Broome County Highpoint Trip Report
BM "Slawson" and one area on county line (both 2,080+ ft)
Date: August 5, 2004
Author: Fred Lobdell
BM "Slawson"
See previous reports for directions. However, we found a more efficient way to the summit.
A couple of hundred yards south of the intersection of Walker Road and O'Brien Road, where we
left the car, there is a gated private driveway and a hundred yards or so south of that is a relatively new
logging road. This road goes almost to the summit and makes for easier travel than previous routes.
Once in the summit contour, you need to turn right (south) and bushwhack through knee-deep ferns and other
stuff for several hundred feet. Look for a witness post nailed to a large beech tree.
Nearby will be the stump of another large beech tree that was snapped off 10-15 feet above the ground.
People have been in here with a chain saw and cut up some of the deadfall but a large branch
is still lying very near the bench mark.
BM Slawson is on a concrete pillar, about three feet tall and perhaps 8 inches on a side.
Using the BM coordinates from the USGS data sheet and a GPS unit led us right to the BM.
According to Fallsesn's guide book, the hunting club that owns this area doesn't mind hikers
when it is not hunting season. This area is almost certainly higher than the next area,
where a 2,080-foot contour barely enters the county;
therefore, we did this last as it completed New York for me.
area on county line
Again, follow previous reports for this one. Access is through Oquaga State Park.
The land with the high area is either part of the state park or of an adjacent state forest;
it's all public land. The bushwhack up through the woods isn't bad but once on top we were attacked
and ravaged by numerous blackberry bushes. Long pants are very strongly recommended.
As mentioned above, this area is very unlikely to be the true HP of Broome County
but we did it anyway for the sake of completeness. GPS again helped identify the two summit bumps.