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[cohp] Digest Number 5317
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County High Pointing in all 50 states
Yahoo! Groups
County High Pointing in all 50 states Group
9 Messages
Digest #5317
1a
Re: Nat Mons - interest therein, or lack thereof..... by "roy.schweiker@juno.com" accidentlwanderer
2
Trip Reports: Military Working Dog Teams Nat'l Monument by "John Mitchler" mitchler69
3
Nat Mon list worthiness by "John Mitchler" mitchler69
4
Montana convention cohp trips? by "John Mitchler" mitchler69
5a
Re: Texas by "Andy Martin" oldadit
5b
Re: Texas by "John Garner" gaengconsultants
6
Fwd: [prominence] Re: National Park Prominence List by "Andy Martin" oldadit
7
Throw it out there schedule  Re: [cohp] Montana convention cohp trip by "xander Carlson" xandathor
8
Washington/Oregon (and Pickles Butte) TRs, part 2/2 by cuber86

Messages
1a
Re: Nat Mons - interest therein, or lack thereof.....
Wed May 18, 2016 8:53 am (PDT) . Posted by:
"roy.schweiker@juno.com" accidentlwanderer
One thing to be considered is that National Monuments are designated for resource protection, IIRC there are a couple that allow no public access at all and others that forbid access to otherwise desirable points, i.e. Sunset Crater and Chimney Rock. This might discourage those who only work on lists they think they can complete.

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2
Trip Reports: Military Working Dog Teams Nat'l Monument
Wed May 18, 2016 9:56 am (PDT) . Posted by:
"John Mitchler" mitchler69
Kathy & I visited US Military Working Dogs Nat Mon on 4-6-15, and appropriately, we brought our two dogs, Jack & Oak. We have nice photos of them at the monument.

We were denied access to the AFB, but the next day I went to the guard gate with fervor and they were very nice and let us in, with an access permit. Future visitors should not accept "no" for an answer.

Double apology to James for 1) not claiming this sooner (and thus bursting his virgin balloon) and 2) for not posting a trip report.

Sadly, I have not prepared many trip reports of my 89+ nat mon highpoints (nor my 40+ city highpoints) due to my busy schedule and my duties with the HP Club magazine. Anyone should feel free to contact me for advice prior to visiting a city or NM.

BTW, I've been to the HP of Waco Mammoth nat mon.

Lately I've been researching the highest golf course in each state (and even though I'm not a golfer I have golfed the High Course in CO and IA). I looked on Yahoo Groups for "highest state golf courses" but didn't find much, so I'll publish my list in an upcoming issue of the HP Club newsletter.

- John "peakbagger.com not updated" Mitchler

P.S.
Kathy has 43 nat mon highpoints. Jack & Oak have 17.
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3
Nat Mon list worthiness
Wed May 18, 2016 10:30 am (PDT) . Posted by:
"John Mitchler" mitchler69
Xander Carlson wrote
". . . national monuments are being designated at rate per term that keepsgoing up. In the last year alone the president has designated 10 new nationalmonuments. From a list perspective this puts too much chaos into the mix to makeit a worthwhile pursuit . . ."


Although I disagree with the seeming political goal behind many new national monuments, I find them worthy places to visit. Some beautiful. Some educational. Some historic. I find attractive an ever increasing list of these gems, not chaotic. They are not "just another cornfield to visit," but are rather good places. Keep 'em coming.

The negative I see is that the Nat Mon HP brand is being diluted because many of the new 'politico&#39; monuments are lame (ie, home sites). The highpoint cannot be defined, and there's not even a walk involved. They should be Nat Historic Sites, not Nat Monuments. Also, some of the newer nat mons are totally off limits to recreational visitation (not just the HP but the entire monument).

On a good note, I did manage to secure a letter of transit for two (think Casablanca) to the remote and restricted Asuncion Island in the Marianas Trench nat mon! If anyone's interested in going there, let me know. If we're successful it could be the start of a beautiful friendship . . .

