McMullen County High Point Trip Report
south county line area (680+ ft)
Date: November 11, 2001
Author: Scott Surgent
In Freer, head north on TX-16 past the McMullen county line sign to the junction with FM-624. Turn east
onto FM-624 about 4 miles to a significant junction with a dirt road in the community of Loma Alta.
(This road is just after a slight dog-leg on the main highway and is marked by mailboxes. It's name is "Old San
Diego Road" but the sign is set too far back to be useful.) Go south on this good dirt/hardpack road about 4 miles,
then one mile west. Park where the road turns south again, near 3 large oil storage tanks.
The southernmost tank is in Duval County.
I hiked up a paved (!) gated road up behind the storage tanks. The area obviously has been heavily
disturbed over the years. Each tank is surrounded by a berm about 5 feet above the ground. I hiked to the
area between the 1st and 2nd tanks through grassy scrub. There is a barbed wire fence and just on the other
side is a small hill which clearly was higher than the berms and surrounding land and appeared to be the highpoint.
But it also borders an old gravel pit. However, there is a mature tree growing out of its top.
Considering the land has been altered so much, this seemed like the best option, so I breached the fence to
the highpoint. Instead of backtracking, I just hiked by sight in the brush directly back to my vehicle.