Le Flore County Highpoint Trip Report
Date: November 17, 2007
Author: Jerry Brekhus
The six candidate spots for this county highpoint are approached via the
Talimena Scenic Drive so named because it stretches from near TALIhina, Oklahoma
to MENA, Arkansas. This road presents surprising views considering that the
highest elevations here are lower than the lowest point in Colorado.
The summits are not so high but the valleys are really low.
I numbered the spots 1-6 from west to east. They are found as three areas,
each of which consists of twin hills very close to each other. We parked near the
first hill and hiked up to the top. There we found a pole just several feet
tall that may be some sort of antenna structure. From there we followed a
little used road cut through the brush to Hill 2, which is occupied by some more
substantial communication equipment. The highest ground here appeared to be
just north of the fenced area.
Returning to the Talimena Scenic Drive, we went a few miles east to visit Hills
3 and 4. Observation showed Hill 3 to be higher. The thorns were surprisingly nasty,
considering that it was only necessary to bushwhack a few yards from the
road to reach the rocky top. As often happens, my efforts to lead us back an
easier way got us into even more thorny stuff. Betty's legs still show several scratches.
Our snake gaiters would have been useful in the tangles we went through.
Hills 5 and 6 are very near the Arkansas state line and really close to the road.
The highest points seemed to be atop rocks that form a sort of wall about
five feet high. The vegetation here was easier to deal with than back at Hills 3 and 4.
If I had to guess, I would guess that Hill 3 in the middle area is the highest
but that is pure conjecture because the three pairs of closed contours are much
too far apart to make any direct comparison.