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Texas County Highpoints, November 2000
Carson • Oldham • Moore • Sherman • Hansford • Hutchinson • Lipscomb • |
Dates Visited
Distance
Time
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I spent the Veteran's Day weekend of 2000 touring the northern panhandle of Texas, visiting as many county highpoints as possible. The natural question is, "why?". I don't have a good answer for you. The plane ticket was cheap, so was the rental car, and I was looking for something to do. The Plains kind of fascinate me, and despite the monotony of the flat country up here, there are still things to see. The hills, breaks and canyons fronting the Canadian River (which spans the state up here, west to east) are interesting. My trip began with a flight into Amarillo, arriving the 10th in the mid-afternoon.
The first highpoint took less than thirty minutes once I left the Amarillo airport. It's the super-simple highpoint of nearby Carson County, located at the junctions of FM-683 and FM-293, in the northwest corner of the county. I drove to the junction, then got out to do some short walks and "inspections" of the area. Nothing was obviously higher than the rest. I probably spent 15 minutes overall driving and walking in the immediate area. One down!
The "highlight" of this highpoint is its location near the USAEC Pantex Plant, where bombs are built and stored for military use.
Sufficiently amused, I got myself onto Interstate-40 and motored west a ways to the little town of Wildorado, placing me near the Potter County highpoint areas. However, I immediately abandoned this attempt when I hit some very muddy roads, so I got back on I-40 and went west some more to the tinier outpost of Gruhlkey. (I would succeed on the Potter County highpoints in 2002, click here for the details.)
Gruhlkey is just an exit, a couple gas stops and a railroad siding, located just north of some moderate cliffs that form the northern border of the Llano Estacado (Staked Plains). My objective was the highpoint of Oldham County, a small rise atop these cliffs near the USGS benchmark "Harwell".
I followed FM-2858 south from the interstate, following the many bends for a total of about ten miles. The pavement had given away to hard-pack dirt many miles back, and atop the Llano Estacado Plateau, it was utterly flat and vacant. No one around, no sign of vehicles or any activity at all. I had crossed into Deaf Smith County at some point, and I parked at a bend in the road, about a half-mile south of the highpoint, now due north of my position.
I followed a fence-line north about 0.3 mile, then carefully hopped it to get into open pastureland, walking northwest by sight toward the obvious (but very gentle) hill marking the highpoint. Actually, it was kind of nice. I was now near the cliffs and the views down into the broad basins below were very pretty. You see things from up here you wouldn't see while driving the interstate.
The walk back went without event, and I was gone from my car just over a half-hour. I was about an hour west of Amarillo, and it was getting late in the day, so I decided to return to the city and crash at a Motel-6. The first day had gone well, with two successes.
Today was going to be a long day, so I got an early start, leaving my hotel at 5 a.m. in the pre-dawn blackness. I went north on US-287 about 45 miles to the town of Dumas, inside Moore County. Some rain fell along the way, and the morning started out cold and misty.
The highpoint of Moore County is a single 3,825-foot region on the west county line. The challenge here was navigating the gridwork of county roads. I followed County Roads "I", "B" and "G" in that order, roughly a total of eleven miles from US-287, placing myself at the western county line. Here, I went south a mile on County Line Road to an un-marked road (Road "H" if you go by the grid system). The highpoint is right here, with "H" going right over the top ... "H" for highpoint ... clever! I didn't spend much time, just walking both sides of the road to count it as done. It was very early still, the sun barely coloring the sky a deep purple. It was misty, cold and quiet, kind of spooky being way out here all by my lonesome.
I retraced my route and got back to US-287, and proceeded north some more, taking a pee and food-break in the town of Stratford.
The highpoint of Sherman County is near the town of Kerrick, on the Texas-Oklahoma border. From Straftford I aimed for Kerrick, but left the main highway at County Road 2, following it due north for 1.4 miles, where I parked.
There are two separate 3,805-foot regions vieing for Sherman County honors, both west of County Road 2. There was no fencing nor prohibitive signs, and the whole area looked unused. Two utility poles and an abandoned house are the only signs of civilization out here. I walked west through the clumpy grasses, using the poles as reference to keep me on the correct bearing. The first area sits somewhere in here, but honestly, I could sense no rise.
