Pottawattamie County High Point Trip Report
twelve areas (1,360+ ft)
Date: January 19, 2004
Author: Bob Schwab
three areas north of I-80 (1,360+ ft)
Exit I-80 at Walnut (exit 46) and drive north 0.5 mile to the county line.
Turn left on York Street (100th) and drive west about a mile to a shed and 2 grain
bins on your right (north). Park here and enter the bean field to the south (area 1).
There is a second (no longer obvious) contour (area 2) about 0.35
mile farther south in the field. Hand level sightings make me think that
plowing has made it lower than area 1 which has also been plowed continuously.
Return to your car and head east for 0.4 mile to a dirt road going uphill to the
south (500th). This road dead-ends near some grain bins where you can park and
enter the bean field to your east (area 3). This is another incredibly flat
bean field on top (the roadbed actually seems higher) so wander around some to
be sure you set foot on it.
six areas west of Walnut (1,360+ ft)
From the interstate exit, drive south about 1 mile to the town of Walnut (a
haven for antique collectors) and watch for Western Avenue. Turn right and
drive west on Western for 1.1 miles to area 4, which crosses the road near a
house with a windmill out front. Two more contours (areas 5 and 6) are behind
the house and out in the field (get permission at the house to cross the fence
and enter the field). The higher spot is directly north from the house.
Continue driving west for about 0.25 mile on Western and note the small rise in
the road (area 7) just before you get to 490th Street. Turn right and drive
north on 490th for 0.5 mile to the intersection with Whippoorwill. Park here at
this intersection and hike east up the bank, staying on the north side of the
fence line. About 0.3 mile east you will notice a small rise just south of the
fence (area 8), but keep going another 500 feet or so to area 9, which extends
north for about 0.25 mile. This contour feels higher than the other areas in
this cluster and is my candidate for the county highpoint.
three areas south of Walnut (1,360+ ft)
From the southern edge of the town of Walnut, drive south on Route 83 for 1 mile
to Teakwood Road. Turn right and drive west for about 0.25 mile and park along
the edge of the road. There are two small contours immediately north and south
of the road (areas 10 and 11). I briefly wandered in both cornfields but it was
easy to see that the soil right along the edge of the fence was as high as
anything out in the fields. Continue west roughly another o.5 mile to the farm
on the right. Roughly 0.5 mile north out in the flat field is a small contour
(area 12). I thought about bothering the owners for permission to walk out there,
but decided against it because I could see there wasn’t any discernable
rise out there, I had just visited Area 9 which has discernable rise inside the
contour lines, and it was very cold (wind chills in the -10s). In other words,
I skipped it because I’m convinced it’s not the county highpoint.
Future visitors should evaluate it for themselves.