Humphreys County High Point Trip Report

Date: July 4, 2001
Author: Ken Oeser

From Dickson drive north on Highway 46 about 7.5 miles and turn left onto Old No. 1 Road at a Phillips 66 station/market. Drive west on this road about 3 miles to the intersection with Wilson Hollow Road on the right and park. The largest contour/county liner is just past the intersection, and the highest area is near the edge of the field just northeast of the road intersection. At this point I pulled out my telescope and level and went to work. Aiming at the house to the north and the two areas to northwest, the cross-hairs were looking into the trees (and at the base of the roof) a few feet above the horizon, indicating this area is the highest of the five in this area.

We then drove north to the house and obtained permission from the owner (Mr. Cook) to hike into his field and sight back at the large contour. The middle area is obviously lower than the northwest contour. Sighting back with the telescope with the level, I was looking into the contour grass, indicating the large contour is higher. Another factor is the 900+ ft. contour just northeast of the large contour, which is no more than 5 feet higher than the 880 area next to the road. Jon Mann believes it would be necessary to visit the northwest area in the field plus the large area next to the road, but I think the telescope with the level is very accurate, since it is a perfect cylinder so the lenses will work properly. I would say it is only necessary to visit the large contour next to the road. Both sightings were from 2 feet above the ground due to the high grass, so that balanced out by sighting both directions. The benchmark could not be found; Mr. Cook remembered it being there a few years ago, but it may have been bulldozed over to make a drainage ditch next to the road.

For the southwest area, first drive west on Old No. 1 Road for 0.5 mile, then turn left onto Tummins Road and drive 1.2-1.4 miles to a driveway on the right leading to a trailer. The high contour is just past the trailer, at the edge of a garden. Nobody was home, so we walked over to the edge, which has some rise within the contour.

The three areas south of the large contour are owned by a Mr. Andrews, whom Mr. Cook says is friendly. We drove south from the large contour/intersection on Mr. Andrews' driveway to his house, which is located at the county line. He was not home. We walked to the front yard and to the dog pens in the back yard to assure hitting the county line/highpoint area. From the front of the house, walk south on a farm road (with electric fence) to a ridge/fence junction, then bear south-southwest to the first contour, turn west and hike down it to a fence which should be past the county line/liner, then hike south to the last tiny contour summit, near some small trees.