Chesapeake City High Point Trip Report

Date: January 16, 2002
Author: Michael Schwartz

Refer to my report of 28 February 2001. The two 30+ foot areas listed in Andy Martin's book cannot be considered as valid highpoints. One is gone, and the other is almost certainly manmade. This leaves thirty- seven areas of 25+ feet on three different topos as highpoint candidates. This area has very little natural relief, and I believe that one of the 25+ foot areas is a good candidate for the true highpoint. It appears to be undisturbed ground, and a 30+ foot contour in Virginia Beach City butts right up against the Chesapeake City line, making the liner highpoint very close to 30 feet. I found only two other areas with other than minimal relief. Note that two of the three quads, Kempsville and Bowers Hill, were revised in 1994 and reflect the tremendous amount of development in the area. The topography was not revised, so the "original" topography as shown on topozone can be matched up to the current street layout. The AAA Norfolk and Vicinity street map is even more current, and some kind of street map is essential. The whole mess took about eight hours.

two areas - 1 7/8 miles southwest 1 3/4 miles west of Mears Corner (on Kempsville 1994 quadrangle)

See my report of 2/28/01. The western area is gone, and the southwest area is almost certainly manmade.

26 areas in the southwest quadrant of Kempsville 1994 quadrangle

#1-2: In Crossways Center, 7/10 mile southwest of I-64/Greenbrier Road cloverleaf. Located in the parking lot between #1500 and #1565 Crossways Blvd. Flat.

#3-5: At edge of Greenbrier Market Center, south of Crossways Center. Executive Blvd., not shown on topo, runs north from Volvo Parkway through this area. There is one sizable patch of undisturbed forest, but little relief, and nothing matching the three obviously manmade areas.

#6-7: 1/2 mile east of #3-5, just across Greenbrier Road. These bumps, at the edge of a housing development, look manmade, probably with the dirt excavated from the adjacent drainage ditch. One of the bumps has a tree on it that looks at least 25 years old.

#8-11: Areas just southwest of "Golf Course." I visited the golf course club house and talked with a manager who has been there since its 1987 opening. She informed me that a nursery had previously occupied the site for many years. The consensus of the old timers is that the 30+ foot ridge running through the golf course is a relic of the drainage ditches shown on the topo, most of which do not exist today. It certainly is out of place in this very flat area and must be considered manmade. The heart-shaped area under the power line and the other areas in the housing development are all suspect. See my report from 28 February 2001 for directions into the development.

#12: Large contour southeast of golf course. See my report from 28 February 2001. On this visit, I thought that the area at #1236 Rellen looked highest. There is minimal relief in the area, and highest ground is not much higher than 25 feet.

#13-19: Areas about one mile east of I-64/Greenbrier Road cloverleaf. Approach these points through the east side of Greenbrier Mall on River Birch Run, passing the now flat 30+ foot area, then swinging east and ending at the Greenbrier Intermediate School, where I parked. The area immediately to the east is forested and generically posted, with no indication of ownership. The trees are very old, and the area does look particularly disturbed. It has a myriad of use paths and shows signs considerable visitation. Across the Virginia Beach City line about 1/2 mile east is a huge landfill complex, and my best guess is that the forest is city-owned and posted to keep the children from approaching the dangerous landfill. This entire area also features little relief, and Lobdellizing is in order to cover all the points. GPS would be a big help, as it would in most of Chesapeake. There is a slight rise along the forest edge that might be the two areas shown, but the relief is very subtle. Proceeding into the woods on a path, pass the next two bumps to the east, practically impossible to identify. The woods are somewhat overgrown, but not very thorny.

I wandered over the area of the northernmost bump, but there's not much there. Finally, I got onto a bit of the "ridge" that had to be the 25 foot contour extending into Virginia Beach. Note the 30 foot contour in Virginia Beach that just about touches the Chesapeake line. The point on the city line just opposite the 30 foot contour is my candidate for the true highpoint of Chesapeake City. Unfortunately the city line is not marked, so walk the ridge until you come fairly close to the landfill, which is in Virginia Beach. I'll bring GPS next time and mark the area. Notice another 25 foot contour just south along the city line. Not much there.

