In my trips through Texas I have made attempts at a few other county highpoints, but not all are possible, usually due to access restrictions. In some cases the county has been done by someone else. Usually it's just a matter of timing, and of being there during the right season. The following is a thumbnail review of these "unsuccessful" attempts.
Andrews County - Jan 2000 and Mar 2001 This is a flat oil county located on the TX-NM state line. Access is from the town of Eunice in New Mexico. I was here in January 2000, and I found the right road but arrived at sundown. The maps indicate it's a 3-4 mile drive, then about a mile of hiking over some candidate bumps in an area of about 20 acres. It's been done before, but I had no light and no time, so I passed on it. In March 2001, with Bob Martin, we again timed this one badly, arriving at sundown.
Armstrong County - May 2002 Six areas total comprise the Armstrong highpoints, located south of Amarillo a good ways. I had just completed the Potter county areas and made some drives into the Armstrong areas, when I got spooked off by a huge, monster thunderstorm brewing in the region.
Bandera County - Nov 2001 I scouted this but decided to not try due to lots of fencing.
Borden County - Mar 2001 Flat plowed farmfields. Farmers out plowing. It didn't seem like a good idea for me to be running out into their fields and messing things up.
Briscoe County - Nov 2000 Two small contour areas just east of Vigo Park comprise Briscoe's highpoints. One is located just about 100 feet south of the road near a cattle pen. The other is about a mile north in a field. The northern of the two was gated and fenced shut. I didn't bother to try for either of them. I had to catch a plane in a few hours anyway.
Chambers County - December 2004 The highpoint is a 96-foot hilltop - a salt dome that is common in the gulf coast - but the lands are surrounded by oil refineries and fencing and no one is going to get on unless they work for the oil companies. Previous visitors report the hilltop is still open but access to it will be difficult. We drove by it and took a look-see but nothing further.
Collingsworth County - Nov 2000 On a horse farm, it seems. An adjacent property without restrictive signs would have allowed me to get to within 100 feet of so of the highpoint; all I would have needed to do was to hop the fence, run out to the highpoint area, and run back. But again, the big horses might have (a) "neighed" and made other noises or (b) taken a run at me... Also, I had my car parked out on the main road, attracting unnecessary attention to myself.
Colorado County - December 2004 Had trouble finding people to get permission to enter. Looked too brambly and thorny to stealth.
Delta County - Nov 2002 Too many areas spread out among private homes, backyards, and one in a muddy field. Not worth the time to get it.
Duval County - Jan 2004 On the map it seems promising: a lone hill (BM Snake, 804 feet) with a major dirt road getting close. Located on the county's west border with Webb County, the only feasible ways in were via the towns of Mills Bennett or San Pablo, both tiny outposts located off of FM-2050. Anyway, the southern approach via San Pablo came up empty still 5 miles from the highpoint. The northern attempt via Mills Bennett brought us to a large gate. Some workers were there but would not grant access. We got the landowner's name and phone number - definitely not a local. This ranch was called the Arapaho Ranch and it appears whoever owns it has lots of money. The fence was huge, and we could see a big house on a hill in the distance. A third, lesser option would have been to hike an oil road about 4 miles to the highpoint, but given what we saw we figured it wouldn't be likely we'd have success.
Floyd County - Mar 2002 The highpoint is a lone contour in the extreme northwest corner of the county, but when I showed up it had been freshly plowed with no way to access it other than walking out into the soft dirt, which I didn't want to do (nor make the farmer mad at me!)
Franklin County - Nov 2002 Three areas. One behind a water-treatment facility is easily climbed, but two other areas are behind 8' wire-mesh fencing... private land and extremely difficult to scale.
Frio County - Nov 2001 Located about a half-mile hike from a highway, but well-fenced and cactusy.
Goliad County - Nov 2001 The highpoint region sits near a road but is covered in dense scrub thicket. That, and a dog in the area was eyeing me. Naah.
