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This set of six counties is the second half of a batch that I did over a week in March 2002. Most of the rest were down in the Permian Pasin - Pecos River region, in which I was joined by Bob Martin. As for these, Bob had done them already (except for Stonewall County), while I had planned to do these a year before but didn't due to time and a lack of motivation. It didn't take long to knock this set of six out, although a couple proved to require more effort than originally planned.
For the first half of the trip you can read about it at this link.
After Bob Martin and I did the Glasscock County highpoint, he drove me into Big Spring so I could go get my truck, where I was having a flat tire patched after I caught a nail in it the previous night. We agreed to meet up in the town of Aspermont a couple hours later, about a 100-mile drive. During these trips we always agreed to meet at the first "nice-looking" gas station, and in these towns, there usually is just one or two. Every small town in Texas has either a T&C or an Allsup's. Sure enough, we found one another at the Aspermont T&C on the south end of town at about 2 p.m. The weather had warmed up pretty good- almost in the 90s!
On the agenda was the Stonewall County highpoint, an impressively large (for this part of Texas) and isolated range located in the southwest part of the county called the Double Mountains, for obvious reasons (see the photo). It appears to have been one long mesa that over the years eroded into about 2-3 distinct parts, but there are no other similar mesas or mountains anywhere as far as the eye can see. I'm not sure what the geological explanation for these peaks is. In any case, Bob and I drove in Bob's truck again, taking a paved route (FM-2211) about 10 miles west and a series of good dirt roads another 5-6 miles south toward the base of the peaks. We had to pass through 2 gates. From below we could see radio towers on top and a steep road cut into the side... rather unattractive, but at least it offer a route to the top.
The road obviously gets use and is in okay shape, but it is very steep and we decided to hike it anyway. We simply followed the road as it snaked up the north side, made one switchback, then ended at some small buildings on top. In the heat, we went very slow, taking our time and watching for the loose pebbles. Nevertheless, it only took about a half-hour to make the mile-plus hike and about 500 feet of gain. The highpoint is marked by a USGS benchmark at the east end of the top, with two witness markers. A rocky promontory nearby allowed for some incredible views. The land is truly flat as far as the eye can see, making this isolated range a true anomaly. We ate lunch then made our way down, arriving back to Bob's truck for a total round trip of slightly over an hour. We drove back into Aspermont, where we parted ways. It had been a fruitful three days of highpoints with Bob, but now he wanted to head up toward Dallas while I went north then west toward Lubbock. My thanks to Bob!
While in Aspermont, I got to wondering how many of the locals have ever hiked up the Double Mountains. My guess is probably around zero. The town itself is pretty typical small-town Texas.
From Aspermont I drove through Guthrie in King County up US-83, past the Cottle county line sign to FM-452, a small paved route that went west about 4 miles to Delwin, which appeared abandoned. From here I went up FM-2278 another mile and a half to County Road 266, which is dirt. West on 266 for a mile, then south briefly to an oil-lease road, which was gated, as usual. It was about 4:30 p.m.
I started in on the dirt/sand road which trended west-southwest, pretty much a direct bearing into the late afternoon sun. At first the road was okay, mostly sandy but traction was pretty good. In less than a mile I came upon some oil storage tanks, and off to the west I could see the low rise of sandy hills which was my destination. After these oil tanks the road degenerated into soft sand which made for very difficult walking. I used the sun as a bearing device, plus my maps, too. The road made a sharp northward turn at just over a mile, but I opted to continue cross-country through the gray scrub for two reasons: I would meet up with the same road later on, and I would save myself the hassle of walking in soft sand. The scrub was about knee-high but thick... fortunately cattle and game trails helped here and there. In short time I came out on to the main road again, after it had made another sharp southwesterly turn. So far, it was matching perfectly with my topo map, which was good news.
I continued up this miserable road. The sand was brutal to walk through, but the brush was just as troublesome, so I did my best and eventually followed the road up as it crested a small rise, again perfectly in line with the map. From here, I left the road and traveled cross-country about 200 feet to an obvious sandy hillock, which was mostly bare and strewn about with old wooden planks. The highpoint area is nearby the Swenson Benchmark, but I didn't seek out the actual benchmark disk. I walked the immediate area then turned around and started the laborious grind out. I followed the road to about the point where I came to it from my cross-country bit. Tired of the road, I went back into the brush and hiked by line-of-sight back to the oil tanks, which served as excellent bearing devices. I eventually met up with the dreaded road and walked out back to my truck, a total 4 mile hike with about 230 feet of gain and about 1.5 hours of hiking. Not one of my more fun highpoints. With the remaining daylight I headed south to take care of King County.
