Bent County High Point Trip Report

Date: September 13, 2002
Author: Dave Covill

I spoke recently with the rancher who owns San Jose Ranch Mesa, a.k.a. the Bent County CO Highpoint. He said that, after 4 years of allowing access, he was changing his mind and didn't want folks up there any more. He did not elaborate at all, and I asked if there had been specific problems, like trash, stealth visiting, etc., and he said no, that they just wanted to close it down. I did not get any sense at all if this would be permanent, for a few years, or whatever.

We have decided that the immediate course of action for us is to post this news to the people who we know might have an interest in visiting the Bent cohp. Obviously, this message will only reach those 100+/- people who are a part of the county highpoint e-group and who peruse the county highpoint web site. There are literally thousands of people who own a copy of our book, 'Hiking Colorado's Summits'. How the ranch owners deal with future telephone requests from these book purchasers for permission to visit this beautiful place is up to them.

While this is unfortunate, we must respect the owner's wishes. It's a working ranch, not just wild back country or a fallow field. Please do not stealth-visit this highpoint.

Circumstances may change over time. There has been significant good news from many county highpoints over the years that people previously thought were off-limits forever. Thanks in advance for your cooperation.