Coke County Highpoint Trip Report

Date: April 25, 2008
Author: Bob Packard

On TX 158 just east of the Sterling-Coke County line is a road going north to a corner at (31° 55.426' N, 100° 49.221' W). When I visited in 2007, I came to a locked gate at this corner. I parked there and walked ranch roads to the spot elevation 2609 on the Crawford Slide Quad. At this spot was a solar powered water pump for an open topped water tank. The old wind mill was there but missing its prop. The ranch manager saw the note on my camper and came out to check on me and gave me a ride back. He felt that the spot elevation was as high as anything in the area and I saw nothing higher on my hike or the ride back.

My, how things have changed by this revisit. The area is now a wind farm with 109 turbines with more being added. When I came to the aforementioned corner, I found a security station. They sent me to the farm manager who gave me permission to drive any of the roads which now honeycomb the area leading to all the turbines. I drove to a southeast arm of the huge 2600 contour leading toward the word "pipeline" and visited the 2600 contour just to the southwest of that word.

Then I drove out the east arm to spot elevation 2605 and hand level indicated nothing higher in the 4 contours outlying that arm. Then it was out to Goat Mountain and Goat BM which I found. There is a crescent of land northeast and east of spot elevation 2608, including the BM which is probably a foot or two higher (2609+), thus competing with the prior mentioned 2609 spot elevation.

Drove out to the obviously lower contour to the north of the "F" in the word "FIELD".

The other three contours on the Crawford Slide Quad are easily ruled out with hand level and observation.

There is another fairly high area in the huge contour around (31° 56.2' N, 100° 49.2' W) but lower than the 2609 to the west in Sterling County. Hand level detected nothing higher to the east or south from there.

Also, TX 158 cuts east-wesy across the lower portion of the huge contour and I drove that. The profiles of the three contours on the Broome Quad show that maximum elevations are in the 2602-2605 range.