Hampton City Highpoint Trip Report
four areas (30+ ft)
Date: July 28, 2006
Author: Fred Lobdell
I followed Mike Schwartz's and Don Derosiers's reports for this one and found
both to be quite helpful. For the two southern areas, located in Sandy Bottom
Nature Park, the topographic map and the ground are not in very good agreement,
as Don noted. The pond just south of I-64 is really two ponds, which made for
some confusion. I spent more than an hour walking trails in this area between
and around the ponds. Elevation changes are very subtle and finding the right
areas is as much an exercise of the imagination as anything else. At the
northern end of the Old Crystal Trail, where it ended in a "T" intersection with
another trail, there was high ground to the left front a few feet into the woods,
although this area is not shown as higher on the topo. Continuing around
the north end of the western pond, the topo shows the road (still the Old
Crystal Trail) passing through an elongated 30-foot contour. I did a little
wandering in the woods here but, again, elevation changes, if any, were very subtle.
Where this trail curves around the southwest corner of the pond is
supposed to be the second area and I wandered here, too. The woods off the
trail actually did appear to be a foot or two higher. My personal high point in
this park was stepping onto a small wooden dock and flushing an immature black-
crowned night-heron, which apparently had been sheltering under the dock.
The northernmost of Hampton's four areas is, as noted, up Quarter Path Lane,
not shown on the topo. I concur with Don that the base of the large oak in the
center of the cul-de-sac is as high as anything else in the area, if not higher.
The fourth area is at the intersection of Edgemont and Fairmont Drives.
Mike and Don felt that houses 133 and 135 Fairmont sat on a slight rise.
I thought that the base of the large tree in the side yard between 36 & 38 Edgemont was
actually slightly higher, even though it's out of the contour as shown on the topo.
The landfill rises majestically behind the houses on Fairmont, and one
expects to see a ski lift somewhere on the slope.