Garden County High Point Trip Report

Date: October 27, 2001
Author: Mike Schwartz

I used Bob Packard's report and his directions from the north. After visiting the southern area, I drove south to Oshkosh over a mix of dirt and semi-paved roads. There are several non-obvious turns/decisions to be made coming from the south; the northern approach is shorter and much more straightforward.

For the northern area, Using Bob's directions, I found his track road, but continued south another 1.0 mile to a point just south of a cattle processing area, which was not in use. I hiked west on the track road shown on the topo from spot elevation 3854 feet, figuring this was shorter and simpler than Bob's approach from further north. The highpoint hill is visible all the way. Follow the track west, staying south of the two lakes, and cut north at the windmill past the west end of the second lake to gain the east ridge of the highpoint hill. A large herd of cattle was present this day and came over to investigate me. The hill has many hummocks, with great views. Forty minutes to summit.

For the southern area, I drove about 5 1/2 miles south to the 3910-foot pass where Bob parked. To save distance, I backtracked northeast about 0.3 mile and parked opposite the highest visible point on the hill, trading distance for gain. I hiked straight up the hill and passed a few bumps on top before reaching the summit in 15 minutes. Back at the car, I was visited by a young man from Texas A & M, doing a work-study project at the next ranch to the north. He wanted to be sure I had not broken down and invited me up to the house for lunch. From here I drove 9.9 miles south on a mix of gravel/sand/washboard roads to so-so blacktop at the Grant County line. The route to Oshkosh is a hodgepodge, as described by Bob.