Houston County High Point Trip Report
Date: July 4, 2001
Author: Ken Oeser
We didn't write down mileage, and drove to this highpoint from Humphreys county hp with several turns, so
I will use DeLorme Road names and approximate mileage.
From Highway 46 at Jewel Cave just north of Ruskin, drive north on Hwy. 46 for about a mile and turn left
onto Edgewood Road/Nubbin Ridge Road, go about 0.6 mile and bear right, then continue about 2 miles to
the junction with Balthrop Branch Road on the right. Continue west about 0.25 mile to the county line,
where Edgewood Road goes south to Dotson Cemetery Road and the Humphreys county hps. Go straight
(west) on Ennis Branch Road for about 0.25 mile to a house on the right where the road curves left. A farm
road heads off to the right here, just before the house. A gate at the entrance was open, so we drove in,
hoping to see someone and get the highpoints. There were a lot of outbuildings, a house which seems
abandoned, a couple of new trucks, so we didn't think to write down mileage, but by topo the first three
areas are about 1 - 1.5 miles in, on a very good gravel road. The fourth area is about another 1.5 miles, the
fifth about 0.7 past that, and the last another 0.5 beyond. All indications point to the second area from the
south as being the county's highest. It is the largest by far, probably six times the area of any of the other 5,
and has some good elevation gain within the contour. Even with Jon's hand level, it was obviously several
feet higher than the nearby east and west areas. The other areas are so small on the ridge (with trees
around) that we couldn't determine the northern three locations from the middle point.
As we were headed out, after not seeing anybody at the house or at the burning fields, a man in a truck came
down the road, so we got out to talk to him. We explained why we were there, and he told us it was private
property, so we told him we knew that and had been checking at the buildings, trucks, and tractors for
someone to talk to. He then told us that he has been told that the second area is the highest in Houston
county, and since these are so small and vague, maybe he was told by someone who really knows. He was
not unfriendly, but not friendly either; this could have been due to getting back to watching his field control-
burning. When we asked about permission, he said he would rather people didn't go on his farm. I'm glad
Annette and Alexandra were with us to take away any thoughts of us being there to steal something. He
might have been less friendly if it had only been Jon and me there. I noticed the entrance gate had an
unlocked lock on it, so it may be locked most of the time. Since he wasn't very talkative, I didn't even think
to get his name or find out where his house is.