|
|
Illinois • Iowa • Minnesota • Michigan • Wisconsin • Indiana • Ohio |
Dates Climbed
Distance
Conditions
Click on the thumbnail to see a full-size version
Mark Ness' Minnesota
Return to the United
|
The goal of this trip was to visit each of the state highpoints surrounding the Great Lakes and some nearby bordering states. I had a few days open between terms at ASU, so I allotted about a week to visit seven state highpoints. I just needed the weather to cooperate.
I took an early flight from Phoenix to Chicago, landing at Midway Airport, where I got my rental vehicle. It was fairly easy to figure out the road net out of town, and I was on my way to my first state highpoint, Illinois' Charles Mound:
Charles Mound is a small elongated hill in the extreme northwest corner of the state, a remnant of the long-ago glaciation of most of North America. This area, extending up into Wisconsin, is covered in these low hills, called middens. The rest of Illinois is completely flat.
The drive here was eventful: I hit some thunderstorms along the way, and also busted by eyeglasses which necessitated a stop to a drug store for a repair kit (note to self: get that Lasik done). It was in the mid-afternoon when I arrived in the city of Galena on the state's western edge, along the Mississippi River. The city has giant bulwarks and gates that can close to protect it if the river should flood. From here I drove some smaller highways to the town of Scales Mound, and from here to the Charles Mound access road. The hill stood up over the flatness, set back a ways behind some fencing and intermittent trees.
The hike was short, walking up a road to top out on the hill. There was a small sign and chair set nearby. The views were nice, especially looking north into Wisconsin. The weather was behaving and I had no troubles at all. The whole out-and-back journey took about 40 minutes. From here I drove into Iowa and stayed the night in Cedar Falls. The weather got interesting again, perhaps a little too interesting for my comfort level.
(Note: Charles Mound is now privately owned, but the landowners allow access on selected weekends during the year. The National highpointers club would have the dates. Please don't go unannounced. When I visited, there was no restriction in place.)
Cedar Falls turned out to be a nice little city, but during the night the storms got active, enough to spawn some twisters south of the city but with little damage and no deaths. The day started kind of unsettled, and I was on the road early, with over 250 miles of driving ahead of me. The Iowa state highpoint is located way up on the state's northwest corner with Minnesota, near the town of Sibley. Scenery consisted of farms the whole way out. No variation whatsoever. But the weather had improved nicely, cool with a breeze. In four hours (late morning) I had arrived at the Sterler farm, location of the Iowa highpoint.
The Sterlers have long welcomed highpointers to their point of curiosity; all they want is a quick hello. I knocked on their door and Mrs. Sterler answered and we had a friendly chat. She always asks where you're from, as they literally get visitors from all over the United States, coming here just for the priviledge to stand on the highest land in Iowa. The highpoint itself is at the end of a big feed trough, with an old Iowa license plate reading "HIGHPT" affixed to the end. The farm fields drop away ever so gently. You can actually feel like you're at a highpoint. In all, a very pleasant visit, and I had a great time. For a $1 donation you can also buy a keychain, which I did. I spent 20 minutes total at the highpoint and chatting with Mrs. Sterler.
From the Sterler Place I entered into Minnesota. I spent the rest of the day driving up and across to the extreme north-east corner of the state, passing through Duluth, and arriving around 8 p.m. in the little town of Grand Marais along the shores of Lake Superior. In all, I had put in over 700 miles of driving today, with just one easy state highpoint to show for it. This would be the theme for the trip, it seemed. In Grand Marais, it was pretty cold! At this latitude there was ambient light outside until after 10 p.m. The drive from Duluth to Grand Marais was on the Lake Superior shorefront and profoundly gorgeous. Forests and cliffs meeting right up to the water, with just enough room to fit in a highway. Eagle Mountain was on the agenda for tomorrow.
In Grand Marais I got another early start and drove the couple-dozen dirt road miles to the Eagle Mountain trailhead, arriving about 6:30 a.m. with the sun already high in the sky. I was the only person there. Previous reports had mentioned the area swarms with mosquitoes, and sure enough, they were everywhere. I came prepared: I dressed up in long pants, long sleeves, gloves, hat and face netting, plus spray. Then I got moving. Eagle Mountain is located within the Boundary Waters Wilderness Area, a region stippled with hundreds of small lakes, ponds and connected by a mazework of streams, a canoeist's dream. The hike was pretty nice, too. The trail generally stays low and often is planked and on wooden supports to help cross the swampy, boggy ground.
After passing a few lakes the trail starts a short and moderate incline for the last mile to the summit, with the last few hundred feet taking awhile since the summit always seemed to be around the next bend, for instance. However, by 8 a.m. I was at the top-most rocks, where a large plaque is affixed to one of them, marking the highpoint of Minnesoota. I took a self-portrait with my camera, exposing my head long enough to get bit a few times by the mozzies. A wonderful overlook is found along the trail just before the summit. This would a great place to sit and enjoy the scenery, have a picnic or cuddle your sweetie, presuming the mosquitoes don't carry you off or suck you dry.