#20-26: Tiny areas north of I-64 and south of "Girl Scout Camp." As shown on the topo, these areas are all in a housing development, on disturbed ground. Minimal relief. Approach the development by taking US 13 east about one mile from Greenbrier Road, then going south onto Paramont (sic) Ave. The points, taken in clockwise order from the northernmost one: 1 -- See tree bumps and electrical right-of-way behind #900 Hastings Court. 2 -- #2100 Haverford Circle sits on HP. 3 -- #10 Drake Circle sits on HP. 4 -- At end of Gloucester Circle cul de sac. Very flat. Treebump? 5/ 6-- Tennis courts along Paramont Ave. Not much relief. 7 -- Take Eaton Way to Seaton Circle. Last cul de sac on right. Slim pickings.

four areas - 1 and 2 miles west and north of Willow Lakes (on Bowers Hill 1994 quadrangle)

Take exit 12 off I-664 and go west on Dock Landing Road a short distance. Go left (south) on Joliff Road/VA 191 for 0.6 mile and make a sharp right onto Charlton Drive, which starts out northwest and soon turns southwest. Turn right onto Askew, then right again onto Lake Shore Drive. Lake Shore ends at a gate, near house #4932. I got permission to park there from a very nice lady. She and her husband do not own the woods, but she said that people hike in there all the time. They are concerned that the area may be developed soon. A woods road continues past the gate and soon crosses one of the many drainage ditches in the area. The topo is not much help in deciphering the maze of roads and ditches in this thickly forested area. Work west along road and ditch and eventually cross the ditch to the left toward some higher ground. An overgrown path will lead up discernible rise to high ground in the woods, the middle 25 foot area. This is my #2 candidate for highest point in Chesapeake.

From there, I backtracked east, took the northwest trending path, and used my compass to work toward the larger northern area. I wandered around for the better part of an hour, covering not-very-obvious high ground. GPS would help. Returning to my car, I drove south on Lake Shore Drive a very short distance, and went right (west) on Willow Lakes Road. This is blocked by a gate 0.6 mile west of Lake Shore Drive, posted to a hunting club. I parked here and walked down the dirt road. My best guess is that the manmade looking area is the bermed road, just beyond the gate. This works from its position relative to the stream and the curvature of the road. Since I wasn't positive of the location of the gate, I walked the road all the way to the fork at the spot elevation of 23 feet. There is absolutely no high ground along the way. Skip this one.

For the large contour 2 miles north of Willow Lakes, return to Joliff Road and take it north across VA 337. Follow the road to a cul de sac along I-664 as shown on the map. Before the cul de sac, see a gated "road" heading west.

I parked here and followed the road, which very quickly deteriorated into an overgrown mess, and where I picked up my first Tidewater ticks. The visibility and relief are both minimal, and again, Lobdellizing is in order. This area cannot be much over 25 feet. The cul de sac is apparently a spot for hanky panky, and I would recommend parking alongside the road near the gate.

seven areas within 1 mile of Fentress (on Fentress 1986 quadrangle)

For the two points south of Fentress near the "Substation", pick your best way south to Fentress. Go west on Fentress Road about 1/2 mile and turn left (south) onto Fentress Loop into a large housing development, nothing of which is shown on the topo. Go south to parking at Etheridge Lakes Park, at the power line right-of-way. There is some high ground immediately to the west along the power line and along Denham Arch on the south side of the power line, and also on Eagleston Arch, north of the power line and a drainage ditch. The whole area has been extensively disturbed, and the high ground is suspect.

For the two areas further west, return to Fentress Road, go west 0.7 mile, and turn left (south) into the Poplar Ridge South development. The main road into the development, Willow Oak Drive (or Road?) is partially shown on the topo, as is Loblolly Court, the road shown heading west into the northern part of the contour. Other roads not shown allow access into the rest of the contour, as well as the southern portion. I saw no trace of the ditch shown on the map as separating the contour into two areas. The area is very flat. For the three areas east of Fentress, go east from Fentress on Blue Ridge Road. Just before Schoolhouse Road (shown on topo) goes north alongside the two large areas, see higher ground to the south, accessible by a farm driveway. Either drive or walk to the obvious low rise. The areas along Schoolhouse Road are extensively disturbed, and the drainage ditch split is not obvious. I felt that the highest ground was toward the south end of the contour, and accessed by walking north from Blue Ridge Road. Do your best.