Also on a good note, I search my parent's photo box and found 1969 vacation snapshots of us on the summit of Sunset Crater. Proof!

- John "beauty in the eye of the beholder" Mitchler
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4
Montana convention cohp trips?
Wed May 18, 2016 12:20 pm (PDT) . Posted by:
"John Mitchler" mitchler69
If this subject has been settled, then please advise me. I need to catch up on my digests.

Jerry B. volunteered to lead a cohp group during convention week, but I do not have details.

Dave C. volunteered to lead a Nat Mon group on Fri of the convention.

What else?

Are there any overnight forays being planned?

- John "25th convention" Mitchler
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5a
Re: Texas
Wed May 18, 2016 1:13 pm (PDT) . Posted by:
"Andy Martin" oldadit
James - enjoyed your TR. How long are you in TX ??
You might be the only peakbagger living there
at the moment.

(James)
the standard 4 favorite words of any Texas county high point land owner
are missing: Private Property No Trespassing

No need to post every speck of land in TX, because
everyone knows there is no tresspassing in TX
except streets and sidewalks:

http://thescoopblog.dallasnews.com/files/2016/04/NM_TENTCITYSIGNS_0414MET_JL_05_50000037.jpg

(James)
The fences in this part of Texas are all 10 feet tall. I guess they
really don't like county highpointers here.

These fences had me baffled until I learned they
keep deer penned up until they grow world
class antlers. Turns out some deer queers are into
horn porn. Links on this below.

And folks think peakbagers are crazy ??

http://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/06/us/the-peril-and-profit-in-bagging-big-antlers-behind-high-fences.html

http://www.texasmonthly.com/the-culture/which-side-of-the-fence-are-you-on/

http://www.petersenshunting.com/deer/whitetail/unfair-chase-finding-perspective-in-the-high-fence-debate/

http://www.grandviewoutdoors.com/big-game-hunting/fair-chase-hunting-behind-high-fences/

On 5/18/2016 1:38 AM, cohp@yahoogroups.com wrote:
> Trip Reports: Texas County High Points
> <https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/cohp/conversations/topics/27652

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5b
Re: Texas
Wed May 18, 2016 1:42 pm (PDT) . Posted by:
"John Garner" gaengconsultants
He's not the only one. I live in Dallas, though I'm not very active at the moment.

John Garner

> On May 18, 2016, at 3:13 PM, Andy Martin oldadit@gmail.com [cohp] <cohp@yahoogroups.com> wrote:
>
> James - enjoyed your TR. How long are you in TX ??
> You might be the only peakbagger living there
> at the moment.
>
> (James)
> the standard 4 favorite words of any Texas county high point land owner
> are missing: Private Property No Trespassing
>
> No need to post every speck of land in TX, because
> everyone knows there is no tresspassing in TX
> except streets and sidewalks:
>
> http://thescoopblog.dallasnews.com/files/2016/04/NM_TENTCITYSIGNS_0414MET_JL_05_50000037.jpg
>
> (James)
> The fences in this part of Texas are all 10 feet tall. I guess they
> really don't like county highpointers here.
>
> These fences had me baffled until I learned they
> keep deer penned up until they grow world
> class antlers. Turns out some deer queers are into
> horn porn. Links on this below.
>
> And folks think peakbagers are crazy ??
>
> http://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/06/us/the-peril-and-profit-in-bagging-big-antlers-behind-high-fences.html
>
> http://www.texasmonthly.com/the-culture/which-side-of-the-fence-are-you-on/
>
> http://www.petersenshunting.com/deer/whitetail/unfair-chase-finding-perspective-in-the-high-fence-debate/
>
> http://www.grandviewoutdoors.com/big-game-hunting/fair-chase-hunting-behind-high-fences/
>
> On 5/18/2016 1:38 AM, cohp@yahoogroups.com wrote:
> > Trip Reports: Texas County High Points
> > <https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/cohp/conversations/topics/27652
>
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6
Fwd: [prominence] Re: National Park Prominence List
Wed May 18, 2016 1:25 pm (PDT) . Posted by:
"Andy Martin" oldadit
Only vaguely related to COHPS, but very cool
map for folks into summits and National
park units.

