The Nebraska state highpoint sits on a pasture in the extreme southwest corner of the state, in the western panhandle within viewing distance of Colorado and Wyoming. I was here in May 1996, spending the Memorial Day weekend visiting the three state highpoints (Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma) that border Colorado. I flew into Colorado Springs, got my car and started north to Cheyenne, Wyoming. From here I went east along Interstate-80 to the town of Pine Bluff. The clouds had been big and puffy in Colorado had now turned ominous and black. The weather reports were for severe thunderstorms and possible twisters. I sat for a spell at a Subway shop in Pine Bluff, eating lunch and debating my plan.

The Nebraska state highpoint is just a rise in a field, and not that far from Pine Bluff. Barring an actual twister, I decided to go check it out. I followed a series of local roads and soon located myself at the highpoint, which is marked by a simple placque and sign-in log. It was drizzling slightly and other than that, the fog, some lightning and a steady wind, it wasn't too bad. But I didn't stick around long. From here I drove a bee-line back up to Interstate-80 and into the town of Kimball.

Fresh off a fun hike of the Dundy County highpoint to the south, I arrived near the Chase County highpoint about an hour later. Its highpoint is a rather large, impressive hill visible from quite a distance in these otherwise flat lands. The fog and mist refused to budge and all I could see was a faint phantasm rising in the horizon, but as I got closer it became readily apparent and in clear weather, is probably a pretty sight. In any case, I had a slight bit of trouble figuring out the best way to get close to this hill. The map showed some roads getting close but none of these proved to be useful. Finally after some minor experimenting I came to the junction of Chase County Roads 739 and Avenue 312 (this junction is two miles south of paved US-6, with the turn off being about 1.5 miles inside the Nebraska state line). I went south on Avenue 312 about a half-mile on a two-track, which led me through an opening in a fence line and put me on the edge of a farm field. I couldn't see any buildings and the land was hilly enough so that my vehicle was probably not visible either. Just in case, I put a note in my windshield in case anyone came upon it. There were no signs anywhere prohibiting access. I was about 1.5 miles northeast of the highpoint.

I hiked south along the edge of the field, then crossed two parallel fences running east-west. Once past the second fence I went line of sight to the southwest and started to gain the sandy, brushy hillsides of this hill complex. A set of huge powerlines helped as a navigation device. But the navigation was easy overall; my objective visible for most of the hike. The only problem was I was often forced to go up and down many little hillocks and drainages to get to my goal. I finally surmounted the bhighest hill, where I found the Lamar Benchmark in its cement base and witness post nearby. One way hiking was about 1.5 miles, maybe a little more due to some zig-zagging, and about 210 feet of net gain, maybe another 50 feet if I include the ups and downs. After a few minutes where I actually sat and relaxed, I started back, this time coming off the hill more to the north and thereby avoiding the annoying up-down aspect of the ascent. I was back to my vehicle after about an hour. No one had apparently been there so I spent some time having lunch and changing into drier clothes. Next up: Perkins County's really uninteresting highpoints.

It was about 1 in the afternoon when I completed the Chase County highpoint to the south. That, and Dundy County's little highpoint further south, were both neat little hikes among low sand hills, and actually, a bit of fun. Well, nothing of the sort here in Perkins County. This is the next county up from Chase County, heading north, and apparently the Sand Hills don't enter into this area. The highpoint of this county is a set of four flat regions all along its westernmost county road, heading north out of the town of Venango on NE-23. I passed through Venango and immediately, at the Nebraska-Colorado state line, went north on a paved road for a half mile until it bent west and headed off to Sedgwick, Colorado. Instead, I stayed north, now following a dirt road sitting smack on the state line.

The first area was reached slightly more than 6 miles later (from where the dirt road left the paved road), near Sedgwick County (CO) Road 16. This area supposedly has a benchmark called "Line", apparently sitting just inside Colorado a few feet. I tried to find it but had no luck. I stepped on the Nebraska side of the road just to be sure. The next two areas sit close by one another at about 12.2 miles, both a stone's throw east in farm fields. The last area was at about 14.8 miles, again off in a field. The rises are imperceptable and none stood out as anything special. Strictly a highpoint for completion purposes only, not something I'll tell my buddies at my old-folks' home in 40 years. Next, Keith County and some neat grassy hills near the Platte River.

