Sibley County Highpoint Trip Report

twelve areas (1,090+ ft)

Date: November 11, 2004
Author: Mark Ness

With 12 areas, Sibley is Minnesota's 3rd flattest-top county, after Pennington and Chippewa. However, Sibley's high points are spread out over a much larger area -- three townships.

Area 1: From the intersection of U.S. Highway 212 and Renville County Road 8, just west of Buffalo Lake, I proceeded south on C.R. 8 for 1.9 miles. I parked at the south end of the driveway of the farm place nearest area 1. I walked around the high point area. It is either by the mailbox or by the rickshaws. I was only out of my car for 3 minutes, including the time it took to take pictures.

Areas 2-3: I continued south on C.R. 8 for 0.55 miles, then left on 170th Street for ? miles, then right on C.R. 22 (paved), 2.65 miles from the first HP's driveway. I parked in an approach just before the road crest (area 3). Area 2 is the largest 1090-foot contour area of the 12 but it does not make a significant rise above the surrounding terrain. It is essentially flat. I walked around the high point area for several minutes. I thought that the high point for HP#2 was a large clump of dirt about 20 feet from the edge of the field. That could easily change the next time the farmer plows it. The whole summit area trek took 10 minutes.

Area 4: I continued south on C.R. 22 for 2.85 miles and turned left (east) on 200th Street, a "Minimum Maintenance Road" (about as good as most gravel roads), for 1 mile, then turned right (south) on 641st Avenue for 0.25 mile, then left onto a grass path that led to the Brack Cemetery. I parked next to the cemetery, which is as far as the road goes. I walked around high point area 4 for several minutes. It is a prominent summit, obvious where the highest point is. The whole summit area trek took 7 minutes.

Area 5: I returned to the road from which I turned off to take the cemetery road and turned left. After 0.68 mile, I turned right onto 210th Street (CR 7), a paved road, and continued for 3.2 miles (the road changed to gravel when it crossed C.R. 22). I parked on the road nearest high point area 5. I walked along the summit ridge and around the area. The highest point was on the north end of the summit ridge. The whole summit area trek took 6 minutes.

Area 6: From where I parked for HP#5, I continued on C.R. 7 for 0.4 mile, then turned left onto C.R. 10, a paved road, for one mile. Then I turned left onto 220th Street, where, at 0.75 mile I parked in an approach nearest the HP, 0.36 mile from the top. Area 6 was a field of plowed grass, an 8-minute trip to the top. It was a prominent summit ridge with an obvious H.P. The whole summit area trek took 19 minutes.

Area 7: I returned to 220th Street, then turned left onto 520th Street, for one mile, then left onto 230th Street, for 1.1 miles, where I parked on the roadside between areas #7 & 8. I arrived at area 7 within one minute. It was an obvious HP but it appeared to be shorter than HP#8 across the road.

Area 8 was a larger and higher summit than #7 with more of a flat top. The whole bi-summit area trek took 7 minutes.

Area 9: I returned to 520th Street, for 1.05 miles, then turned left onto C.R. 10 for 1.0 mile. I parked in an approach on the north side of the road. Area 9 was in a plowed field. It was an obvious HP. The whole summit area trek took 3 minutes.

Area 10: I continued on C.R. 10 for 3.46 miles, where I turned left onto C.R 2 for 0.64 mile, where I turned left into a driveway (#23504). The driveway is 0.55 mile long I parked on the driveway near the old house on the property. I was greeted by a large German Shepherd. I knocked on the door but there was no response. I walked around the south side of the grove, then crossed a barbed-wire fence, then headed northwest through a plowed field, then a wild grassy area to the high point. It was an obvious HP, with a cement structure on top, the only HP in the county with any kind of marking.

Area 11: I walked straight to the northwest corner of the grove, crossed between fence posts, and followed the northern edge of the grove, then went northeast at the northeast corner of the grove to Area 11. It was an obvious HP in a deeply plowed field. I continued along the east edge of the grove, passing many junk cars, on the way back to my own. The total time out of my car was 11 minutes, then I went around again, that time with my camera.

Area 12: I returned to C.R. 2 and turned right for 0.55 mile, then left onto 240th Street for 3.48 miles (turned to "Minimum Maintenance" at 2.0 miles). I parked in an approach on the opposite side of the road. After 5 minutes of walking, I found what I considered to be the Area 12 HP but it is a large area, not well-defined. Then I found a possible HP near the road. I spent 13 minutes walking from high area to high area until satisfied that I had finished.

Trip Statistics: The total time for these 12 areas was about 2.5 hours.