County Highpoints of Texas
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The Red River Counties
I was in Texas for a few days visiting county highpoints. The first couple days were with Bob Martin and we concentrated on the counties down in the Hill Country. Bob then went on his way while I continued northeasterly. I spent last night in Bowie, where the weather was active. Today, I'd be concentrating on the line of counties that border the Red River, then proceeding back south and west for my eventual return to Arizona.
Date: March 18, 2003 • Elevation: 1,255 feet • Prominence: 125 feet • Distance: 0.5 mile • Time: 30 minutes • Gain: 20 feet • Conditions: Rainy
Texas
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PB
My night in Bowie was eventful. The whole region was under a tornado warning. During the night, I awoke to what sounded like a freight train. I burst out of bed and looked outside, figuring I'd see a tornado. They say tornados sound like freight trains. It wasn't a tornado. It was actually a freight train. I felt foolish, but I wasn't the only one. Some other people had also peeked outside to see what was going on.
I was up early and on the road by 7 a.m., another full day on the agenda. My plan was to visit the highpoints of the counties along the Red River, the Texas-Oklahoma boundary. I would start with Cooke County to the east, then work my way west to Hardeman County. The weather was not cooperating.
In heavy rain, I travelled east on TX-59 to the town of Saint Jo, then on routes US-82 and FM-2382. Just inside Cooke County, the highpoint appears, a gentle hump just west of FM-2382 in a field. A residence was nearby but set farther back so that I felt okay walking the field. There were no fences and the field looked unused.
I walked in the rain directly to the hump. Walking briskly, I was upon it in 10 minutes, then immediately, I walked back to my truck. I was soaked, and my boots had amassed about five pounds of mud each. I took time to scrape off the muck. But at least I was successful. I started heading west.
Elevation: 1,320 feet • Prominence: 270 feet • Distance: 0.1 mile • Time: 5 minutes • Gain: 30 feet • Conditions: Rainy, cows
PB
Montague's county highpoint is a hill over which Texas highway 59 passes, the probable highest point just a few yards north of the pavement. There are four other smaller contour blips that also reach to 1,320 feet; these lie a few hundred feet to the north amid trees and grass.
I parked and in the rain, tromped up about 30 feet to the closest hilltop. Looking over at the other hilltops, these were taken over by cattle, who were sitting out the rain. I felt it prudent not to push my luck walking amid them, so I left. I did not count this highpoint as complete as I skipped those other four areas.
Fast forward twenty years later. Now with Lidar at the 1-meter scale, it shows that those four areas are not as high, and that the one area I visited was the highpoint after all. So I gave myself the credit, twenty years after the fact. This is an actual hill, too, with about 270 feet of prominence.
Elevation: 1,205 feet • Prominence: 125 feet • Distance: 1.5 mile • Time: 30 minutes • Gain: 125 feet • Conditions: Rainy still
PB
I drove west into Clay County, following state route TX-59 into the community of Newport. I followed local dirt roads that had become muddy in the rain. I needed 4-wheel drive to grind my way to a corner of section-line roads (Stark Road, says the map), and parked in a pull-out about three-quarters of a mile northeast of the highpoint area. The area is hilly, and the probable highpoint visible to the southwest.
I hopped a fence, walked across a weedy pasture to another fence, hopped it, and hiked by sight to the highpoint hill, all this in 25 minutes. It was muddy, cold, wet and unpleasant. The highpoint hill features an elongated ridge, and I spent time walking its breadth to ensure success. There are no homes nearby, but off in the distance I could see buildings. A distant dog barked the whole time I was here. I beelined back to my truck, soaked with muddy boots. I tried to dry them by putting them in the passenger footwell and blasting the heater on them.
From here I drove north about 4 miles to check out another area that reaches the 1,200-foot level, just south of Browning Road. A house sits on this tiny area. From the road, sitting in my truck (which puts my head at about 6 feet above the ground), I could eye that the ground on which the house sat was nearly level with my head. Since I estimate I was at about 1,195 feet (according to the map), the likelihood of this little area reaching 1,205 feet is essentially zero, so I didn't bother, and got a move on.
Lidar at the 1-meter scale affirms the southern point I visited is the highest. It gives spot elevations of 1,204 feet, and for the northern area, 1,200 feet.
Elevation: 1,510 feet (Jack CoHP), 1,522 feet (Young CoHP)
• Prominence: 45 feet (Jack), 337 feet (Young)
• Distance: 1.5 miles
• Time: 1 hour
• Gain: 150 feet
• Conditions: Cold, blustery and wet
PB (Jack County) • PB (Young County)
Rooters Mountain is a saddle-shaped hill, its summit lying inside Young County and its eastern subsummit just over the county line, in Jack County, both points being the highest points within their respective counties. The mountain's name is apparently a local name, noted on a ranch at its base.
I located myself in the town of Jermyn, north of the hill. From Jermyn, I followed highway TX-114, then local roads: Shephard Lane, Oliver Lane, Burdick Road, Monument Road, Cox Mountain Road and finally, Rooters Mountain Road. This put me north of the "Bottles and Wheels" Ranch. A ranch home was set back about 300 yards, while the actual hill was about three-quarters of a mile from the road.