Howard County - March 2003 Bob Martin and I checked this one out... in a driving rain storm. We found places where it would have only required a quarter-mile walk, but it was all well-fenced and the rain wasn't exactly motivating us.
Jim Hogg County - Jan 2004 This county has 10 areas of 870+ feet spread along a rough north-south line in its northwest area, west of Hebbronville and not far from the Zapata county highpoint. Two areas had spot elevations of 878 feet (10-foot scale). We figured that to count Jim Hogg as good, we'd need to visit both of these 878-ft hills. We could perhaps sight over to the nearby bumps and possibly discount them. A couple areas were tiny blips anyway and probably not contenders. Our attempts to reach the southern-most 878-foot hill came up short pretty fast. We got to an oil-lease road and gate still 3 miles away... and opted to pass on it for now. The northern 878-foot hill also appeared to be way far off from public roads. Looks like we'll need landowner blessings to gain these areas.
Kenedy County - Nov 2001 and Jan 2004 On both occasions, we (or I) got as far as the huge, imposing gates at the north edge of the Mariposa Ranch. In 2001, the gates were closed and no one was around, so I couldn't do much and got moving. In 2004, Bob and I showed up and saw the gates were open, so we went in to the guard station and asked about access. The guard said he'd have to call the "bossman". He did, and the bossman denied us permission. This was probably our best opportunity to gain the Kenedy highpoint. The highpoint is a single sandy dune marked by the Sullivan benchmark, right near the Kenedy-Brooks county line. The Mariposa gates were still a good 6-7 miles from the highpoint, and even then it was not clear if the highpoint was on the Mariposa Ranch lands. The guard couldn't be sure and the bossman surely wasn't going to help. Bob and I tried to check a possible road from the north with no luck. So, what about coming in from Kenedy County, you ask? Well... Kenedy County is one of those peculiar counties created at the behest of wealthy ranchers (in this case, the King Ranch) so that the county can be run as a sort of fiefdom. About 400 people live in the county, most of them in the little town of Sarita. Only one paved highway enters the county: US-77, which makes a straight shot north-south. Aside from the few roads in Sarita, the entire county is essentially company land, and access is not permitted anywhere without permission. The maps show virtually no realistic road network near the Kenedy highpoint from within Kenedy County. We were hoping to get this from a better road net in Brooks county. Bob and I did drive down US-77 but we never stopped. Kenedy County's highpoint may prove to be rather tough, unless one can get permission from the bossman, or one is willing to walk many miles amid flat, sandy, brushy terrain.
The history of this county is quite interesting. An excellent summary can be found at this link. One other interesting side note: Kenedy County is the only county out of the 254 in Texas not to have any secondary Farm to Market (FM) highways within its boundaries. Somewhere (I forget where) I read that there are only 7 miles of paved road in the entire county, not counting US-77.
Lee County - December 2004 Two hills - the Yegua Knobs - tie for Lee highpoint honors. We drove from Austin about 30 miles and tried two roads, both times coming to homes where no one was home to give permission, or too far away to walk. The hills are surrounded by residences so a stealth is out of the question.
McCulloch County - March 2003 Bob Martin did this one a year ago and said I should try it. But all I found were locked gates at the highway. Apparently he'd got lucky on his visit when a ranch hand let him in. In any case, I decided to get moving.
Medina County - Nov 2001 Located in the Hill Country, the highpoint is a good sized mesa/mountain. I scouted it, but since I had a flight out that afternoon, opted not to go for it. It has been done before, so it shouldn't be too difficult.
Montague County - Mar 2003 Five areas are along the highway but I only visited the largest area along the road. The rain was coming down pretty hard and there was a herd of cattle milling about on the other areas, so I figured this one wouldn't be worth the trouble to get it.
Motley County - Mar 2002 I actually drove through one of the two highpoint areas as a state highway passes right over it west of the town of Matador. The highpoint(s) top some nice bluffs on the county's west border. However, I did not bother to visit a large region north of the highway which would have been required to call Motley good.
