special to spooky
please look for further developments inserted far 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 mathews &
> > 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 mathews &
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
so i have ordered this today by interlibrary loan
but still better news below
> > 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.
it now appears you were absolutely right mike
http://www.washdc.org/trail8.html
& that my exceptional bravado in stealing both horizontally &
vertically past the rich homes may have been totally unnecessary
hahaahaah
but i have to add i was not aware of being on the potomac
heritage trail nor any other trail at the time
nor within any publicly accessible space
while scouring the virginia bank for dcmdvan ground zero
circa 1996
the trail could easily be a new addition to the neighborhood tho
so clearly our first access try should be to find the way down to
the bank from the virginia side of the chain bridge
& then proceed up the bank
exactly as you predicted
& only if that fails for any reason
should we even think of dropping straight down the cliff again
> > 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
again
the existence of the potomac heritage trail as stated along the
right bank would appear to contradict this
> > 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 mathews & nelson mapping
> >
> > i am also looking forward to retrying mdvawv in the same
> swoop
> > for which it will be similarly necessary
> >
> > >
> > > Mike Schwartz