I hopped the gate and walked to the ranch home, seeking permission to hike to the hill. A horse grazed in a pasture, but as I approached the home, I noted no vehicles, no activity, and the home itself was slightly run-down. This may be someone's weekend getaway, or a ranch-hand's house. The horse may get lonely. I knocked but no one was home. So I continued back to the road and hiked up to the saddle on Rooters Mountain. The horse said I could.
I went east along the spine of the small hill into Jack County first, and visited its summit after about 10 minutes of hiking. The top is rounded and provides pretty views of the surrounding countryside. I then walked back to the saddle and west into Young County to an old lookout tower, which I did not dare climb. Like Jack County, the top here is gently rounded and in places provides nice views. Not a bad little highpoint. I liked this one.
I exited out the same way and never saw anyone or any cars at the residence. The horse was still standing there, minding its own business.
Elevation: 1,355 feet • Prominence: 86 feet • Distance: Drive up • Time: 1 minute • Gain: none • Conditions: Misty, drizzly
PB
After a morning of mostly rainy weather and three short hikes totalling about three miles (and five county highpoints to show for it), I was now in "easy" country. Archer County and nearby Wichita County, whose highpoints are reachable directly by road. It would be nice to be lazy for a couple hours.
I drove to the town of Megargel, then followed Wilhelm Road to Megargel Lake Road. The Archer County highpoint is a hump directly on this latter road, about a mile east of Wilhelm. A carved stone sitting beside the road mentions this being the county highpoint. I left my truck running in neutral (and REO Speedwagon on the radio) while I got out to pace the immediate area. I spent just a minute here.
Elevation: 1,240 feet • Prominence: 30 feet • Distance: Drive up • Time: 2 minutes • Gain: 2 feet • Conditions: Less rain, sunnier
PB
The Wichita County highpoint is a single area in an oil field south of the town of Electra about 25 miles west of Wichita Falls. I followed TX-25 north to get near Electra, then drove to its junction with FM-1811 just south of town. The highpoint is a half-mile south from here. I backtracked a half-mile and found the road into the oil field. This road was not gated nor posted, and I drove it a half-mile west to a rise near a storage container. This was the highpoint.
The land here has been altered, as the tanks sit on large flattened plots of land with berms. I dutifully stepped around the area, knowing full well these were man-made. I also briefly walked out into a small, seemingly "natural" spot of land south of the road. I then headed west 30 miles to Vernon, where I took a lunch break at a McDonalds. The weather was also starting to kick up, but nothing like I'd had this morning or yesterday. Nevertheless, I kept my eye out for anything interesting.
Elevation: 1,470 feet • Prominence: 15 feet • Distance: 0.7 mile • Time: 20 minutes • Gain: 30 feet • Conditions: Sunny, cloudy, mixed
PB
From Vernon, I headed west until I passed into Wilbarger County. Just west of the Wilbarger-Hardeman county line (and about 2 miles east of the town of Chillicothe), I turned south onto FM-925 and followed it. At the second bend, less than 3 miles from US-287, I turned right (west) onto a dirt road. I drove in a few hundred feet and parked underneath a power line.
The hike is short, as the highpoints (2 small areas) are a few hundred feet back behind brush and who-knows-what. I entered the low brush, using game paths to wend through it, then just as quickly I came into a small field. The first highpoint area was to the right and was marked by a hunter's stand. There is a dirt road that leads over this area. I could not tell whether the small hill on which the stand sat was natural, but I hiked to it anyway. Another, more "natural" area, was nearby, slightly offset from the road.
The second area was easily reached by hiking back into the field, then up a small thicket of dog-hair trees with mercifully light underbrush, but lots of leaves. Some humps of land mark the top. If the hunter's stand in the first area sits on a natural hill, then that point is almost certainly the highpoint. Otherwise the two areas are too close to call. There were no gates, fences nor restrictive signs.
Elevation: 1,850 feet • Prominence: 50 feet • Distance: 1.5 miles • Time: 1 hour • Gain: 50 feet • Conditions: Holding steady
PB
Hardeman County has 10 areas reaching 1,850 feet, with two having spot elevations of 1,852 feet. The ten areas of Hardeman county are located along a county road near the Hardeman-Childress county line. If coming in from Quanah (which is what I did), drive west on US-287 to FM-268, which goes north then west to Hines Road.
Eight of the ten areas are congregated along a ranch road heading west, the junction 2.6 miles north along Hines Road from FM-268. A gate was open, so I drove in and parked about 0.3 mile. Two of the potential highpoint areas are on either side of the road, so I walked both sides for a few minutes. Nothing stood out.
The remaining areas are tiny blips of land farther west near a gravel pit. This suggests the areas may be piles of dirt made when the pit was dug out. I walked to a few since they were easy to visit. However, none (in my opinion) exceed the 1,850-foot contour level by much. I didn't stay long, fearing I might get locked in. A hanging unlocked lock on the gate suggested that the road may normally be gated, and that I was lucky to find it open when I was here. I never saw anyone, though. Nevertheless, I didn't waste time, and I was back to Hines Road quickly.
