Bates County High Point Trip Report

Date: November 15, 2002
Authors: Dave Covill and Don Holmes

This is a fairly easy one, not far from Cass MO.

Reach it from Drexel MO by going east and then turning south with 18, east 1 mile on AA, then south on gravel a mile. This puts you at the northwest corner of the section that contains the 4 HP areas. Drive south 0.6 mile to a house. As was reported earlier, there is a house that is clearly built up on the west side of the gravel road. We did not stop in. The highest area for this contour seems to be 150 feet north of the house, at the east side of the road.

From here, the central and northern areas both level 3 - 5 feet lower, with the northern area perhaps only 3 feet lower. The far southeast area is much lower. We drove around to the north side to the cattle pens, and the road there levels 2 - 3 feet lower than the initial spot by the road, and 5 - 6 feet lower than the ground at the front door of the house.

This was one where the new 5X level really came in handy. I could not have made this call with a 1X level, and probably not with the 2X. I put a lower ratio of effort-made vs. possible-effort that could have been made into this one than any other on this trip. I still am quite comfortable that we stood on the highest ground in Bates County MO.