It was probably about 3 p.m. in the afternoon when I drove into the town of Big Springs after coming up from the Perkins County highpoint from the south. I filled up the vehicle with gas and took a quick lunch break at a local Subway sammy shop. I'd visited seven counties thus far today, and really only had to break a sweat on three of them. The weather had been kind of a mist/fog mix all day; it couldn't decide whether it wanted to rain or not. It just sort of hung over everywhere. In any case, the Keith County highpoints weren't too far north of here. From the town I went north a little bit on US-138 to US-30, turned left, then almost immediately turned right onto a county road called Day Road, if I recall correctly. About a dozen miles to the north later, Day Road met up with US-26. I went right about a mile and crossed into Keith County. Two areas just north of the highway reach 3,900 feet and together viw for the highpoint honors. I parked along the highway near the eastern area and walked up a path to a vacant farm field and out to the edge of the bluffs. The highest parts seemed to be nearest the edges. I had to squeeze through a fence toward the end. To the northwest about a half-mile I could see the other area along a small hilly ridge. I walked back out to my vehicle and went to get to that other area.

At first I just parked due south of the area but the fencing was pretty solid and although I could have squeezed through the barbed-wire strands, I opted to explore the fence to see if there was a weak spot. I found an opening at a scant two-track road about 200 paces to the east. There was a small "no trespassing" sign near the opening, but I went in anyway. The road drops quickly into a small valley. After about 200 feet of walking, I veered left and started up the rather steep hillsides. I surmounted a small hill and could see the objective area still a few hundred yards distant. I had to descend steeply again, then ascend steeply up the proper hill to claim the other highpoint area. All went well and it was rather pretty, except in areas where people had dumped large amounts of trash as sort of an illegal dump. This is an area of hills, bluffs and breaks that overlook Lake McConaughy, which is a dammed, man-made lake on the North Platte River. The fogginess didn't allow for any views, unfortunately.

On the hike out I decided to beeline to the road, hop the fence then walk back to my vehicle instead of going to the little two-track road I came in on. I tried to literally hop the fence but got off balance and fell rather hard on the other side, conking my head on the ground. Fortunately I didn't knock myself out but I was genuinely concerned about having given myself a concussion, perhaps. Aside from a headache I seemed to be fine. Over the next few days the back of my neck and my jowl muscles all ached pretty bad, probably from taking the brunt of the fall. I still could do math problems and still wanted to do more highpoints so I guess I was okay.

Deuel County's highpoints are two hills in rolling farmland in its southwest corner about 9 miles southwest of the town of Chappell. I came to these around five in the afternoon after completing Keith County about an hour earlier. South of Chappell, I took County Road 10 west seven miles to the county line, and the junction with County Road 151. The first hill is just a short drive south on CR-151, and the road tops out very near the highest spot. I parked and made a short walk out into the field. The second hill is about an air-mile southwest. I drove around to the western side and noted the open access, but then tried the eastern side where it would be much closer. A sign near the road seemed to indicate that public access along the section road was okay. I walked west along a two track for about 0.3 mile, then walked up the hill, which sits on a public hunting parcel. The southern hill seemed to be more pronounced than the northern one to me. This was my fifth Nebraska county highpoint of the day, and ninth overall.

The day started out rather nice after my night in Sterling, Colorado. The previous day I had visited eleven county highpoints and had been mostly foggy and misty, but never rainy nor threatening. But today started out blue and very pleasant. I got moving around 7 a.m. and made the short drive north through the town of Peetz to the general location of the Cheyenne County highpoint. The highpoint sits in its southwest corner area and the easiest approach was to walk some old roads up from Colorado. I eventually worked myself to a lonely county road junction of Logan (CO) County Roads 21 and 78, which put me about six-tenths of a mile south of the Nebraska state line. I parked in a pull-off north of Road 21.

