Texas County Highpoint Trip Report
Elam TP (3,770+ ft)
Date: September 24, 2006
Author: Edward Earl
From US 56, about 3 miles E of the Cimarron-Texas county line, I made a sharp
turn L and headed due west on a wide gravel road. On the E side of US 56,
the road was signed as Road D; on the W side, its only identification was a sign on
the back of the stop sign that said "70 34 4.70".
(The 4.70 is probably a mileage.)
After about one mile, the road topped out at a point 1/4 mile N of the HP.
I walked S across the unfenced, unposted, overgrown field, constantly zigzagging
around dense clumps of tall grass. Soon a sign came into view at the top of the
hill above. I reached the sign after 5 minutes and it warned not to disturb a
nearby survey marker, which in all likelihood was Elam TP, but I could not find it.
The hilltop is well defined and the HP is within 10 feet of the sign.
I then noticed a clump of brush on a hilltop about 1/4 mile S. It looked like it
was probably lower than where I was, but I decided it was best to check it out.
So I walked 5 minutes and discovered that it was a manmade berm that separated
the unused, overgrown field containing the HP from the cornfield to the S.
Even if this hill were natural, it still would not qualify as the county HP because
it is clearly lower: I could not see over the top of the county HP from here,
but I could see over the top of the cornfield berm from the HP to the horizon beyond.
If approaching from the west, as I did, it seems more expeditious to
head N on the road that passes 1/4 mile E of the HP.
However, that road is a narrow, uneven two-track that would be difficult without 4WD,
so I continued one more mile NE and found the E-W road to be much better.