I walked now until the house was to my southeast. The map showed this house as a little dot, with the highpoint region to its northwest. Here, the rise was more noticeable, so I walked it until I felt satisfied. Not a bad little hike; certainly, more work than I was expecting. The morning was still young and the weather the same: cold and misty.
Hansford County was next on the agenda, located east of Sherman County. I followed TX-15 until I came up some breaks fronting the Coldwater Creek system, topping out near some small hills near FM-1573. Now it was just a matter of figuring out how to handle the multiple highpoint areas comprising "the" highpoint. These were spread out over many miles, and the maps were not consistent in showing all contours. In all, this county would prove to be the biggest bugger of them all, and I would actually return in 2002 to re-do a couple other areas just to be sure.
Nine of the ten areas are sort-of clumped near the TX-15 & FM-1573 junction. One area is huge and even has a dashed intervening contour (measuring 3,375+ feet) suggesting this may be a top contender for the highpoint. A couple smaller areas are right off the main highway, so I scampered up these and viewed to some other nearby areas. Then I went south to the really big area, which covers about 1.5 square miles of land. The map shows a single 3,378-foot spot elevation. I visited it, then I drove whatever roads I could and got out and inspected bumps and ridges whenever I felt it wise to do so. The fields were plowed and nothing out there looked as high as some of the soft rises alongside the road.
Two other small 3,375-foot regions are south a bit, and neither of these looked like anything special. One area right along the highway is extremely small, and the flatness of the land again makes it unlikely to reach 3,378 feet. Another 3,375-foot contour is about a mile west along the county line, with similar observations. But because it's marked as 3,375 feet, there is a non-trivial chance that it might hold the highpoint. This area should definitely be visited.
The last area I did not visit. It is about 12-15 miles south along the county line on the "Capps Switch SE" topo, which marks off in 10-foot intervals. A single 3,370-foot contour encompasses about an eighth of a square mile. On the Hanna's Draw West topo, the continuation of the same 3,370-foot contour is shown, and a 3,375-foot contour outside the county tending away from the Hansford county line. For this reason I conclude that this 3,370-foot area on the Capps Switch SE map very likely does not reach 3,375 feet.
May 29, 2002: I went back to revisit this county while in the area. I visited the southernmost area, a single 3,370-foot contour along FM-520 at the Sherman-Hansford county line. I also revisited a 3,375-foot contour area about 10 miles to the north, also straddling the county line. I made a half-mile walk north up along a fence line and got within the contour. There's no way of telling whether the highpoint is in here or the big one to the northwest. In summary, I'd estimate the 3,378-foot spot elevation probably marks the highpoint, or very close to it, with a 95%+ likelihood, with the other 3,375-foot contour (mentioned two paragraphs above) having a 5% chance at best of holding the highpoint. The other areas can be ignored (though most are easily visited).
After doing battle with the Hansford County highpoint conundrum, I drove south in variably cloudy, misty and occasionally sunny (but always cold) weather into Moore County and east a bit toward the Hutchinson County boundary. I got onto southbound FM-1060, which runs parallel to the county line, then found Road K near a pair of large grain silos. Shortly, I crossed into Hutchinson County near a house and some ranch-type buildings. No cars were around and it didn't look like anyone was home. There was no county line sign here so I gauged the boundary from the map (which showed the buildings), and parked where convenient.
A smallish region of 3,380 feet extends into Hutchinson County from the west, encompassing the buildings and the road. All I needed to do was walk around a bit. There were no noticeable bumps to check out, just flatness. There is another 3,380-foot contour that just nicks the county boundary tangentially about 0.7 mile to the north. I chose not to visit that point (see the map and you'll see why). Back in the car I proceeded east into Ochiltree County, where I ran into quite a bit of mud. That one I'd pass on this trip, but complete in 2002.
With Ochiltree a no-go, I proceeded toward Lipscomb County, the northeasternmost county in the north Texas panhandle. It was mid-morning but cold and foggy again. I followed US-83 east for 30 miles to TX-23, then north a couple miles to Locust Grove Road, where I parked and started my search for the Lipscomb highpoint(s).