After completing Logan County in Colorado, I drove back north into Nebraska and worked my way to the town of Kimball and Interstate-80, where I went west about 20-odd miles to the Wyoming border and the town of Pine Bluffs. From here I went north on WY-215, including a 15-minute break while a long, slow train passed through the town. I took some local roads east a couple of miles to the Nebraska border, where the three candidate areas for the Banner highpoint lie.

The first two are right along the road, two small areas of the same little hill. The road north, County Road 1, tops out at these areas. I scampered up both areas, walking a bit east on each to make sure I hit any candidate bumps. The southern area is clearly higher than the northern area. Nevertheless, the entire effort cost me just 15 minutes, and I went north about 4 miles to gain the last, and biggest, area, a gentle hill amid grassy farmland.

From CR-1 I found CR-16, and I went east to where it topped out, north of the highpoint hill. A parallel row of small trees and shrubs leads up the hill. I walked the unfenced, unposted land about 0.4 mile to the top, where I looked around then returned back to my vehicle. The land belongs to the Malm family (judging by signs in the area), so I name the hill after them. It may very well be the true highpoint of the county.

From here I took some backroads through central Banner County to its county seat and only town, Harrisburg. The town only has about 60 people and just the barest hints of an economy. I blinked and missed half the town. But the backroads drive was very pretty, passing through a valley hemmed in by some fairly impressive sandstone towers and bluffs. Shortly I was back on the main highway (NE-71) and heading north to my next objective, the western Wildcat Hills in Scotts Bluff County. Banner County is somewhat famous for being the home to a number of underground missiles during the Cold War. The county is mostly farms and numbers less than a thousand people total. I would assume most of these silos have been decommissioned and filled in, but maybe a few remain.

Scotts Bluff - the city, the county and the general area - is well known for its dramatic sandstone hills and promontories as well as its history as a major stopping and staging point for the many travelers crossing the country back in the 19th century. My interest lied specifically with the highpoint, which by previous accounts seemed easy and didn't take too much time. Instead, the real treat would be the drive to the highpoint. From NE-71 a few miles south of the city of Scotts Bluff, I went west on paved Carter Canyon Road about 6 miles until its pavement gave way. The dirt continuation zigged and zagged past some homes and small ranches until it started to gain into the Wildcat Hills. Honest to gosh, I was actually driving up a steep road with lots of pretty pine trees on either side ... in Nebraska! A hidden gem, no doubt. Once on top the ridge, I went southwest past a big ranch to the highpoint area. I pulled off on a two-track and parked near an unlocked gate, just a couple hundred feet from the highpoint hill.

There are actually seven areas reaching 4,930 feet, but previous visitors had shown conclusively that only one of the hills was the true highpoint. While getting my boots on another guy drove up the road. I went to greet him, figuring he was the landowner, but he was the county surveyor out doing his rounds. He seemed pretty interested in my hobby and he even gave me an exact measurement he'd just taken at a nearby section corner, not that I could effectively use it. But he was real nice. I asked him if he knew these hills to be the county highpoint and he most certainly did. I let him go on his way and he mine, and I made the short hike up the low grass and sparse cactus hill to the top. I shimmied through a fence and walked a short bit to the highpoint cairn, which I was surprised to find, and found the register, even more surprising! I signed in, the fifth visitor this year. I hiked back to my vehicle then thought a photo would be nice, so I grabbed the camera and rehiked the short hike, snapping a photo for posterity. Back to my vehicle I took an extended break for lunch. It was just about 1 p.m. and I had plenty of time. Next up on the docket was the eastern Wildcat Hills in Morrill County.

The Wildcat Hills stretch for at least 50 miles across western Nebraska; in their wake they give Scotts Bluff County its highpoint, as well as that of neighboring Morrill County. They are very attractive sandstone bluffs, having been eroded into nice rounded shapes over the centuries, and in some cases, sharp, dramatic spires. The famous "Chimney Rock", which is a tall, narrow spire similar to those found in Monument Valley, Arizona, is located very near the Morrill highpoints. Chimney Rock served as a well-known landmark for the various wagon trains and explorers that crossed this land in the 19th century.

