Baker County High Point Trip Report
Date: October, 1999
Author: Fred Lobdell
Baker County's high point is (or was) a 200-foot contour near the southeastern corner
of the county. It is in an area owned (or controlled) by industrial giant DuPont,
which seems to own much of rural northeastern Florida.
From the intersection of I-10 and US 301, go south on 301 about 10 miles or a little
less to the intersection with county 218. (If you get to the "Bradford County" sign,
you've gone too far.) 218 will be on your left (east); you need to turn right (west)
and go across the railroad tracks. A couple of hundred feet after crossing the tracks
you will pass through a (hopefully) open gate in a chain link fence. There is a sign
saying that it is the property of E. I. DuPont and warning that all visitors and vehicles
are subject to search for contraband. There was no "No Trespassing" sign.
Conditions have changed since both the topographic map and the DeLorme atlas were made.
The access road shown as ending at a "T" intersection about a half mile west of 301 now
continues as a good concrete road for at least another couple of miles. The easiest way
to get to this high area is to take this road to the height of land, and the map shows the
200-foot contour to be to your left (south). I wandered all over this area, and (a) I'm
not convinced that it's higher than an area south of the road (which I also visited);
and (b) I'm not convinced that it's a natural surface. A good part of the area has been
planted with pines, fairly recently since they're only a foot tall. This is a traditional
part of the "restoration" process in this area. Of course, part of the area wasn't replanted,
either. I covered what appeared to be all the high spots, and spent about 45 minutes
in this activity.
I recommend visiting this area on the weekend so as not to be in the way of
active operations. I wouldn't bet my life that I stood on a natural high area,
but I'm counting this one.