A bad day exploring is better than any other day.

Its always better to explore than to wander. The best methods I've found involve looking for county high points, confluences, geodash points and geocaches.

I have been to 11 of the 26 county high points and I've been to or attempted 18 of the 19 confluences in Utah.

I have also been to 7 confluences in Wyoming, 6 in Arizona, 5 in Idaho, 4 each in Colorado, Iowa and New York, 3 each in California and Louisiana, 2 each in Georgia, Indiana, Maryland, Nebraska, Nevada and Ohio, 1 each in Alabama, New Hampshire, New Mexico and Pennsylvania.

I've also been to three confluences in foreign countries, Ontario, Canada, San Jose, Costa Rica and Lima, Peru.

For a complete list of all my confluence visits, click here.


Other resources

One of my favorite books is "High in Utah" by Michael R. Weibel and Dan Miller. The subtitle is "A Hiking Guide to the Tallest Peak in Each of the State's Twenty-nine Counties." It was published in 1999 by the University of Utah Press.

The mapping software I use is All Topo Maps: Utah. You can find out more about this great product at www.igage.com. I also use Street Atlas USA by DeLorme.

A few years ago I discovered a device call a GPS. I was hooked. I take mine with me almost everywhere I go. I use a Garmin GPSMAP 60C. There are three main manufacturers of personal GPS units, Garmin, Magellan and Lowrance.

If you'd like to know more about GPS technology and how it works, go to Trimble's website and click on the About GPS Technology link.

P.S. My thanks to R.O. Despain. He taught me how to prepare the maps shown here.

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