(Guy - post to prominence egroup)
Here's a link to a Google Maps mashup of ListsofJohn summits (prom>150m)
within the National Parks.
Using the Legend on the left of the screen, you can filter for N. Parks
only.

http://www.spinmap.com/npota-sota/map.html

This mashup was done for the Nat Park Service centennial 2016
celebration in conjunction with ham radio operators who radio-activate
these summits and score points for an Awards program.

If you click on one of the icons, you can get some basic LofJ info.
Unfortunately, we didn't show the prom data on the pop out but you can
get the peak name and go to LofJ for prom data.

Regards, Guy (N7UN hamradio callsign)

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7
Throw it out there schedule  Re: [cohp] Montana convention cohp trip
Wed May 18, 2016 2:22 pm (PDT) . Posted by:
"xander Carlson" xandathor
I put out some feelers on this earlier in the year but didn't get much interest.

I'm sure there are many who will be attempting Granite and Gannett for the convention (I will already be going up Granite). But beyond the two obvious choices, there are a handful of county highpoints that we could go for.

Already, myself and Dick Ellsworth have talked about Francs Peak during that time frame as well as Washakie Needles. But that might be a bit far south for some. There is also Ultra-Prom Crazy to the north, but that is also perhaps two far north for some.

More local to the convention site, we have Mt Douglas, Mt Wood and Castle Mountain. Mt Wood would be the shortest of those three and closest to the convention site.

I will be in the area the entire week leading up to the trip and if plans haven't been cemented for anything yet, I can suggest the following itinerary, and if anyone feels like coming along, I'd be happy to have any of my fellow cohp'ers to come along with me.

Friday, August 5th Climb Francs Peak
Saturday August 6th-7th Climb one or the other of the following:
Mt Douglas the Sweet Grass County Highpoint in Montana
Washakie Needles the Hot Springs County Highpoint in Wyoming
Mt Douglas is closer to the convention area and is another Beartooth range highpoint. It also has a bit of route finding issues when looking at previous trip reports. Washakie does not have the route finding issues but is an APEX COHP and has two pitches of technical terrain with very loose steep scree leading up to it. I would have no problem trying for either of these. I cannot speak for Dick on his availability for certain, but yesterday he said he had the goal of completing the Wyoming county high points this year, so I think he would be able to be the most experienced technical lead on any group that wanted to try this. Mt Douglas on the other hand is not technical, but should take two days as well.

August 8-11th I will be attempting Granite with a team already so I can't offer up any options then.

Thursday August 11th to Friday, August 12th, This might be a good day to try Mt Wood. My current plans are to descend Granite Peak on the 11th and if we attempted the southern route to Mt Wood posted by Greg Slayden in 2012 here: http://peakbagger.com/climber/ascent.aspx?aid=259712 I could meet any team heading out to Mt Wood's campsite at 9600 feet on the 11th. If all goes well we should be able to be back down in time for the meet and greet at the convention on Friday night.


This is just a 'throw it out there' to start conversation and see who might be interested in this theoretical schedule. Doing all of it, or some of it or only one of it, it gives COHP'ers some options in the area. Plus all of these summits, are in heavy grizzly country so it gives people who solo hike the option to have strength in numbers at hikes around the convention dates. I didn't put Castle on this throw it out there list because it sounds like a three day prospect for most folks.

Josh Carlson

--------------------------------------------
On Wed, 5/18/16, John Mitchler jdmitchler@aol.com [cohp] <cohp@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

Subject: [cohp] Montana convention cohp trips?
To: cohp@yahoogroups.com
Date: Wednesday, May 18, 2016, 2:20 PM


 









If this subject has
been settled, then please advise me. I need to catch up on
my digests.



Jerry B. volunteered to lead a cohp group during convention
week, but I do not have details.



Dave C. volunteered to lead a Nat Mon group on Fri of the
convention.



What else?



Are there any overnight forays being planned?



