2024-04-06: Escambia County Highpoint

Escambia County highpoint, elevation 286'. Completed 2024-04-06. Florida county highpoints 2/67.

Logically, each county has one highest point. For more mountainous regions, such as back home in New York, those points are usually easy to identify. However, in the low-lying terrian of the Gulf Coast, things are a bit murkier.

For over four years, I attended college in Pensacola Florida, the westernmost city in the state. Naturally, I wanted to reach the highest point of Escambia County, where the city is located, for much of that time. However, due to the flat topography, the exact highpoint of the county isn't known for certain. The best we have is a list of 32 spots where the elevation contours rise above 280' on topographic maps. To claim the highpoint, every spot needed to be reached.

In my final year of college, I decided I was finally up to the challenge.

2023-12-02: DAY ONE (5/32)

Reaching all 32 spots in one day is a nearly impossible task, so I accomplished it over the course of four days in late 2023 and early 2024. On the first day I dragged Audrey with me, although she slept most of the time, as I went out to grab five of the spots most likely to be the actual highpoint. The weather was cool and rainy and generally crummy for anything other than drive-ups.

The Peakbagger website has a number of excellent resources for highpointing in general, and I will be referring to their numbering system for the highpoint candidates throughout this report.

Map of the five candidates I bagged on Day One, notated in blue. Red rings are then-unreached candidates.

The first three spots I visited are also the most northerly, located along the AL-FL state line off of Jones Road. Crucially, the easternmost of these, "Area 3", located at the intersection of Jones and Pineville Roads, has a callout of 286' on USGS maps, the highest of the few called-out candidate spots. I figured this was mostly likely to be the true highpoint, and therefore should be my first stop.

Looking north down Pineville Road from Area 3.

I jumped out of the car at the intersection, snapped some pictures, and then continued east on Jones Road, which turns to dirt/sand after the intersection. Area 5 is about a half-mile east on the road, and I found it easily, cross-referencing the map on my phone with a printed-out map of highpoint candidates I had brought with me.

Brown fields to the north, seen from Area 5.

Jones Road curves after another half-mile eastward, continuing east into a dead-end while the road proper goes south. This curve is the location of Area 7, the last of three candidates on Jones Road.

Summit selfie from Area 7, looking south down Jones Road.

Jones Road definitely feels hilly, and all three candidate points here are at clear local maximums. All three maximums 'feel' relatively high, although Area 5 seems to be the lowest of them all. This road is straight and clear enough that sight-level measurment from Area 5 might be able to determine the higher of the three points definitively.

More damp farm views from Jones Road.

My next stop was Area 11, located along the dead-end Rease Seales Road to the west. Rease Seales Road goes through a cattle ranch, which was quite muddy on this rainy day, but it was in better condition than Jones Road.

Rainy summit selfie from the top of Area 11.

Area 11 has the closest thing to 'views' I found at any of the Escambia County highpoints, looking northeast up a siazble hill towards Alabama. This seems to indicate that the Jones Road areas are higher in elevation than Rease Seales; however, it's possible that the crest of this hill lies entirely over the state line.

Marginally hilly terrain north of Area 11.

My last stop of the afternoon was Area 14, some distance to the south along the dirt North Pineville Road. By now, the rain was starting to intensify, and between generally miserable weather and a passed-out girlfriend, serious bushwhacking was out of the question for the day. Area 14 required only a shot walk into a pine stand, just south of a trailer and a sandy trail.

From the crest of North Pineville Road in worsening weather.

While I was disappointed to only bag five spots, I made the right choice in bailing. The drizzle quickly turned to storms so bad that we had to pull off the road and wait out the rain. With this area only an hour or so from campus, I knew I would have ample opportunity to return.

2023-12-11: DAY TWO (16/32)

The next opportunity came just over a week later. We had classes off to study for finals, Audrey had work all day, and I had a mission. On this second day, I finished the 'western cluster', a group of 16 candidate spots in the northwestern area of Escambia County, bringing me halfway to completion.

I stopped first at Area 13, south of Nokomis Road, a quick semi-bushwhack along overgrown 4x4 trails. These trails were choked with vines which tripped me up a few times. This area is very flat, and it was hard to tell if the candidate's coordinates were truly much higher than the road.

