Grant County High Point Trip Report

Date: June 10, 2000
Author: John Mitchler

This elongated hill lies adjacent to NE 2 between Bingham and Ashby in the Pandhandle of NE. The topo shows a radio tower (which is the true HP), but there is also a taller radio antenna about 1/8 mile east of the radio tower.

From Ashby, go 4 miles on NE2 to a ranch road that goes left (south). Park here. Casually cross the quiet highway but be very alert when crossing the busy railroad that lies just to the north. This rail line had four trains during our visit to this cohp, about one every 20 minutes! The hill is typical grass-covered sand with a lumpy summit ridge. Although there are ten candidate areas, visual observation can rule out nine of them. I did some gratuitous hand leveling to confirm the obvious. The topo shows a 4WD road ending at a radio tower; that's the HP. There's a good gravel road going to the taller radio antenna (FC 1025530). The topo doesn't show a BM that is located on the HP. It reads, "Ashby 1946". This scenic hill is probably part of the Cover Ranch (ranch house located northwest of the hill) and makes a fun lunch stop, what with the pleasant view of sand hill country, the highway, and busy train traffic. When descending, look both ways before crossing those tracks! Note the cement ties rather than traditional wood.