- John "25th convention" Mitchler






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8
Washington/Oregon (and Pickles Butte) TRs, part 2/2
Wed May 18, 2016 6:36 pm (PDT) . Posted by:
cuber86
Here's the batch from the other half of my trip. Lewis Peak in WA, the remaining Oregon logging counties, and the Oregon ranching counties...again, mid-May of 2016 for all reports.

Lewis Peak--Walla Walla COHP WA
I was worried about this one. Turns out, at least on this day, to have not been a big deal. Planning a very early trip in to avoid awake people, I headed up the well-signed Lewis Peak Rd (also notable for a large grain silo converted into a home at the turnoff!) and made good time up the road, even on the "4WD" part; the only navigational issue of note was to stay R at an unsigned split most of the way up the road. I at last reached the closed and signed/posted gate around 4:30 AM, my passenger car encountering no major issues, and immediately headed up the road on foot. Going R at the first good dirt road spur, I followed this steep road up to the summit area and cabin just below, which on this midweek morning in late spring, looked to be unoccupied. Nice views from the summit, including of nearby peaks only a thousand feet higher yet still holding a fair bit of snow. Returned the same way, but somehow missed a critical turn and ended up on the road I'd driven in on, a tenth of a mile back from the gate, feeling rather disoriented for a minute! Walked back uphill to my car once I figured it out and left without incident. This route, near as I can tell, avoids any homes or being visible from homes--except for, of course, the summit cabin. Half hour roundtrip.

Gilliam OR COHP
There are times in this hobby (the previous peak being an example) when one asks the question "...why the hell am I doing this crap?". This highpoint, as it turned out, provided a compelling answer. Getting there was an annoyance, as I forgot about the R turn off of Lonerock Rd and found myself most of the way to Lonerock before realizing my mistake! Following the correct road, it eventually descended into a broad, beautiful valley with a ranch structure nestled within it. I drove past the 4-way and turned right to drive right up to the Hardie Ranch house, where I was greeted by Mrs. VanWinkle and a few friendly border collies. She was just one of the nicest folks you could meet, and readily granted permission, thanking me for asking--according to her, most don't, which upsetted her. While I may not be the paragon of virtue when it comes to asking permission--see five hours prior!--there really is no good reason not to ask it of the ranchers here. Please seek them out at the ranch or call ahead of time, or--barring anything else--at least leave a note on your vehicle for them.

As for the hike--I took a very convoluted route. Following the main road east from the 4-way, it switchbacked its way up the west ridgeline, went down the other side, and crossed at a gate in the valley to the east. I continued and stayed left up what was more the remnant of a road than any kind of roadway, taking this uphill to a second gate. From here I just aimed for the highpoint. High ground appears to be one of several small, slightly raised hillocks near a solitary tree; while gridding one of them, I found a register can, with the last entry half a decade prior! I had a very pleasant walk over to the west ridge, whose candidate area was actually a distinct if flat summit north of the county line. My one mistake of the route was dropping into the creek west of the west ridge candidate, which became tedious to travel in spots--I recommend staying at least 100' above the steep, narrow valley floor. Followed back to a main track back to the car, 2:30 roundtrip.

Tillamook OR COHP--Rogers Peak
This one was scenic, for logging country! I went on a weekday, which meant I knew I'd be dealing with logging operations, but simply resolved to stay out of their way as best I could. The steep mile or so of road that some have strugged with at times proved not to be a game-stopper for the Vibe, probably on account of low amounts of road gravel on this day. Twice, loggers stopped and briefly spoke with me on my drive up, though more out of concern than anything else, and nobody forbade me from being there. I parked at a good pullout prior to the gate, which is turns out was an ideal situation (there's turnaround room at the gate, which was open on this day, but not much). This was only 0.2 miles from the gate, which is just before the saddle. It was all of an hour's walk to the top from here, with stunning views from the logged summit just west of Rogers, including of unique Saddle Mtn (Clatsop OR COHP). Found the overgrown ATV trail which led to just below the treed-in summit and register. Drive down went well, with no logging trucks while I was on the steep downhill bit.