I arrived in the general vicinity of the Morrill County highpoints around 2 p.m. and followed a previous visitor's report to gain access to these hills. In this area, the hills are surrounded by private ranches and farmland. However, the Flying Bee Beffmaster Ranch, which owns 4,000 acres that abut and include some of the hills, allows for public access, mostly hikers and often, horseriders. In the town of McGrew on NE-92, I went south on Scotts Bluff County Road 34 south about five miles, passing intoi the northeast corner of Banner County (where CR-34 became CR-67). Shortly, I turned left onto Banner CR-42 and turned into the Ranch. I parked and sought out anyone to ask for permission. It seemed everyone was in the barn area, so I went that way, where I saw that they were vaccinating their cattle and doing rectal checks (oh boy). I got the attention of a woman, who turned out to be the wife-half of the ownership team. Her name is Louise Kinnaman (her husband is named Conrad). I asked for permission to hike into the hills and she told me about their public access policies. They charge $10 for a day permit or $7.50 for a half-day for hiking. Horses and camping costs more but I didn't check for those costs. I mentioned I was interested in the Morrill County highpoints, which lie just east of the Morrill-Banner county line. She said they didn't own that land but gave me the name and number of the woman who does. I paid Louise my money, signed a waiver, got some brochures, called the other lady and got her okay, and got a move-on! From the ranch headquarters I went east a half-mile then south a half-mile to a cabin and campground area, the entryway, so to speak, into the backcountry.

At the end of the main road near the camp area, there is a cattle grate and a good two-track that leads further into the hills. I drove in about a mile and parked at a fence-line and gate. It was close to 3 p.m. when I actually started hiking. They provide a basic map of trails but it is difficult to read. My Morrill highpoint map did not have my starting point on it, so for the first bit, I was hiking totally by dead reckoning. All I knew was the highpoints were southeast of my position. I crossed the fence and walked another 3/4 mile to where the road dipped into a gully. Here, I turned right. The main road, called Road 1 on the map, goes right, then gains very steeply up out of the drainage and pretty much a straight-shot up the hills to the range crest. However, it leads away from the Morrill highpoints, so instead I went left on a minor road that quickly disappeared into knee-high grasses. I made some educated guesses and quickly found myself on a good cow-path that went southeasterly, although it meandered a bit. Hiking at a good pace, I finally got high enough in the range that I left the path and hiked up a few feet of steep hillside to attain the range crest, about 1.5 miles from my vehicle, I would guess. I GPS'd my position and I was still a good mile west of the closest highpoints (Morrill's highpoints are clumped in two areas: two western areas near the county line, and seven more a mile east). After a rest I centered myself on the ridge and followed a very old road that seemed to run the top of this hill complex fairly faithfully.

The scenery on top of these hills is utterly gorgeous. It is endless gently rolling hills that are mostly open, dotted with little stands of trees including some pine, and a carpet of low grass and occasional cactus. I walked east and in about 30 minutes, after going up and down all sorts of little hillocks, verified my position as being very near the western two highpoint areas. At the very least, I could place myself on my map. The larger area of the two western areas is clearly higher than its northern neighbor. After surmounting this hillock, I continued east to the other seven areas, all clumped close by one another. After another 20-30 minutes I was in the eastern areas, where I surmounted about four very promising hilltops, and sighted to the nearby ones to be sure. The second-most eastern area seemed to be the highest to me. In any case, I was satisfied with my visit and started my return. Two things were motivating me: some unsettled weather dropping rain and virga way to my west, and the discovery upon reading their brochure that I should not have parked my vehicle where I had.

I hiked quickly and covered the two miles back to my descent trail in about another 35 minutes, then descended via my nifty cowpath and down onto the ranchlands below, back to my vehicle. The total hike covered about 7 miles round trip with about 600 feet of net gain, but easily another 300-400 feet when all ups and downs were figured into it. I had not expected such a long hike and when I returned to my vehicle around 6 p.m., I was pretty bushed. I drove out without incident, feeling kind of bad for parking where I did, then drove on to Alliance where I took a hotel for the night. I was pretty tired! Today I had hit five highpoints but had hiked almost 16 miles in the process.