The remaining two areas, both of which contain an 1,852-foot spot elevation, are in a field to the northeast. I went north on Hines to Lindsey Road, then right a mile to an unmarked, unposted two-track road that goes into a field and comes to a gate. I parked here in soft sand.
I reached the first 1,852-foot area quickly, a small rise of land with native trees and brush on it, surrounded by a tilled field. The other 1,852-foot region was another 0.4 mile southwest. I came to a fence-line which helped me judge the rise and fall of the land. Parts on either side of this fence looked equally high so I checked out both sides. Again, I kept my visit short.
I hustled back to my truck. It was near 4 p.m. and the sun was getting kind of low. While driving the little two-track road, I inadvertently got off the road and sunk about 8 inches into the soft sand. I needed 4-wheel-low to get unstuck. The whole area, including the fields, was very sandy.
I was done with this tier of counties. My next goal was to get as close to Abilene as possible, about 120 miles south. Along the way, I visited one more super-easy county highpoint in Fisher County.
Elevation: 2,405 feet • Prominence: 15 feet • Distance: 0.2 mile • Time: 15 minutes • Gain: 5 feet • Conditions: Dark
PB
I arrived into Fisher County at sunset. I drove to the town of Roby, near the six spread-out areas that are the Fisher County highpoint. One has a Benchmark "Pyron" at 2,405 feet, and another area hosts a radio tower and is marked as 2,402 feet. The four other areas, for various reasons, are unlikely to supercede 2,405 feet.
The northeasternmost area is small, rounded and topped with a 2,402 spot elevation. A second area north of the highway and less than a mile west breaches the 2,400-ft level. Inspection and a very short hike convinced me neither of these two areas is likely to be the highpoint. The large area to the south of these two areas has a radio tower on it, and I drove the dirt county roads to this area. The corner of two roads is listed at 2,402 feet, and I walked to the radio tower complex, which entailed perhaps two more feet of rise.
Back out to the main highway, I went west about another mile to the largest area, the one with the Pyron benchmark. A residence is to the north, while the high areas are on the south side of the road. I found a cement pillar (witness post?) and walked the area. This area is probably the highest point.
In increasing darkness, I drove south along dirt roads to the remaining two areas, passing the townsite along the way. Pyron isn't a town these days as it is just a few spread-out homes and farms, but there was a large, burnt-out building in the middle of all this, which might have been something interesting in the old days. In the dark it was hard to tell. I kept my visits to the two southern areas short. Going by the maps and my own instincts, these two areas almost certainly do not contain the highest point. They are flat fields with years of plowing likely having reduced any high areas to nothing.
By this time it was totally dark. I drove more to Colorado City along Interstate-20, staying in a hotel. It had been a long day.
Date: March 19, 2003
• Elevation: 2,574 feet
• Prominence: 109 feet
• Distance: 2 miles
• Time: 1 hour
• Gain: 220 feet
• Conditions: Sunny, high clouds, some wind
PB
Stepp Mountain is a part of an extensive complex of mesas that extend into neighboring Nolan and Coke Counties south of Colorado City. These are mesas in the truest sense: the tops are flat, and the summits thereon are difficult to locate exactly.
I drove state route TX-208 south to the town of Silver, then a dirt road across the way from FM-1672. I followed this dirt road north a mile, then east a mile, then a road south, all on the McCabe Oil Field. However, the roads were open for travel and there were no prohibitive signs.
At this last road heading south, I came to a crumple gate, signed as "Shenandoah Petroleum Corporation, Walker". I drove south, then parked out of sight near an oil pump in a cleared area. I was north of Stepp Mountain.
I started walking uphill, and quickly, the gradients became steep and rubbly. In a matter of minutes, I was below the caprock that lines the top of the mesa, forming a wall around the entire perimeter. The brush was thick, and I found myself on all fours to get through the thickest sections, all the while eyeballing some way up the caprock.
I was able to find cracks and weaknesses in the caprock that allowed for reasonably safe passage to the top. Once on top, I walked south through the flat terrain, the brush and trees limiting views to a few dozen yards at best.
Off in the distance, I saw a post of some sort, so I hiked to it. It was a 4x4 wood slab, held up by guy wiring. Suspecting it was placed here by the surveyors, I searched the area for the benchmark, and after brushing away dirt and leaves off a rock, found the lovely little disk, stamped "Stapp".
Is the disk the highest point? I cannot say so definitively, but it was a tangible thing to tag. On the walk out, I meandered and deliberately sought out any heap, mound, hump, hummock or rockpile that might be a contending highpoint. In the process, I felt I gave the area good coverage.
Back to the caprock, I found a way down and into the brushy, steep slopes, then back to my truck. I was gone an hour total. Done with my trip, I began the long drive home. I spent the rest of today driving, getting as far as Lordsburg, New Mexico. A storm was coming in from the west and conditions deteriorated as I drove. I arrived back home the following day.
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