Washington OR COHP--South Saddle Mtn
Followed road directions from SP, which could have used one or two more specifics near the end, but I figured it out, more or less. Minimal logging operations, handful of other people on the drive up. Parked at the saddle where the roads to both peaks are gated. Went up west summit first, which from the summit looked undeniably higher than the east summit. Highest spot was a jumble of rocks that didn't look natural, but the ground under them likely was; I tagged several rocks around the small summit area just to be sure. The east summit has the better views, especially from the very end of the road perhaps 30' below the actual summit--views stretched from Rogers Peak to Rainier to South Sister. Really glad I picked a nice day for this one! The summit area, reached by a brief brushy scramble, included a boulder at each far E-W end (no line of sight so I don't know which is highest) and an old chimney on clearly lower ground between the above two spots. Except for one wrong turn when I wasn't paying attention, the drive out was uneventful.

Polk OR COHP--Laurel Mtn
I was a bit worried on this one as I hadn't seen any ascents since several in 2014. Access is, however, unchanged. Emailed Brian Wellman who readily granted permission to visit the FAA facilities. Drove in the night prior to just before the signage, which discourages unauthorized vehicles but still allows non-motorized travel on logging property. Slept in the car, woke as early logging vehicles started heading up the road, but nobody bothered me. Started walking my crappy walmart bike up the road around 6:30 AM. Laurel Mountain with its gray FAA radar dome first came into view around mile 2 (the road is handily marked every 1/2 mile). Around mile 5 1/2, reached a flatter stretch that allowed me to bike for a few miles. I left my bike at the upper FAA gate and walked the rest of the steep road to the summit, with some nice views south and east just below. Nobody was at the facility, but as requested, I took no photos of anything manmade up there. Highest ground is a jumble of rocks off to the right side of the road just before the facility fence; again, looks to be manmade but on highest natural ground. Walked the perimeter of the fence just to be sure nothing else was higher. On the descent, noticed my bike was having trouble braking, and sure enough, one of my freaking brake pads had fallen off! Thanks, walmart...walked the bike most of the remaining 5 miles back down to the car, pissed off, arriving shortly after noon. Returned the shit bike and spent the rest of the day relaxing in Corvallis with a nice older couple my mom and I had met on Mt. Ajo, who were kind enough to let me spend the night.

Yamhill OR COHP--Trask Mtn
I was prepared for a long drive and a modest hike. I got a slightly longer drive and a brief walk! Drove in on Nestucca River Rd (this changes names several times, it starts out as Meadowlake Rd in Carlton) and found the turnoff, following Daniel Mick's impeccable directions up to the confusing Toll Rd multi-road intersection where I was expecting to park at a locked gate. Up to this point, there had been no gates along the road, so this should be a pretty "safe" approach for Trask for the foreseeable future. I decided to at least drive up the summit road until the gate, and made it a good way up before encountering said gate--which was open! And on a weekend, to boot...I hesitated only a few moments, then decided to just book it in the car and hope nobody closed the thing before I got back. Driving in thick fog, I passed a few parked and unoccupied vehicles and a spur road leading uphill and behind me that was signed no entry due to active logging operations. Stayed R and uphill at a saddle, then passed through a confusing gravel pit, then suddenly realizing I was headed downhill...turned around at the first opportunity and parked at a flat pullout just SW of the summit, then picked up the old grassy spur road--now impassable to any vehicle--and walked it the five steep minutes to the top, a grassy clearing surrounded by pines. There was an old foundation and some metal poles in concrete--a dismantled fire tower and residence, I'm sure. I returned the same way, encountering a still-open gate and no people until I had covered several miles back toward pavement. Finished off the day with a short hike up Beacon Rock in the Columbia River gorge--an infinitely more enjoyable and worthwhile mountain than Trask--and some good sours at Cascade Brewery.

