Kalamazoo County Highpoint Trip Report
eight areas (1,050+ ft)
Date: May 31, 2001
Author: Bob Schwab
two areas just west of US 131
Take Exit 38 off from US 131 and head west on Route 43. Just west of the
interchange, turn north on N 10th Street and go 0.6 mile to Torrington Road.
Turn left and drive west on Torrington for about 0.35 mile to #6391 and the home
of Stephen Tucker on your left. He was friendly and allowed me to check out the
high spots in his yard, which seem to be near the trees to the right of his
yard/house. Drive around the block and check out the south side of the contour,
which also has high ground along the property lines. From Mr. Tucker’s
driveway, head back east a short distance to Signal Hill Road and turn left (north).
The topo shows this road as ending just shy of a second tiny area on a
ridge but you’ll notice the road has been extended and the ridge has been almost obliterated.
The tiny area is gone now and its now-lower location is in a clump
of landscaping right next to a house on your right.
three areas along N 6th Street - including BM Berky
Return to the intersection of N 10th Street and Route 43. Turn right and drive
west for 2 miles to N 6th Street. Turn right and drive north on 6th Street for
about 1.25 miles to the home of Eunice Weeldreyer on your left (#2699).
She allowed me to wander around on her property where two areas are located.
One area is behind a shed and to the right of a path, while the other spot is about
200+ feet or so farther north. From Mrs. Weeldreyer’s driveway, walk north on
6th Street a short distance and then cross to the east to find BM Berky
(1931, 1967) in the grass. The marker is listed on the NGS datasheets as
exactly 1050 feet in elevation.
three areas southwest of Texas Corners - including BM Stevens
Return to US 131 and head south to Exit 31. Turn right and drive west for
3.3 miles to S 6th Street. Turn left and go south on 6th Street for 0.9 mile to
#8940 and the home of Debbie Bellingar. She was very nice and accompanied me up
into her vineyard in search of the high ground. We visited both bumps and found
RM 1 Stevens in the tree line. I subsequently sent her some datasheets on the
history of the BM and discovered that the real mark (listed at 1053 feet) is
buried in the top of the hill. Hand level checks both ways confirm that the
western area is lower.
To visit the third area, continue south on 6th to the intersection with R Avenue.
Turn right and drive west on R Avenue for 0.4 mile to a gated drive to
the south # 8657 (posted). The contour is out in the open grass behind the
house and shed. No one was home so my visit was hasty. It wasn’t possible to
do a hand level sighting with the BM Stevens site and, because it was raining,
my barometric comparisons with the BM Stevens readings weren’t useful either.
Thus, be sure to visit this one as well as BM Stevens if you intend to claim
this county.