King County is the second least populated county in the United States at about 350 people (Loving County, also in Texas, has the fewest at about 70). The low numbers are directly attributable to the fact that the county is essentially the domain of a handful of enormous ranches, the most famous being the 6666 ("Four-Sixes") Ranch. The county seat of Guthrie is located in the dead-center of the county, and itself only has about 160 people. But as far as tiny towns go, Guthrie is quite interesting. First of all, the 6666 Ranch headquarters and outbuildings, including an enormous stone mansion housing the foreman and his family, sit grandly on a hill looking out over the town. This is best viewed coming into town from the north. One gets the impression that the 6666 is the archetypical Texas ranch, the kind Hollywood has immortalized. I wouldn't be surprised if the ranch owners drove a 30-foot limousine with steer horns on the grille. Anyway, Guthrie itself is essentially a company town: many ranch employees live in company-owned homes in town, and the town is surprisingly clean and tidy. Even the Texaco station is housed in a nice stone building. The 6666 logo is everywhere, and there is a nice stone monument to G. P. Humphreys, one of the Ranch's significant foremen, just south of town along US-83, with picnic tables nearby. With the entire county basically locked up behind ranch fencing, it is fortunate that the county highpoint is located along one of the few publicly-accessible side roads in the county, near the town of Dumont. I came into King County after having a go at the Cottle county highpoint to the north.
After Cottle County was successfully completed, I came back south into King county. It was very late in the afternoon so I went pretty quick toward the tiny town of Dumont, population 50, King County's only other town, on the county's northwestern corner (just a tad south of the actual corner). The highpoint was near some dirt county roads south of Dumont. With very little daylight left, I hoped that the roads and the map agreed so I wouldn't have to waste time figuring out my route. Fortunately, the map and the actual roads were accurate; about 5 miles of driving brought me to an unfenced pasture just a few hundred yards north of the highpoint, a distinct little hill straddling the King/Dickens County line. I didn't waste time: I jogged to the gentle top, made a big loop to ensure I did it properly, and jogged back, staying clear of a couple grazing cows. Total time was about 10 minutes and about a half-mile hiking. I snapped a quick photo then drove out to the paved highway, just as dark settled in for the night. I drove to the town of Matador and stayed in a hotel, my first in 3 nights. The shower felt wonderful!
This was the first of a series of flat farming county highpoints in and around Lubbock that I did today. Last year I had intended to do these but decided to cut a section out due to time. I had to go to Lubbock anyway so getting these counties would be easy.
First on the docket was Dickens county. I left my hotel in Matador and drove about 20 miles west and south via FM-684 and FM-28 to Crosby County Road 116 a little over a mile south of the Floyd-Crosby county line. From here I followed section roads north and east a total of about two miles to a corner of two fence lines, crossing the Crosby-Dickens county line, putting me inside Dickens county. This was farm country, but no crops were growing at the moment. As I got out, I noticed a vehicle driving up from the south, so I waited by my truck and met with the driver, who was also the landowner. He was doing his usual rounds and came out to check me out. I showed him my map and he didn't seem to have a problem with me hiking but wondered why I'd want to in the first place. He also pointed out (correctly) that I was about a quarter-mile east of the county line, and showed me where the "line" was, at the end of a series of electrical poles. A spot elevation of 3037 feet near the road is one highpoint candidate. The "highpoint", such as it is, is just a 3,035-foot contour covering about 200 acres, and it is totally flat. I walked briefly north in the adjacent field, but nothing stood out as higher, and simple level-sighting didn't help either.
On the drive out I saw two feral pigs in a wire-mesh trap along side the road, patiently waiting for someone to set them free or do whatever it is they do with wild pigs out here.
After my visit Dickens County, I continued west on FM-193 about 20 miles to FM-378 in northwest Crosby County, then followed a series of dirt county roads (CR-116, 105 and 106) to just below the small hill right at the northwest corner of Crosby county. The topo map shows this area to have numerous shallow lake beds and ringed by small ridges, which looked to me like the remnants of glaciation from the ice-age.
The Crosby County highpoint follows a hike up a path between two fields which appeared to be right at the Crosby-Lubbock county line. I walked north about a quarter-mile to the top of the elongated hill, and walked around to make a good effort at finding the highpoint. Not much to this one, but a nice little walk. It was starting to get windy, just like last year at this time in this area.
I made the 30 miles drive to try for Floyd County's highpoint, but it turned out to be in a plowed farm field with no easy access other than walking out into soft plowed dirt, so I passed on it and went to get Hale County, another 30 or so miles in increasing wind.
Hale county's highpoint is a tiny section of 3,620-foot contour in its extreme northwest corner. I accessed it from TX-194 northwest out of Plainview and FM-2881 out of Edmonson. This is farm country. I took a couple of dirt roads and came to the highpoint from the north, then took a sketchy road east about 500 feet, putting me within this contour... I'm pretty sure. In heavy wind and blowing dust, I literally opened my door, stuck my foot out, and called it good. The drive out was highlighted by a bloated dead cow along the side of the paved highway. From here I went into Lubbock to get a new set of front tires after my flat (I needed a better set anyway), got a nice lunch, then drove south a lot more to get Crockett County before my long drive back home.
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(c) 2002, 2007 Scott Surgent. For entertainment purposes only. This report is not meant to replace maps, compass, gps and other common sense hiking/navigation items. Neither I nor the webhost can be held responsible for unfortunate situations that may arise based on these trip reports. Conditions (physical and legal) change over time! Some of these hikes are major mountaineering or backpacking endeavors that require skill, proper gear, proper fitness and general experience. |