Two notes: it took me about 3 hours total from Carlton to summit to Carlton. I do tend to go zoom-zoom on winding dirt roads though, so your estimates should run a bit longer. And the gate, at around 2700-2800' up, by my recollection, didn't have much room to park or turn around, so parking at the lower road intersection might be best unless you're lucky like I was. Huge, huge thanks to Daniel for making this one go from a navigational nightmare into a long but reasonable drive on good gravel roads!

Lincoln OR COHP--Saddle Bag Mtn and one area
After my bike fiasco earlier in the week, I decided screw it, I'll just walk the thing. While LiDAR shows Saddle Bag as lower than the other candidate, I decided to cover my bases and visit both. Drove to the area around 6:45 am on a Sunday, finding the logging gate open! I was sorely tempted to try driving in, but more negative vehicle signage and the worry about being locked in discouraged me from trying. Ran back to town to use the bathroom, and found my decision vindicated when, upon my return a half hour later, the gate was closed again! Donned my rain gear and started walking. Murphy Rd was reliably signed with mileage every 1/2 mile until around mile 7 (near the crucial road split that takes you to the two different candidates). I followed the spur road from the saddle to its end at a large pullout, then continued on an overgrown ATV track till that ended, then saw a pink-treed flag up on the summit ridge to the right; reaching that, simply continued up grassy slopes to the summit area. The likely higher candidate near the county line had just a few spots to tag along a small open ridge, and would likely have views on a clearer day.

Heading up Saddle Bag was far less straightforward, with numerous road junctions to watch out for; at one point, you turn R onto a more overgrown road. I'd also been hearing a small logging operation going on most of the morning somewhere near the road junction at mile 7, but luckily never got close enough to see anything going on. Though I'd heard warnings against it, I took the northern fork leading toward the summit, and indeed found the deadfall area to be a nightmare; it lasted most of the way to the summit and took forever, and was probably dangerous in its wet, slippery state. The actual summit area was in modestly heavy, but deadfall-free woods. I attempted to descend toward the south road to see if that option might be any better, but ended up getting hopelessly turned around and on the north side of the mountain, finally making the tedious deadfall-ish bushwhack back up to the road, but not before scraping my shin pretty nicely on a dead tree branch. Good riddance. I was passed by a pickup truck on the way back, but the return to my car was otherwise pretty uneventful. 11 hrs 15 minutes total, with probably an hour of that dicking around in the deadfall on Saddle Bag. Glad to have the Oregon logging counties done though!

Sherman OR COHP
>From the pullout, in the early morning hours. Reached the summit area and my waypoint, wandered a few minutes until I chanced upon a small rock cairn, called it good and headed down as the skies began to lighten. Perhaps 45 minutes total. Two things to be aware of: there are daytime paving operations going on this May of 2016 in the area, though as they've been completed near the pullout, that should pose less issue now. And I understand the highpoint area is used some summers for calving Angus cattle, which means the winter months are probably the best time to attempt this one, especially if asking for permission.

Canyon ID COHP--Pickles Butte
Not as horrid as expected, though in large part because I was able to get my car to within a tenth of a mile and 80' below the summit! Drove in from Missouri Rd, entering the large gravel parking area, then finding a passable road through the piles of gravel on the north side. Followed uneven, bumpy, dusty roads from there toward the obvious rise, deciding not to risk my Vibe on the last steep section to the top. Couple of rocks to tag in two close areas on the summit. Sweeping views of the "gorgeous"; Snake River Valley and ATV trails. Meh.

Addenda:

1. I found a teal-colored GPS just below the summit of the Wahkiakum COHP. It was damaged beyond repair, with cracked screen and moisture inside. Maybe this will bring someone some closure...

2. For Lilienthal, I won't publicly post contact information for the landowner. Interested and legitimate parties can contact me directly. I never did attempt to contact him beyond my initial in-person endeavors, so I'd be interested to hear back as well.

3. That's about all the big collections of Western COHPs you're gonna get out of me for a couple of years! I'm starting residency in a month, so I'll be reduced to being able to count the number of new Western COHPs I do each year on both hands, most likely. Can't wait to get back into it--though still at a slower pace than now--in a few years! It's been fun.


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