Presidio County (Chinati Peak) - Aug 2000 and Jan 2004 I made a sortie out to this remote mountain in August 2000. From the town of Marfa I followed a local highway about 35 miles southwest until the pavement gave out. My rental car was not up for dirt road travel so I turned back, but I did get close enough to view the peak and surrounding mountains. This is some rough, remote territory! Very beautiful and also very privately owned.
In January 2004, my wife Beth and I made a trip along the Rio Grande and stayed the night at Chinati Hot Springs. We also stopped in at the Big Bend Ranch State Park headquarters near Presidio and talked with the park superintendent. Lastly, while at the Hot Springs, we met a local who has lived in the area for 30+ years and who knows literally everyone within these parts. Naturally, I chatted up everyone that I could about the peak, and this is what I know: A lot of the Chinati Mountains are now owned by the state, a result of a large land grant in 1996 by the Mellon Foundation. The intent was and is to create a state park. However, nothing much has happened since 1996 because of a lack of money and funding to do all the necessary studies and infrastructural development of the park. The area is currently known as the Chinati Mountains State Natural Area (SNA). However, there is a very dim light at the end of this tunnel. Apparently the state has now funded the park to the extent where they have hired a ranger and some people to carry out some use plans, and maybe, just maybe, they'll allow public access on a limited basis in 2005. All this is fine and dandy except for some other details. The peak itself is not part of the state lands. After much questioning, I now know for certain the name of the landowner. I was told he is a reasonable fellow who has an eye toward conservation and that he has (or will) deed the summit to the state for inclusion into this future state park. I don't know if it's a done deal, nor if access to the summit will be allowed under these immediate plans. It's moving forward, but slowly... but surely. The peak has been climbed- illegally, of course, and it does not look like an easy slog. Its north and west flanks are heavy with cliffs. A more promising southern route includes some jeep roads that get to within a couple air-miles of the top. Sighting from the main highways, I could see some potential southeast routes.
Beth and I did drive up Pinto Canyon Road, the dirt connector between Ruidosa and the highway from Marfa. This is an amazing, fascinating, sometimes harrowing dirt road that crosses right north of the peak. We got some amazing views of the peak. As for access this route... while it's been done, I think I'll wait for the okay from the owners first, and try from the south. Cross your fingers, but be patient.
Refugio County - Nov 2001 It seemed simple on the map: a single highpoint region just a few feet from a highway, but tall wire-mesh fencing made for a good barrier. I couldn't really tell by landmarks where the HP was. I did see a hawk lift off with a snake, however, so that was worth it!
Somervell County - Nov 2002 Trouble locating access road and also concerns for time needed.
Starr County - Jan 2004 Another brushy South Texas county. Five areas comprise the highpoint, four located along a ranch road and a fifth area all by itself in the middle of nowhere. We explored ways into the clumped four areas. We drove up a road to the El Macho Ranch east of Viboras to a gate, where we could see a house up on a hill about 1/4 mile away. We saw a figure come out walking toward us... with a cane and obviously taking it slow. Bob squeezed through the gate to greet him. They chatted... as best they could, as this man spoke only Spanish. They walked down to where I was and I used my limited Spanish skills to at least learn that yes, the land we were interested in is on the El Macho Ranch (probably) and no, he had no key to open the gate nor could he let us on. We figure he's just a local hired to house sit for the owner. So, with that we got a move on. Interesting experience.
Sutton County - March 2003 Bob and I camped along a lonely FM road nearby the highpoint area, but the next morning we got stopped fast by locked gates, still miles from our goal. Bob went back a few weeks later, trying from another approach and still hit gates.
Uvalde County - Jan 2004 The highpoint is an honest-to-gosh mountain located in the Texas Hill Country in north Uvalde County. Bob and I found the area easily enough, then set about finding the landowner. The area was all part of the Fossil Creek Ranch. We could tell this was a wealthy spot of land: high fencing, horseys, a plane hangar, fancy stonework on the entrance sign. Found a neighbor who knew the owners. Turns out to be one of the anti-Tobacco lawyers who obviously did very well for himself. Finally found the ranch manager; he seemed friendly enough and seemed to suggest that access could be gained with some advance notice. The weather was rainy and it was getting late so we couldn't do it today. But still, potential good news. A road gets close, leaving possibly just a couple miles hike with maybe 500-700 feet of gain. Interesting cliffy/hilly coubtry, potentially a challenging hike.
