Seward County Highpoint Trip Report
two tiny areas on small knoll of 2,995+ ft
Date: November 25, 2007
Authors: Dave and Beckie Covill
Andy Martin and John Mitchler have posted trip reports previously, and John’s
is adequate to get you there, from the northwest. I will describe the approach
from the east and south.
From the city of Liberal KS, proceed 5.5 miles north on US 83 from US 54, or 3
miles from the northern edge of Liberal near the Seward County line. Reach a
paved county road, for which I did not see a sign but which I believe to be CR 5,
near a large radio tower on the east side of the major highway. Turn left
and go west for 6 miles, to where the main road curves and continues north.
On the topo is an indication of a community center, which is no longer a visible
landmark. Continue west on CR 5 for one more mile to 7.0. If you were to
continue to mile 8.0, you would hit the un-signed county line with Stevens
County, and the color of the pavement changes subtly. From mile 7.0, proceed
due south on a fair dirt road signed as CR B for 1.5 miles, passing a section
road at 1.0 mile. At 1.5 miles, stop and notice a very rough dirt road weaving
it’s way generally westward and uphill, towards a prominent mound. Go up this
road for 0.5 mile to some oil tanks and park. Pass through a fenced area
through a large opening westward. This fence runs north-south along the center
of section 18 just on the west side of this fence, noted as a red dashed line on
the topo. Here the dirt road curves south and becomes even worse but you want
to leave it and walk up the hill, covered with medium height grass and sagebrush.
The top, as John and Andy note, could possibly be construed to contain two
separate hilltops, although the southwestern rise is subtle and the northeastern
area is surely higher. In bad weather, you would not want to drive the last 1/2
mile up the oil well service road. In snow, you may want to hoof it from the
pavement for 2 miles to the oil tanks. Also, even though it was dry,
I appreciated my high clearance. It appears to have been bladed many months ago
and is just natural dirt.