Having just finished my reconnaisance of Ramsey County's High Point, I continued on to Washington County. Washington County's two candidate high points are marked by water tanks. The northern one is located just off a residential street, at 44° 57' 42"N, 92° 57' 57"W, the southern one is in a restricted area, at 44° 54' 54"N, 92° 56' 48"W. I successfully summited the northern one, but did not attempt entry to the southern one. It was on Saturday morning, August 7, 2004.
I took I-694 east and then south to the 10th Street exit, turned right. I then turned left on Hadley Avenue, then right on Hadley Lane, then an immediate right, and an immediate left.
The water tower was on the right side of the street, raised about three feet above the street. I don't know how much was natural and how much was man-made, but it was an easy walk.
I circled the tower, stepping on all the possible high ground, and returned to my truck.
Round trip time was under 3 minutes.
From there, I drove South on I-694. It changed names to I-494 where I-94 passes through. I took Exit 59, Valley to 2300 Tower Drive. The access road is near the intersection of Tower and Highpointe Road, just to the right of the building at 2300 Tower Drive..
I could see a light on in the building near one of the doors, but got no response to my knocking, it being a weekend. I decided to try again during business hours.
On the following Monday, August 9, 2004, I arrived at 2300 Tower Drive, a building occupied by the City of Woodbury, and whose property contains the high point, and asked for permission to cross the gate and visit the hill. I was directed to Frank Gaillard's office, which was across the street in 2301 Tower Drive. He is the Public Works Superintendent and in a position to grant or deny access. I explained my intention and he granted permission. He was aware that the hill was the highest ground in Washington County.
The gate to the hill was unlocked since it was during business hours, and I walked up the moderate grade, about 24 feet of elevation gain in two minutes.
I circled both the water tower and the radio tower, stepping on all the apparent high ground. The USGS marker was at one time in the middle of the road between the two towers. The block containing the bench mark was in the ground, but the bench mark itself was gone, probably due to vehicle traffic. The witness post was about 30 feet away off the road.
The pile of dirt mentioned by David Olson 4 years ago was still there.
I returned to my truck. Total elapsed time was 9 minutes.
| Family Member | Count |
|---|---|
| Mark | 23 |
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http://www.topozone.com
Minnesota Atlas & Gazeteer by Delorme, 3rd Edition, 2001.
| File Name: | |
| Written by: | Mark Ness |
| Last Revised by: | Mark Ness |
| on: |