2015-03-05 45 9

Location

On crop land just south of Vigliano, which is just east of Milano.

Participants

Thomcat

Plans

Early morning visit, assuming the bus schedule can be worked out. May visit the eastern end of the M3 line on Wednesday to explore those options.

Expedition

Wednesday night I went for a quick scoping expedition, heading down to the San Donato station at the end of the M2 line. The ticket and inquiries window was closed, but I could see where I would need to catch the bus. A 48 hour bus pass can be quite useful! Unfortunately, I was caught by a cloud burst on the way home, just when I stopped at a local Pizzeria.

Thursday morning broke bright, sunny and clear - amazing how a little cloudburst can clear the air! I took first a local bus, then metro to the same spot I was the previous night. The cashier at the ticket window helpfully pointed out to me (and his English was better than my Italian) that I should take the 8:05 bus, a local which stopped at my desired location.

This bus ride was relatively quick, as most of the traffic was coming into the city for an ordinary work day. So quick, in fact, that once I realized I would need a stop we were already upon it! I signaled anyhow and took the next stop, half a kilometer further away. No matter - this hash point could be approached from the east as well as from the west.

Crossing the road, I entered the field east of the location, which contained the remains of harvested corn. Heading west, I then came to an irrigation ditch, with a helpful crossing point (a sluice gate for controlling the flow). Crossing that, I entered the larger field which contained the hashpoint.

This field was turned earth, not planted, but ready. Slightly muddy due to last night's rainfall, but nothing I couldn't hike through. I kept to the edge until I reached the north-south level, then headed straight west. The geohashpoint was found easily, with a small hashdance on the muddy earth required for best accuracy. I snapped a few more pictures and continued west, to join the tractor track and eventually the road.

I found the bus back to Milano easily, but the trip back took three times as long. Apparently the commute doesn't end at 9 am. While on the bus I contemplated various photographs and sent a final message to the wiki...