The hike back was equally pleasant. I arrived at my car around 9 a.m., and quickly changed out of my hiking clothes and into more comfortable duds. Nevertheless, those damned mosquitos nailed me in about a dozen places. Mount Arvon in Michigan was next on the agenda.
I left Eagle Mountain around 9 a.m. and it took most of the day to get to the area around Mount Arvon, in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, backtracking via Duluth and the northern section of Wisconsin before entering the U.P. I showed up at an information kiosk just outside of L'Anse at 5 p.m., just before they were going to close. There, I was given excellent and updated information on getting to the highpoint. They were most helpful.
Getting to Mount Arvon involves driving through miles of gravel logging roads in the forests, which can be tricky if the route is not well marked or if the roads are in poor shape. Fortunately, the information provided to me was accurate and up-to-date, and I negotiated the bumps, mudpits and washouts in the road with little problem to get within a few hundred yards of the top. The route is blazed with blue diamond-shaped directional signs, which are most helpful. However, I was told that souvenir hunters, and maybe the locals, regularly take them down.
Once parked, I hiked the rest of the way, following the road, but I think even a good high clearance 2-wheel drive could get to within feet of the highpoint. After a short hike, I was at the USGS benchmark and registry on the top of Arvon. There is no good view from the forested top, but there is a clearing along the road about 1 mile northwest of the hill that gives a relatively unobstructed view of the heavy forest atop Mt. Arvon. Happy, I retreated and retraced my steps to L'Anse, then south to Iron Mountain on the Michigan-Wisconsin state line. I stayed in Iron Mountain for the night.
The "old" state highpoint was Mt. Curwood, at elevation 1,978 feet, only a foot lower than Arvon. A survey in 1982 (about then) found Arvon to be higher by a foot. It's probably a good idea to do both, but I did not. Curwood is located nearby but I didn't do it. If I'm ever in the area again I might give it a go.
There was no compelling reason to get up with the roosters this morning, so I slept in for the first time on the trip, leaving Iron Mountain in late morning and making the easy drive into Wisconsin to Timms Hill, located in the north-central part of the state. I arrived around 1 p.m. in fine weather. The area is developed as a county park with a lake and some trails. The highpoint is up a short old road/trail to a lookout tower, which can be climbed up for great views above the trees. Back down I found someone willing to shoot me with my camera. The photo shows me in my mulletted gloriousness giving the "22" sign, my 22nd state highpoint.
The whole excursion took very little time, and was enlivened by a bunch of little kids, all out on a field trip, making all sorts of noise and running around. They seemed pretty happy. I spent the remainder of the day driving south into Illinois, where I stayed in Winona in the middle of nowhere. The weather had become rotten again. I had one more day to go, with the highpoints of Indiana and Ohio next on the list.
As an aside, apparently there are other hills in the area with possibly same or similar elevation. I have to assume the state surveyed this area carefully to declare Timms Hill the highpoint. If it should come to pass that it is not, then I'll go back, I guess.
From Winona, I made a very long drive through the midsection of Illinois and into Indiana, passing through Indianapolis in very heavy rain. The Indiana state highpoint is on its eastern border near Ohio, and in time I had arrived, as the weather had improved to overcast conditions. As usual, finding the darn place was more of a challenge than the hike. The hill is just a gentle rise in farmlands about 10 miles north of the Interstate. The hike consisted of walking up a road access, and climbing over a stair-step stile over the barbed-wire fencing into a small clearing marked with rocks and a sign for the Indiana highpoint. And that was that. Indiana, done. Not much to say, really. From here I continued east into Ohio and its highpoint at Campbell Hill. Weather still kind of murky.
I entered into Ohio at Greenville and promptly got lost, following the wrong highway out of town before catching myself and turning back. I worked my way east a little more to Bellefontaine and Campbell Hill, which sits within a Vo-Tech college. On weekends the college is closed and fencing keeps out riff-raff like me, but I hadn't driven thousands of miles to get stopped by no gate or fence, so after walking the area and getting a head full of ideas, I simply scaled the fence and jogged to the highpoint hill, crossing a nice grassy lawn to get there. I snapped a photo then returned, spending as little time on the forbidden ground as possible. Back at the parking lot some other guy rolled up with the same perplexed look, seeing the fence blocking his way to the highpoint. I told him what I did, and then got rolling myself. This was state highpoint number seven for the trip, and my 24th overall. And I was done... ready to go home. I spent the night in Fort Wayne before driving back to Chicago the next day for my flight home. A very successful trip!
|
|
(c) 1998, 2011 Scott Surgent. For entertainment purposes only. This report is not meant to replace maps, compass, gps and other common sense hiking/navigation items. Neither I nor the webhost can be held responsible for unfortunate situations that may arise based on these trip reports. Conditions (physical and legal) change over time! Some of these hikes are major mountaineering or backpacking endeavors that require skill, proper gear, proper fitness and general experience. |