I name these hills as my favorite highpoint for this trip, and by far, the prettiest hike in my Nebraska run. These are some spectacular hills, with beautiful views of them and of the countryside. If I had to do it again, I would arrange to camp at their campground the previous night, then hike from there in the morning when shadows and lighting are at their best. Louise Kinnaman was very nice, and I highly recommend a visit to their ranch and to these hills.

It was dusk when I egressed back to my truck, and I drove from here to the town of Alliance, where I stayed in another hotel for the night.

I started the day in Alliance, a relatively big city (10,000 people) for these wide-open parts. I stayed at the Super-8 the previous night, and the girl who checked me in admitted it was just her second day and that she didn't know all the discounts that they offered or honored (e.g. triple A). Me, in a tired but joking mood, asked if she knew about the 'half-off deal for Arizona residents'. She just said she wasn't sure, it was her second day, and apologized. I didn't pursue the issue, but I didn't get my triple A discount either. Oh well. Anyway, today was my big "Sand Hills" day! Just in case you don't know what I am talking about, the Sand Hills is one of the great natural geophysiological features of the United States: the largest natural sand dune system in the country, exceeding anything that our deserts contain and superceeded only by a few other places in the world (obvious places like the Sahara). The Sand Hills are not a desert; the land is covered in a thicket of low, tough grasses, small cactus and various little shrubs that lock the sand in place. Its origin is obviously glacial, but also the result of eons of wind-borne sand and dust settling the region from places throughout North America. The Sand Hills cover a few thousand square miles in West-Central Nebraska and include swaths of land that extend into Colorado as well. From a distance the Sand Hills look like any other hill system, but with some distinct differences: their shapes are more as one would expect with dunes, and there are literally hundreds of thousands of little sand hillock dunes, as far as the eye can see in some places. It's an unpopulated place, with ranching being the only realistic use of these lands. Farming has been tried but always fails in the nutrient-poor sand. The vast Ogallala aquifer, the largest in the nation, sits underneath the Sand Hills.

Alliance is actually not within the Sand Hills; it sits on the fringe on a flat stretch of land where farming does manage to survive, but from the east end of Alliance, one can see the distinct green dunes rising out of the horizon, like waves on a sea. I drove east along NE-2, and about seven miles later, the highway made a gentle right dogleg and descended a bit; in that one quick instant I went from flat farm land to undulating Sand Hills country. The change-over was that sudden! On the agenda today was the highpoints for three counties: Garden, Grant and Sheridan, all of which are bunched nearby one another (as are the highpoints of Cherry and Arthur Counties, which I opted to skip due to time and access concerns). I drove about 45 miles along NE-2 from Alliance to get to the Sheridan-Grant county line, then another few hundred feet to the first right turn at a small paved road marked by a big sign for the Rex Ranch. I turned right and went south on this road toward my first objectives, the two hills of equal height that tie for the Garden County county honors. I should note here that at this junction, the Grant County apex sits just north of the highway; I chose to get this one the way out.

The road is paved but only about 8 feet wide; just wide enough for one vehicle. The pavement wasn't the best either and it was a rather bumpy 5 mile drive south and west toward the first of the two hills. None of the hills have names; Alkali Lake is the biggest lake in the immediate area and about equidistant between the two highpoint hills. This hill sits just south of Longfellow Lake as seen on the map. From the paved road, I turned right onto a sandy two-track road, passing a wire crumple gate to get in, and went 1.4 miles west along this road, which turned out to be pretty solid (but had a high center, which I scraped with my vehicle's underside a few times). I came to a 'gate' at a fence line, a single wire strand spanning the opening. I could see my objective about a mile distant to the southwest. I used my GPS to verify my position, and got started hiking. There were no signs at any point about restricted access, but to be sure I left a note in my vehicle just in case anyone came upon it. I started in about 8 a.m. in cool, mostly clear weather.