The highpoint in these flat lands is within a single large 2,880-foot contour, roughly centered at Locust Grove Road and TX-23. The overall relief is very slight, but I could tell that where I was at the corner was a tad higher than points a few dozen feet off, judging by the undulations of fence lines. The USGS benchmark "Liberty" is found somewhere in here. Listed as 2,892 feet, it's probably at or near the actual highest point. I couldn't find the benchmark but I walked the immediate region for a few minutes anyway. My nose and cheeks definitely felt the chill.
Driving back south on TX-23 I stopped about a half-mile later and inspected a field to my right (west). Some bumps and undulations attracted my attention: they were still within the 2,880-foot contour so I thought I'd check them out. There was no fencing to stop me and the field was obviously not in use. Some ridges rose about a foot higher than the ground, but they seemed to orderly and suggested they may have been man-made from some time in the past. In any case, I spent a few minutes checking the area out, then got back into the car and drove on into the town of Canadian for a much needed gas and food stop. Next up on the docket was the Hemphill and Wheeler County two-fer spot.
The highpoint area for these two counties is along FM-1268 where it crosses the Roberts-Hemphill county line, about eight air-miles southeast of the city of Miami. A 3,000-foot contour wiggles across a large area in the extreme southwest area of Hemphill county, and just nicks the extreme northwest corner of Wheeler County. A spot elevation of 3,005 feet is listed right at the Roberts-Hemphill county line along the highway. I took the listed 3,005 spot elevation as the most probable location for the Hemphill County highpoint. Once I came upon the county line along a stretch of FM-1268 that makes a slight turn in the road, I parked and walked the immediate area. It's very flat, as usual. The land north is also very flat.
For Wheeler County, the situation is much simpler. At this slight turn in the road is a dirt road leading south. This road lies right smack on the Roberts-Hemphill county line, then crosses (somewhere) the 4-corners of Roberts-Hemphill-Wheeler-Gray counties. Now, the road is along the Gray-Wheeler county line. The road rises ever so slightly, then makes a pretty quick (slight) descent. I took this area to be Wheeler's best candidate for highpoint. A plowed field to the east encompasses the rest of the 3,000-foot area; no part of it rose high enough to warrant inspection. Rather, it all drops pretty fast toward the south and east.
The weather continued to stay gloomy and cold. But it was holding steady: no snow or anything like that. It was a bit after noon as I continued west toward Pampa.
When I arrived in the Pampa area, I had already visited about a half-dozen county highpoints today. The weather had been very gloomy, cold and brisk. Fog and temperatures in the 30s and low 40s made staying out too long uncomfortable. But as I drove west towards the Roberts County highpoint the fog began to burn off and the day started to get nice, believe it or not.
On FM-282 northwest of Pampa the road makes a bend from north to east (presuming one comes from Pampa; I came in from the east). The west-trending continuation of this road is called Hayhook Ranch Road, and I followed it west and northish a few miles past three cattle grates. At the third grate I parked and made a short hike into the unfenced pasture north of me. The ground rises noticeably here. This short hike took just a few minutes and covered a few hundred feet. The USGS Benchmark "Fence" is located north of this region but I didn't seek it out. A second region of similar elevation is located about 1/8-mile back along the road, requiring a short hike into the low grasses to claim it. Both hikes went fast and were rather enjoyable. The land here is hilly with many breaks, attesting to its proximity to the Canadian River. Rather pretty.
From the Roberts County highpoint it was a quick 20 miles or so south toward the Gray County highpoint. The weather had improved a lot and it was actually warming up with the fog lifting. I could finally see the miles and miles of nothing this part of Texas is famous for!
Gray county has a very easy highpoint. From US-60 southwest of Pampa, I proceeded toward the community of Kingsmill, which is dominated by a huge refinery plant. I took County Road 1 south for 2.5 miles to where it intersected County Road K. And there I was, the highpoint. A small building and some derricks are in the area, and some areas seemed to have been built up; they did not appear natural. I exited by heading east.
I got myself to Groom on Interstate-40, located in extreme southeast Carson County, kater-corner to Donley County at a four-way county intersection. In Groom, I located myself between two giant grain elevators, visible from all point in town. Here, a sketchy dirt road goes south from here (called Choctaw Road on my map). I followed it for a couple miles into Armstrong County, now called County Road 30, coming to Alpha and Bravo Roads, both heading east into Donley County.
