Douglas County Highpoint Trip Report

Date: May 6, 2008
Author: Edward Earl

On US-2, about 0.6 mile W of the Shell station on the W side of Waterville, I turned S on P NW, which is very good graded hard-packed gravel. Zero or note your odometer here. At 2.0 miles I turned R (W) on paved Baseline Road. At 3.6 miles the pavement ended at a 90° L turn. The road winds its way up the mountain, topping out at a 5-way intersection at mile 6.0. Follow the main road through this intersection as it makes a broad R turn and becomes paved once again. At 6.4 miles I turned R (W) on Chipmunk Rd, which is narrow, uneven dirt. A vehicle without high clearance may have occasional trouble. A sign says it is a private road, but nothing seemed very threatening, so I didn't worry about it.

The road passes several houses and at 6.8 miles I reached a 4-way intersection where I turned R (N). The road straight ahead at this intersection went downhill and was identified by a wood post that said "200-205"; otherwise, the intersection is unsigned. At 7.1 miles I turned L (W) at the 4-way intersection just south of point 4221. At 7.7 miles, just past the bottom of a dip, I parked at a gravel pullout on the L side of the road.

I continued on foot. About 1 minute after I started out there was a fork where the R branch went slightly downhill and the narrower L branch went slightly uphill. I took the L branch. A minute after that, on the L, was an abandoned property with several junked vehicles, a trailer, and a couple of crumbling structures. As I continued, I saw that the whole neighborhood is a major eyesore. Dilapidated houses, junked cars and trucks, a couple of semi trailers and a school bus were strewn everywhere. All vehicles appeared inoperable and all structures seemed uninhabited and uninhabitable. There were a few rusty No Trespassing signs, falling apart and/or barely legible, and I didn't worry about them. These were outnumbered by occasional For Sale signs. I soon passed this neighborhood by and, less than 10 minutes later, arrived at the summit of the hill with 4254' Ski TP. I did not find the TP itself, but I did find a metal-and-wood pole that appeared to be for surveying purposes.

I continued W from the Ski TP area and soon arrived at the western 4240' contour, occupied by an abandoned barn. The highest ground is behind the barn near an abandoned trailer. I agree with Bob Bolton's assessment that the SW area, with the towers and a 4243' spot elevation, is definitely lower and need not be visited.