I walked southwest along the sandy road that quickly degenerated into soft sand. Walking was slow but easy. After about 15 minutes I came to another fence line, putting me due north of the hill. Unfortunately a boggy stream/marsh feeding Longfellow Lake blocked my way. Without exploring my options, I decided to just suck it up and walk through the shin-high muck. It was only about 25 feet of it but I soaked my boots, socks and pants. I crossed another fence and spooked a small herd of cattle. They took off one way and I obliged them by walking the other way... then, still spooked and still full of cow-stupidity, ran 'away' from me by coming my way! So I stopped until they stopped, zigged hoping they would zag, but everytime, they'd scamper toward me. Finally they got a clue and went to an area I wasn't heading to. Damn cows are stupid; no wonder we eat them. They aren't useful for much else, for sure. Anywho, I was now at the base of the hill. The climbing was short and sometimes a bit steep, and seemed to take longer than at first planned, but soon enough I topped out and walked the small summit area, taking in the view of all the hills surrounding me. I also took this opportunity to look at the lake/marsh I crossed, and saw that if I went west some more I could probably avoid the wettest of the muck.

The hike down went quick and I did manage to stay dry on the hike out. The round trip mileage was about 2.5 which includes some indirect routing, and about an hour to gain the hill, with about a 300-foot net gain. I got back to my vehicle and changed into drier clothes and socks, and tied my boots to the bike-rack hoping they would dry fast while I was driving. It was a fast, enjoyable easy hike, and I was treated to numerous birds including hawks, geese, ducks and cranes. I drove out to the main road and went south 6 miles to the southern area. The pavement gave way near a ranch home but the road was solid.

The southern hill is right along the road with far easier access. I parked along the road due south of the highest point and simply scampered up the very steep hillside, and pretty much right to the top. Two or three little points on the top served as likely candidates and I visited all the areas, then hiked out. On the hiked down I had a fun time 'sand skiing' on the hillside, but also trying to avoid the snakes that probably live everywhere in this area. This hike took about 35 minutes and covered less than a mile round trip; together I put the stats at about 3.25 miles and almost 500 feet of net gain. I drove back out to the main highway and got myself situated for the Grant County hike.

It was about 10 a.m. when I finished off the two hills that comprised the Garden County highpoint. I drove back out of the hinterlands and parked near a utility hut just a few feet off of highway NE-2. Directly across the way was the highpoint for Grant County, a hill/ridge topped with a few radio antennae. There are about 8 or 9 separate areas that reach 4,200 feet on top of this hill inside Grant County, but previous visitors suggested the hill with the short tower may be the highest. With that in mind, I chose to beeline toward that hill first and assess from there.

I crossed the highway, then shimmied under a fence, then ... carefully downclimed a steep sand bank that led to two pair of train tracks. These tracks see regular use, as they parallel NE-2 and on my drive in this morning I'd seen some trains hauling coal ore rumbling along. As I descended I could hear a train whistle so they were close by, apparently. But it only took me about 10 seconds to cross both tracks, and that was that. I upclimbed the other sand bank, shimmied under yet another fence, and began the relaxing portion of the hike.

The easiest route just seemed to lead me up to a noticeable hill a bit east of the tall radio tower and west of the short one. Once on top of this hill it was plainly obvious I was higher than the hill with the tall tower but lower than the hill with the short tower. I followed a gravel road a little ways and walked up to the short tower's hill, where I found the "Ashby" benchmark in concrete sitting nearby the little hut and tower. No doubt about it, I was higher than the other nearby hills. After a few minutes of looking at other hills, I walked down, pretty much retracing my steps. The round trip covered about 2 miles, gained about 250 feet and took less than an hour. From here I headed north and west to the Sheridan County highpoint.

After descending the Grant County highpoint, I drove back west along NE-2 to the town of Ellsworth and the junction of highway NE-27. Ellsworth is a tiny town of about two dozen people but its history is rich, as it was founded as the original "company town" for the vast Spade Ranch in the late 19th century. The Spade Ranch was famous, and somewhat infamous, for its vast land holdings, much of which was simply land belonging to the Federal Government and fenced in illegally by the ranch owners. President Teddy Roosevelt helped put an end to this behavior during his presidency, forcing the ranch to give up the land it did not own. Nevertheless, the Spade Ranch still exists in central Sheridan County and continues to thrive. In Ellsworth there is just a few homes, a nice historical marker (where I got most of this information), and an old general store that dates from the late 19th century that still functions, today as a tourist draw as well as supplying the locals with their basics. There's also a bowling alley in town, I have read.

