Ascent of Aransas County High Point on 2011-01-17| Others in Party: | Rose
| | Date: | Monday, January 17, 2011 | | Ascent Type: | Successful Summit Attained | | Motorized Transport to Trailhead: | Car | | Peak: | Aransas County High Point | | Location: | USA-Texas | | Elevation: | 55 ft / 16 m |
Ascent Trip ReportA road hike and an very dense/difficult bushwack, I got cut-up pretty good ....... 1.5 miles, 80 minute RT.
From the Calhoun County Highpoint south of Victoria we found our way south to the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge where we spent some time at the Visitor's Center (videos and exhibits). A 16 mile Auto Tour Loop (5$ fee per car) through the Refuge with a number of trails and overlooks makes this a special place to visit for a Highpointer.
From the Visitor's Center we drove clockwise on the Auto Tour loop, took advantage of the beautiful sunny day by cooking lunch at the picnic grounds at San Antonio Bay, did the hike then completed the Loop.
We parked on the side of the road 2 miles south of the Visitor's Center, where the Auto Tour bends right and a paved road heads straight south at a large sign "Youth Environmental Training Area". This was my TH.
I walked south about .6 miles to the end of the paved road, then bushwacked/fought-my-way south 200 yards up the ridge to the Highpoint area, exceptionally dense vegetation with a lot of thorny vines/bushes, very difficult, I got cut up pretty good. There were some short animal trails.
I chose my highpoint at GPS coordiates 28.27696, 96.80058. The PB's coordinates puts the highpoint in a lower spot.
On the descent I got off my ascent line as I tried to find the easier-way, so I decided to go east to the water and walk north up the sandy/rocky coast about 150 yards before turning west back in the woods to get to the paved road. Luckily I came upon Campsite #3 as soon as I entered the woods, a trail brought me back to the road.
A walk up to the Observation Tower at the southeast side of the Island is worth the visit, crane watching and super panoramic view of San Antonio and Mustang Lake. From here we moved on to the Refugio County Highpoint at the west end of the County.
"REAL GENEROSITY IS DOING SOMETHING NICE FOR SOMEONE WHO WILL NEVER FIND OUT."
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| Summary Total Data | | Elevation Gain: | 45 ft / 13 m | | Elevation Loss: | 45 ft / 13 m | | Distance: | 1.4 mi / 2.3 km | | Route Conditions: | Road Hike, Bushwhack | | Ascent Statistics | | Elevation Gain: | 45 ft / 13 m | | Distance: | 0.7 mi / 1.1 km | | Route: | from auto tour loop sb on road/bushwack | | Trailhead: | aransas national wildlife reserve 10 ft / 3 m | | Descent Statistics | | Elevation Loss: | 45 ft / 13 m | | Distance: | 0.7 mi / 1.2 km | | Route: | from auto tour loop sb on road/bushwack | | Trailhead: | aransas national wildlife reserve 10 ft / 3 m |
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