From here, I headed north to Jakes Road for Area 12 and Area 4. Area 12, located off the dirt road in some tall pines, seems clearly lower in elevation than Nokomis Road to the south, so much so that it had me questioning the accuracy of the topographic maps. Area 4, farther along the north portion of the road in front of a house with a barking dog, has some more elevation to it.

Looking south down Jakes Road from near Area 12.

I headed north from these spots to Area 6, another spot off of Jones Road, albeit not on the state line and some distance to its east. I had passed this up the previous day as it required a jog out into a soybean field, something that was much more pleasant alone in the sun. There seems to be some clear elevation here, and I definitely felt a slight incline from the road, but I would guess it's lower than the other Jones Road spots.

View towards the water tower from Area 6.

I went back west from here towards the far end of Jakes Road, which turns into a dead end after crossing North Pineville Road. Areas 1 and 2 are near here, the areas considered the likeliest candidates by Peakbagger. These require a mile round-trip bushwhack, likely the farthest of any of the county's highpoint candidates.

A trip report from Ben Lostracco in 2010 recommended asking permission from a brick house south of the road's gated end, but I found the house abandoned when I arrived. The gate itself was covered in NO TRESPASSING signs, so I opted to risk it and jogged north from the road's end up a hill through a cut cotton field. Area 2 is near the crest of this hill.

Open, brushy terrain near the top (?) of Escambia County.

From Area 2, I hopped a barbed wire fence to my west and entered an area of open, brushy terrain that looked like it had been clear-cut in the past few years. After a bit of bushwhacking, I met up with some mown trails that led me straight to Area 1, a bit of a clearing near some piled-up old logs. There is a definite sense of elevation here, although that may be due to the openness of the area.

Summit selfie from Area 1.

A quick jog back to the trailhead found my car undisturbed, so I continued on my way. I swung by Area 9 and Area 10 next, two spots in the woods off of Tullis Road just to the southeast. Area 9 was a quick bushwhack up a surprisingly steep hill with some of the densest foliage I had ever bushed through, too dense to take any summit photos. Area 10 is right near someone's backyard, but I parked some distance away and took some littered trails to the coordinates, which again seemed to be actually downhill from the road.

Looking east down Tullis Road from my trailhead for Area 9.

I headed south from here towards Area 8 on Hollingsworth Road. While not technically a dead-end, Hollingsworth Road is heavily posted by someone who clearly isn't interested in visiting highpointers. However, the area here seems to only descend in elevation, becoming swampy. This corroborates earlier reports by Bill Jacobs and Ben Lostracco that the 280' contour here might actually be an improperly-marked 260' contour.

On my way out, I swung by Area 15, southwest of Circle Road to the northeast. Circle Road is a dirt road, very rural and very active on this Monday afternoon, with dog wandering around. I didn't bag the highpoint proper due to this, although from what I could tell, the surrounding area was largely level with the road.

Finally, I tagged Area 17, right long Nokomis Road west of its intersection with FL-97. This spot is a mown cornfield, incredibly flat, with no apparent highpoint within visible range. Still, I grabbed a picture and hopped out of the car for a moment.

With half of the candidate spots, and the entire western cluster, complete, I headed back to campus largely content, although still not super happy about 'cheating' at Area 15. Still, I was only halfway to my goal, and more trips would be required to complete the two remaining 'clusters'.

2024-03-30: DAY THREE (27/32)

It wasn't until the following semester that I was able to get back to highpointing, on a sunny Saturday when Audrey was again busy with work. My main goal for the day was the 12-spot 'central cluster', and, if possible, the five remaining spots to the east. Armed with print-out maps and three months of pent-up highpointing energy, I set off.

My first stop was along Sandy Hollow Road, Area 21. Here, I was greeted by a locked gate and a number of signs warning against trespassing under the threat of video surveillance. There's a clear trail that leads west from the road, down into a hollow and then climbing up again to the highpoint. The land is owned by the Sandy Hollow Creek Hunting Club, and while I didn't have the time that day, future highpointers might be advised to try and contact the club for permission if possible.

The well-used trail at Area 21.

I bagged a few more points nearby that didn't require much effort. Area 20 is just to the north along Sawyer Hollow Road. Area 16, to the west off of CR-4, was recently converted from forest into a working horse ranch, with a house right on the highpoint.

