matthews & nelson maps say it runs
which will in turn clarify exactly why the wm1 marker isnt exactly
at the tripoint
but just a short extralegal tripointing stitch of dcva away from it
& the length of this stitch is the distance along the prolongation
of the dcmd line beyond dcmdvan only from roughly low water to
high water
where the marker is supposed to be
end insert & correction
> these btw are imo critically important to the truth here
> especially since the marker has been elusive
> & a really earnest try cant afford to skip this authoritative source
>
> message 4045 may also be of interest but less so
>
> > and I wonder if a visit might not be possible by working one's
> way down
> > to the gorge (up or downstream from the trifinium) at a point
of
> public access
> > such as next to one of the bridges, then scrambling along the
> river bank to
> > the marker.
>
> not so easily on the right bank
>
> the direct descent
> as horrifying as it was
> looked best to me after scoping it out from the left bank
> & i still think so
>
> it is easily reached on the left bank
> which however is the wrong bank
>
> there is a big falls just below
> but perhaps a kayak try is possible from above
>
> narrow & very white water even when low
>
> > I assume that the gorge and its immediate river banks are
> public
> > land, so this approach might avoid private property issues.
>
> only on the left bank
>
> i believe the right bank may well be privately held in virginia
>
> but of course the only real trick is sneaking past the rich
homes
> atop the cliff
>
> however that part really doesnt require so much bravura
> since rich people are rarely at home
> because they have so many of them
>
> > Anyone interested
> > in a visit after the weather cools down and the underbrush
dies
> off?
>
> definitely if the river is low enough to improve on my last try
> since there really could be a marker embedded in the rocky
bed
> tho i doubt it
> notwithstanding the usgs depiction
>
> but we definitely need that matthews & nelson mapping
>
> i am also looking forward to retrying mdvawv in the same
swoop
> for which it will be similarly necessary
>
> >
> > Mike Schwartz