Palo Pinto County High Point Trip Report

Hohhertz Hills (1,530+ ft)

Date: March 17, 2003
Author: Scott Surgent

From I-20 east of Ranger, take TX-16 north to Strawn, then north very briefly past Strawn to FM-207. Head west 4.7 miles to Hohhertz Road; turn right (north) onto this dirt road. Drive 2.9 miles to a set of three oil storage tanks marked with "Delta Oil & Gas - J. N. Stuart". You get lucky here: no restrictive signs, and a clearing up the hill to avoid bushwhacking.

Hike up the hill to quickly gain the 120 feet, then turn north and hike amid the open terrain toward the obvious rise about 300 feet away. A north-south fence in disrepair fooled me into thinking this may be the county line, but it isn't; ignore it. The high area is obvious, and a building shown on the map matches a large shed (?) I saw in the field. A GPS reading confirmed my location.

The name Hohhertz is not a misprint. I liked it so much I decided to informally name the hills after the road.

I should follow up that I had to really pay attention to a monster tunderstorm while at the Stephens and Palo Pinto HPs. The brunt of this monster missed me, but by the time I came to the Palo Pinto HP the roads were slick and gooey with lots of standing water. Radio reports mentioned twisters along I-20, not far from where I was.