Val Verde County - Mar 2002 Bob Martin and I made a valiant effort for this highpoint, but ultimately came up short. Val Verde is a large county located at the confluence of the Pecos and Rio Grande Rivers. The highpoint is on the county's northwest border with Crockett County, and maps indicate at best sketchy roads leading to near the highpoint. We knew we'd have to get pretty lucky to gain this one, but at least we scouted it from three approaches. The first was via a miserable looking "town" called Terrell Plant, a huge refinery plopped in the middle of nowhere, with company housing and the like. Looks like an awful place to live. We followed oil roads about 12 miles east to the Pecos River bottom, a nice canyon. There, we realized we were a bit far north than we intended and drove onto someone's property. He and his family (?) came out to greet us and remind us we were trespassing. Message loud and clear. We backtracked out to "Terrell Plant" and took a long (40 miles) dirt road across to a town called Pandale, from which we took another oil/ranch road through two gates before coming to a third gate with emphatic "No Trespassing" signs... so we turned around. Third try was from the Mitchell Ranch Company from the East in Crockett County, but again, emphatic "No Trespassing" signs turned us away (despite the fact the gate was open). Bob later explored a 4th approach a month later but again met with gates. We have 3 contact names now and hope to secure permission that way. It looks like a pretty highpoint!
Willacy County - Jan 2004 Bob and I arrived in Raymondville, the county seat, around 4 in the afternoon. The highpoint is a small hill on the La Sal Vieja Ranch, located just north of La Sal Vieja, which appears to be a large marshy lake (we never actually saw it). The highpoint is just 94 ft. We tried from three different approaches, but each time the road net petered out no less than 3 miles from the highpoint. Even then, the map indicates buildings on the highpoint. Very well may be the ranch owner's house. We also noted plenty of Wildlife Management Area signs. Gave up after about an hour as the sky was getting dark.
Wise County - Mar 2003 Arrived at the gate near the highpoint around 6 in the evening. No signs against trespassing, but by far the most substantial gate I'd seen in a long time. Still, I got my boots on and my camera ready to hop over when a SUV pulled up to me along the road. Clean as a whistle, probably never been off-road before. I greeted the driver, who turned out to be the wife-half of the landowner team. She was an absolute knockout! One of these 40ish hotties in a business suit with a brief case open in the passenger seat and on her cell phone. I showed her my map, apologizing if I caused her consternation (I had no idea where to go to find the landowners as there are no homes visible in this area). She did not realize the highpoint was on her property nor did she have any clue what I was showing her on the map. She denied me permission to enter. So with that, I went on my way. Frustrating because otherwise it would have been a 10 minute stroll in open pasture.
Yoakum County - Mar 2001 Benchmark "Beall" is the highpoint, a small hill in a ranching/farming area. The topo shows old roads leading to very near the highpoint, but we found no trace of access to these roads from the main highway. We did try from the south and got within about 2 air-miles of the highpoint, but a sea of wet mud would have made driving rough, and hiking out of the question. This has also been done, but in a different season when the mud presumably wasn't present.
Zavala County - Nov 2001 and Jan 2004 A small but distinct hill called Batesville Hill tops Zavala County, but (same story) fencing and cactus stand in the way. A possible route follows a fence line, which has a 10-foot clearing on each side, but it's a good 2 miles in. In 2004 Bob and I checked this one out some more, but still could get no further than what I'd seen in 2001. We chose not to stealth this one for a couple reasons: we'd have to leave our vehicle along the highway (attracting unwanted attention to ourselves) and we could see hunters blinds. With that, it seemed wise to pass for now and try to find out who owns it, and if they could let us in to nab it.