2009-07-16 48 7

Thu 16 Jul 2009 in 48,7: 48.0361713, 7.8285036 geohashing.info google osm bing/os kml crox

Expedition of Konrada

A hashpoint within Freiburg on a sunny day -- going there was mandatory for a cherry-picking lazybone like yours truly. On the map, I saw that it was conveniently located in the forest along Markwaldstraße (which connects the Hochdorf industrial area with the industrial area at the small airport). Should be easy to reach, I thought, twenty-four dashes of road marking north of the bridge, then four trees' worth into the forest to the right. So I packed my bike (the recumbent bike this time) and dashed off at half past six.

The forest in that part of Freiburg is rather uniform, just like the forest in my first expedition. However, since I had once lived nearby for two years, I told myself, trust me, I know my way. And yes, I reached the bridge and counted the dashes (conveniently ignoring that the road had four lanes instead of the expected two), and when I reached twenty-four, I knew where I was: along the bypass, close to the exit for my former home. Wrong!

A few precious minutes later (I had an appointment at eight, so the schedule was tight already), I found the right bridge and the Markwaldstraße, turned onto the mandatory bike path alongside the road, and when I reached the twenty-fourth dash, the fence which was put up to keep deer and bonnet apart also separated me from the hashpoint.

I could have turned around, crossed the bridge, parked my bike and walked twenty-four road dashes through the underwood, but instead I declared failure and rode my bike to the Moosweiher, a nearby quarry pond. I dedicated five minutes to a relaxing bath in the mostly clear water (except for some chunky algae) and went home to reach my appointment.

Achievements

• Cherry-picker's badge (silver) for only ever having attempting hashpoints within 15km of my home
• Consolation prize for at least having taken a bath in a lake
• Fox tapeworm awareness badge for finding wild strawberries and not eating them

• Photo Gallery
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  There, behind the fence and trees.

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  Not reached, no stupid grin. Have a stupid frown instead.

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  Excerpt from the rectilinear grid of forest roads

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  Wild strawberries!

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  Moosweiher! Have a bath, you've got two minutes