Highpoint #20: Rhode Island

Roadside Summit Sign

I have to confess that it didn’t take too long after my cross-country road trips, to want to head out on the highway again in search of a few more highpoints.   It’s strange.  The more highpoints that I visit, the more I want to visit new ones.  This time around, instead of focusing on southern states, I wanted to head up into New England to visit a couple of highpoints in a quick turn-around weekend.  I was all set to go, too, when news reports were overtaken with warnings about Nemo and it being the storm of the century.  A quick inspection of the swath of land that contains Rhode Island’s highpoint showed an estimated 3 feet of snow -- yikes!  I dutifully sat out the storm and decided to try for it the following weekend.

Jerimoth Hill Trail

Note the Hours!

My first stop was Rhode Island!  The highpoint is Jerimoth Hill, and it is located just across the border from Connecticut, in the northern portion of the state.  Being named a “hill” and rising only to 812 feet, one could quickly dismiss this highpoint all together.  Surprisingly though, this highpoint used to be the hardest one to visit out of all 50 states!  For a long time the highpoint was contained on private property and the owner became quickly tired of people visiting his property nearly every day of the year.  He forbade access, put up “no trespassing” signs, installed motion detectors, chased people off his property, and really did everything in his power to prevent people from visiting the highpoint!  Over the years though, he passed away, the land changed ownership, and was ultimately donated to Brown University.  Now access can be had on any day of the year, provided the visit occurs between the hours of 8am and 6pm. 

The Trail is Well Signed!

When I arrived post-Nemo, there was snow everywhere, but the roads were all perfectly clear.  I saw the summit sign from the road, and found the pull-off area at the crest of the hill.  Across the street from the pull-off area, there is a hand-posted sign on a tree marking the “Jerimoth Hill Trail”.  The snow was deep, coming up past my ankles, so I had to switch into my hiking boots and break trail.  Cool!

Unbroken Trail Leading to the Summit (about 10" deep)

Routefinding seemed obvious enough, even with all the snow, due to the wide berth between the trees.  To make it even easier though, there were several signs along the way marking the trail even though the trail could not have been more than half mile long. 

Deviation for Reference Mark #1

Reference Mark #1

Walking along the way, there was a deviation for a reference marker.  The posted sign made it pretty obvious where to dig, and I soon discovered a USGS survey marker that points in the direction of the true highpoint.  Yay!

USGS Survey Marker

Continuing on some more, there was a second deviation, presumably for another reference marker.  The sign simply said “station mark”.  I dug up snow all around, but I could not find anything.  I am sure in the summer it is perfectly obvious what is being pointed out, but in the winter it was anything but.  I eventually gave up and pressed onward. 

Second Deviation:  A Station Mark (couldn't find it)

I soon came to an open field.  This field serves as an observation area for Brown University to observe the stars.  It makes sense.  Being the highpoint of the state, there is a guaranteed unobstructed view of the skies within the vicinity of the summit. 

Observatory Area for Brown University

Just off of the corner of this field, there was signage for the boulder that is taken to represent the true highpoint.  It was completely covered in snow and topped off with not one but two rock cairns!  I spent some time cleaning up the summit area, and dug out a green metal box that contained the trail register.  Signing the book, I was surprised that I was the first visitor to the site in nearly 2 weeks time! 

Official Summit Register for Jerimoth Hill

I scanned the rocks a bit to see if there was a USGS marker on the rock, but I could not find one away from the rock cairns.  I assume that there is a benchmark marker on the rock or nearby since they had a directional marker on the way.  I am further assuming that said benchmark marker is probably directly underneath one of the two rock cairns, but I did not want to disrupt the structures to verify.  I am not entirely certain on what the rock cairn etiquette is, but that just did not seem like the right thing to do at the time. 

View of the Summit Draped in Snow (note the rock cairns)

I took a vanity shot of me sitting on the boulder by the summit register and decided to call it a day.  My twentieth highpoint!! 

Vanity Shot at the Summit with Summit Register in View

Beyond the open field, there was really no view to be had.  I simply retraced my steps back to the car, and decided to press onward, deeper into New England.     