From here I went north to Area 18, off a driveway north of Pine Barren Church Road. While this area is very flat, like much of the area near Nokomis Road, there was a pretty clear highest area near the highpoint candidate coordinates. However, upon closer inspection, this area appeared to be manmade. I tagged it anyway and quickly left the long driveway.

Looking north down the driveway towards the high ground.

My next stop was Area 19, the first of three spots on Greenland Road. Greenland Road is another one of those spots that seems to have some elevation, although elevations are often disconnected from perceptions. Area 19 is located right near the intersection of Greenland and Cassidy Roads, with a mapped spot elevation of 282'.

The view south down the gated Cassidy Road.

Areas 22 and 23, the remaining Greenland Road candidates, involved one of the longest bushwhacks of my mission. I parked near an old foundation and walked down south a bit to Area 23, which is right on the road. Here, I began my bushwhack west towards Area 22.

Greenland Road, looking north from Area 23.

I headed through a field of soybeans that were already above my ankles, aiming for a highpoint deep in the field listed at 283' on USGS maps. I had to leap over a culvert between two groves of trees, stopping at the highpoint candidate coordinates some distance beyond here, although it was hard to find any clear high ground.

The trench I had to jump over near Area 22.

I jogged back to Greenland Road just in time to be flagged down by a local farmer driving a tractor. I was worried at first that he would be upset at me for going through the field, but he just wanted to make sure I wasn't broken down. He had noticed my out-of-state plates, and we talked for a little while before he continued on his way. After a leisurely (and much relieved) walk back to my car, I continued working through the Central Cluster.

Summit selfie at Area 22.

The next two candidates were both easy drive-ups. Area 25, located at a sharp curve on Dortch Road, is near a cattle feeding area. Area 26 is on the AL line at the intersection of CR-99 and State Line Road, which was only confusing as the latter is listed as Bratt Road on Google Maps, but signed as State Line Road.

Area 24 is located in a field west of McElhaney Road. McElhaney Road itself was closed for construction, so I had to take the long way around through Alabama to get to the road's northern end. The field has KEEP OUT signs and is encircled by fencing, but there's a hole in the fence. A USGS spot elevation of 283' is at a fairly clear highpoint on the far side of a line of trees beyond the field, although tall grass made it difficult to identify an exact highest point.

Looking towards Area 24 (by the line of trees) from McElhaney Road.

 My final stop of the day was Area 27, located far to the east at the state line along Pine Barren Road. The state line on this narrow paved road isn't marked, so I used the maps on my phone to find the exact point, although the road itself continues climbing uphill into Alabama.

An attempt to visit the five remaining highpoint candidates in the Eastern Cluster resulted in me getting lost on some sandy backroads, so I decided to had back to campus, determined to return and finish my mission another day.

2024-04-06: DAY FOUR (32/32)

That day came the following weekend, when I headed to the Eastern Cluster without getting lost. Audrey once again joining me, I sought to reach the final five highpoint candidates, mostly simple drive-ups in the Byrneville area.

Areas 30, 31, and 32 are all located around an oddly-shaped loop of Stucky Road, Morgan Road, and FL-4A. Area 31 is right on Stucky Road itself, making for little more than a drive-up. Area 30 is in someone's backyard off of Route 4A, so I pulled up a long driveway that wraps partway behind the house to bag some mostly level ground. Area 32 is also near a backyard, but a field just to the south allowed me to park and jog quickly out to the highest ground and back.

The final two candidate spots are north of here. Area 29 is located at the intersection of Grimes and Rockin J Farm Roads, both dead-end roads that were so sandy my sedan had a little trouble driving them, although neither are particularly steep. The final stop in my quest, Area 28, is along the paved Creamer Road just below the state line, another flat drive-up stop.

Flat fields east of Area 28, the end of a lengthy highpoint journey.

Audrey and I grabbed dinner and moseyed back towards campus, my mission and her nap complete. In an area that's notoriously flat and featureless, I had finally conquered a county more challenging than any mighty peaks of the Northeast. Escambia County had been conquered.

While highpointing as a sport has no established 'rules', general practice states that if a location has more than one possible highpoint, you can't claim to have bagged it until you've done all the candidates. Places like Escambia County make me question this convention. However, the convention is still in place whether I think it's reasonable or not, so five months and thirty-two highpoints later, I could finally rest easy about Escambia County.