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Ill. - Ia. - Minn. - Mich. - Wisc. - Ind. - Oh. |
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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 remnant of the long-ago glaciers that once covered most of North America (whether it's a midden I am not sure). In any case, it is a true hill located way up near the extreme northwest corner of the state north of the city of Galena and nearby the small town of Scales Mound. The Wisconsin boundary is just a few hundred feet to the north. My drive to Galena had some action: a big thunderstorm for part of the drive made things interesting. I also dropped and busted my glasses at some point. Note to self: get that Lasik surgery! (I did, in 1999). I arrived in Galena in mid afternoon and made my way up the local roads to the Charles Mound access road. I parked and made the easy hike up to the top, and there I was. State highpoint number one for the trip, done. There is a private home near the top, a stone's throw from the highpoint.
At the time no advance permission was needed to visit the highpoint. Since then, a couple (the Wuebbels) purchased the home and surrounding lands. They allow visitation only during a few weekends in summer. On my visit, there was a little sign at the highpoint. Anyway, I spent a few minutes here to look around, admiring the countryside. It was an easy walk back to my car. From here I drove into Iowa at Dubuque and made my way west about another hundred miles to Cedar Falls, arriving at dusk.
Cedar Falls turned out to be a nice little city, but during the night the storms got heavy - 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 fairly 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... they literally get visitors from all over the United States, coming here just for the priviledge to stand high 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 keychains, which I did (I've long since lost it, though). After my visit I went north a short bit and entered into Minnesota.
I spent the rest of the day driving completely up and across to the extreme north-east corner of Minnesota, passing Duluth, which I enjoyed, and arriving around 8 p.m. 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 - about 140 miles - was right on Lake Superior 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 an 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 moderate incline for the last mile or so 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 there at the top 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 list.
I left Eagle Mountain around 9 a.m. and it took most of the day to get to the area around Mt. Arvon, in Michigan's upper peninsula, backtracking via Duluth and the northern bit of Wisconsin before entering the Upper Peninsula. 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 Mt. 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 Mt. 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.
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 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 in Illinois I made a very long drive through the midsection of Illinois and into Indiana, passing through Indianapolis in a very heavy rain. The Indiana state highpoint is on its eastern border area 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. I found it after a spell of driving and parked. The hike consisted of walking up a road access, and climbing over a stair-step stile over the barbed-wire fencing into a small cleared area 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 into Greenville (OH) 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 to get some 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 shutting his way to the promised highpoint. I told him what I did, and then got rolling myself. That was state highpoint number 7 for the trip, and 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!
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(c) 1998 - 2007 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. |