After my very brief tour of Ellsworth I headed north along NE-27 to a point where the Sheridan highpoint, a big hill called Morton Hill, was visible, roughly 16 miles north of Ellsworth. I pulled off at a point where the highway crested a small rise, due east of the highpoint hill. It was about noon and the weather was holding steady: mostly clear, breezy, generally nice. I walked west up the slope and crossed through a barbed-wire fence, then disappeared over a small hump, and pretty much hiked due west, following an east-west fence line. After gaining for a short bit I made a long gentle drop before ascending again, coming to another north-south fence line. Here I decided to scoot to the north side of the east-west fence, which turned out to be wise since there was a lot of cattle on the south side of said fence. At first they all just watched me then a few started to moo. Often cattle just watch but these guys seemed to get kind of skittish. I deliberately walked apart from the east-west fence to put distance between me and them, but they still got all wound up. In any case, this was just a minor problem. No one seemed to be around and I figured I was fine.

I chose to hike along this east-west fence for the full mile-plus until it petered out west of the highpoint summit. This was mainly due to not wanting to hike amid the cattle but also because it worked well as a handy navigation item. The plan was to get to where this fence ended, which, according to the map, should put me just a few feet northwest of the highpoint hillock. Although obvious on the map, in the field there were endless little hillocks and endless up and down hiking. A previous report had indicated that the highpoint won't be obvious until the very end. With that I just continued on my way, eventually leaving the main herd of interested cattle behind. After about 30 minutes of energetic hiking I was nearing the west edge of this big hill. The fence actually diagonalled to the southwest first for awhile before turning true south. I followed this fence dutifully, at one point descended very steeply into a sharp draw then ascending back out of it (there were no alternative options). Finally, sure enough, I was on top a small bump where I could see the obvious highpoint, just a hundred feet of so away. I squeezed through the fence and made a quick jog to the top. I didn't stay long, jogging right back down. On the hike out I re-spooked the cattle, and once past them, I took a rest amid the grass near a township section marker just sticking out of the ground. Then, shortly, back to my vehicle.

This hike proved to be a little more effort than originally planned. Round trip hiking was nearly 3.5 miles with a net gain of about 300 feet but close to 500 gross feet when the drops and gains are figured into it. It was an enjoyable hike that took me about 75 minutes; it was a bit past 1 p.m. when I got back to my vehicle. So far today I'd hiked four hills gaining three counties, with a total hiking of about 9 miles, so I was reasonably tired. Fortunately I had a couple of easy highpoints for later in the day. But first, I doubled back into Alliance for lunch, a call to my wife, and a visit to Carhenge.

After a hefty first-half of the day where I'd visited three county highpoints (and hiked four hills in the process) in the Sand Hills, with Morton Hill in Sheridan County being my most recent, I headed north and west towards South Dakota, but along the way I had two fairly easy highpoints to nab, a welcome respite from the tiring I had given myself so far today.

Box Butte's highpoint is along its western boundary just south of highway NE-71. It's nothing more than a rise in the road in farmland. I drove to the two candidate areas, walked them both for a few moments, and called it good. Certainly, not very much, but it helped pad my count. From here I went north and visited the nearby Dawes County highpoint.

The name of this highpoint is based on the nearby "Posvar" Benchmark, which seems to be at the top of a very unobvious hill centered in adjoining Sioux County. I have no idea if Posvar is a name, or maybe just code for something like "Positive Variance". Who cares.

After a quickie visit to the Box Butte County highpoint, I drove north into Dawes County via NE-71 and NE-2, passing by the tiny community of Marsland. Shortly after passing the county line I got onto some dirt roads heading west and north via River Road and Diehl Road to West Belmont Road. At the Dawes - Sioux County line I went north on an unnamed road into a pleasurable little set of hills with stands of pine. The highpoint is a mile up this road, where the road tops out near an official-looking antenna complex. I walked east past a fence and jogged up a small hill to the top where a telephone pole sat dead center on the top. Although there are five candidate areas, this area is undoubtedly the highest. A small cairn was also at the highpoint.