I went east on Bravo Road a mile to a rise, and inside the likeliest of the two potential highpoint contours for Donley County, spot elevation 3,268 feet. To my eyes, this looked pretty good. The land surrounding me dropped away, if ever so slowly.
Next, I backtracked north to Alpha Road, then east into Donley County again. Here, I walked into a field to the other highpoint contour. The field is active, although today it was fallow, recently harvested and covered in left-over crud. No one was around. The walk took just a few minutes, but this area is very flat, and years of plowing may have reduced any rises down to nothing. Thus, the Bravo rise is (to me) nearly certainly the Donley County highpoint.
This was my tenth county highpoint of the day. I tried for one more, in nearby Collingswood County, but it was behind some fencing and some horses were just standing there. They probably would have made all sorts of commotion. That was okay by me; I was tired anyway, so I returned to Amarillo, and got a room at the same Motel-6. I had put on over 600 miles on my car today.
My third day started out very cold, with temperatures in the 20s in Amarillo, and everything in a pall of fog, but fortunately, no snow. My flight out was not until 7:30 that night, so I had some time for more counties. My plan was to go west, then work back east toward Amarillo. From Amarillo, I followed US-60 to Friona, then FM-2013 to the New Mexico state line in the commuity of Rhea.
Alas, my intended route from FM-2013 was no longer possible, so I would have to try it from the south. I entered into New Mexico, going about two miles along routes NM-19 and NM-108 to what I though would be the right access road. I made an educated guess and got lucky, following the road exactly as the map showed it. I followed it east past two structures, then north to a bend, where I parked. I was on the state line, New Mexico to my left, Texas to my right.
I walked north along a dirt road about one-half mile to a rise. This is the Parmer County highpoint. I made sure to step on the Texas side of the road, then returned back to my car. Aside from the unplanned detour, this had gone very well.
Castro County was next, aiming for a single 4,000-foot area on its west county boundary with Parmer County. This is near FM-1057, south of FM-2397. A dirt track leads west from here, so I parked and was getting myself sorted out when a guy rolled up in his truck. He got out and we talked for a bit. I told him what I was intending to do, and I asked if he knew who owned the land where the highpoint area was located. He didn't own the land himself and "sort of" knew who owned/leased the land I was asking about. He figured it would be okay if I didn't tromp on the plants. He seemed amused that I was interested in the "highpoint" of this county. We talked for a bit, then he left to go on his way.
I walked along the track west about a half-mile, a cotton field to my right, a newly-furrowed, un-planted field to my left, on which sat one of those big Zimmatic sprinkler apparatus. The road ended at the county line, so I walked south, aiming for this big thing, putting me inside the highpoint contour. These sprinklers are huge when viewed up close. I didn't dawdle, returning to my car fairly quickly.
From Castro County I went to inspect the highpoint for Randall County, but opted to skip it as it was behind fencing and full of cattle, not to mention the steady stream of work-trucks rumbling along the access road. The odds didn't look good for me (again, I'd redo this one on my 2002 trip). So I moved on, now looking at Swisher County. I parked at pullout just northeast of the highpoint,very near South Dowell Road junction. The highpoint is a low hill off in a pasture.
I followed a track south about a few hundred yards, then broke for the fence, scooted through an opening, and jog-walked to the highpoint, which was covered in cattle-ranch junk and general broken stuff. I didn't spend much time at the top, and pretty much continued the slow jog back out to my vehicle. The land is low scrub and easy to navigate. No signs explicitly forbid trespassing but I didn't want to push my luck. I exited by going east to the town of Happy.
I tried for one more, in Briscoe County, but that one was too far behind some fencing, and I needed to get moving back to Amarillo. I needed to wash my car, which had accumulated considerable amounts of mud on it. Plus, I needed to get myself clean, so I did something I'd never done before: shower at a truck stop. It was very clean and worth the fee. I had nabbed fifteen county highpoints in about 48 hours of driving and hiking ... a fun, lucrative, amusing trip.
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(c) 2000, 2011 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. |