Putnam County High Point Trip Report

Date: October, 1999
Author: Fred Lobdell

There are two 220-foot contours within about a half mile of each other that are candidates for the Putnam County HP. From the intersection of FL 26 and FL 100 in the hamlet of Putnam Hall, go south (actually, almost east here) on 100 for about 3 miles to the hamlet of Grandin. Turn right (south) on county 315 and go a little more than 5 miles to a dirt road on the right, Flamingo Blvd. Turn right and take this road to the end, about 2 miles. Park here; the first area is just about due north from this point.

Walk into the woods, and in about 30 feet there will be a fence. It is topped with a strand of barbed wire, but it is not posted. If you have short legs, like me, you have to hold down the top wire and execute a little hop to get over with all your parts intact. Luckily, I was able to find a place where the barbed wire strand drooped below the non-barbed wire, so the risk wasn't as great as it might have been. From the fence line bushwhack through relatively open woods, heading a little west of due north (bearing, say, about 330) until the high area is reached. Return the same way.

The second area is reached by driving south on the street that is perpendicular to Flamingo Blvd. Drop down into a hollow and then climb to a height of land on the street. Park here; the high area will be on your left (east).

Walk into the woods. The highest area appears to be at the base of a pine tree that is just inside a fence that marks the property line around a house. The ground on the outside of the fence may be lower by a couple of inches. This situation will be corrected when the tree falls.

This is a strange area. There is a rectangular grid of dirt roads, as if they were laid out and bulldozed by a developer who later went belly-up. There are a number of houses in the area, but many roads have no houses on them at all.

The roads with houses are in better shape than those without, as might be expected, but I wouldn't want to try driving on any of them after a week's rain.