Highpoint #19: Mississippi

Return Cross-Country Highpointing Trip, Stop #3

Vanity Shot at the Summit of Woodall Mountain

Steadily heading home from California, we dipped south from Tennessee to visit the highpoint of Mississippi.  Near the small town of Iuka, the highpoint is located very close to point where the borders of Alabama, Tennessee, and Mississippi all intersect.  Fortunately, for this weary traveler, the highpoint is located pretty close to major roads, so this was not the biggest of deviations. 

The highpoint itself is called Woodall Mountain.  Now, mountain is probably a generous term for a summit whose elevation is a mere 807 feet!  With that said, what Woodall Mountain has going for it is that its summit actually does have prominence.  Indeed, one can actually make out the hill and its peak from a distance, which can not be said for the highpoint in neighboring Louisiana, for example. 

Thankfully, the Highpoint is Very Easy to Find!

The directions to the mountain were pretty easy to follow, all the more so with fairly good signage along the way.  The final approach to the summit is an unpaved road about a mile in length that winds its way up the hill.  The entrance to the road is prominently marked with a sign from the Highpointers Foundation which gives some background on the highpoint.  For example, by reading the sign, I learned that the mountain is really a “monadnock”.  Yay, my first monadnock!  

200' of Elevation Gain!!

After a quick photo stop, we continued on blithely with our winter ascent.  While the road was unpaved, there was nothing really remarkable about it.  The mile passed by rather quickly, and we soon found ourselves at the top.  Really this was a relief after all of the ice and snow at the Missouri highpoint. 

Fancy Summit Register!

At the top, there was some concerted effort to make the place special.  There was a shiny, new black mailbox that contained the summit register.  Beyond the mailbox, there was a large boulder that at one time contained a plaque that commemorated the place.  Said plaque was sadly missing from the boulder on my visit.  Seriously?  Yes, seriously. 

Um, Where is the Plaque???

Only in Mississippi...

In front of the boulder though, there was raised cylindrical mound of cement that housed the USGS marker that officially marked the highpoint.    

Official USGS Benchmark Marker

To the side of the boulder, there was a bench where one could have a rest.  There was also a posted sign displaying a phone number that one can call for a “self-guided audio tour”.  I guess Woodall Mountain is one of the --many-- highlights of Tishomingo county, Mississippi.  Who knew?  We opted not to call for additional information, but it’s good that the local community is pretty enthusiastic about what their area has to offer. 

Wait There's More!  Explore Tishomingo County!!

I wish I could report that we spent some time taking in the view before departing, but there really was not much to see from the summit.  Worse, we were kind of itching to just head home after all of these travels.  So we bade Woodall Mountain adieu, and called it a wrap.    

Highpoint #18: Missouri

Return Cross-Country Highpointing Trip, Stop #2

Vanity Shot at the Summit

After visiting the highpoint in Kansas, we continued eastward across Kansas into Kansas City, Missouri.  While not on the way home, we opted to dip down from there into southeastern Missouri in the Ozark plateau, to visit Taum Sauk Mountain which is the highest point in the state.  Off the interstate, the drive was pretty slow going.  Perhaps the two cross-country trips were starting to take their toll, but I was kind of anxious to finally make it to the mountain and be done with the back-roads traveling for a bit.  We eventually made it to Taum Sauk Mountain State Park and began winding our way up the mountain.

We Made It!

The path to the summit area is entirely paved, making it, technically speaking, a walk-up highpoint.  Of course, being winter, the road was less than agreeable.  A bit shy of the summit, the road was covered in snow and ice.  My fiancée was at the helm and, surprisingly, opted to keep driving rather than hoofing it the rest of the way.  We came upon a sign for the overlook and pulled over by it thinking that we had driven all the way to the top. 

Any Idea Where the Arrow to the Summit is Pointing?

Overlook Area

Just getting out of the car, we had to take great caution with each step.  It was really icy here!  I had to be especially cautious about not slipping.  We ambled over to the lookout area and took in the scenery.  The observation deck jutted out a bit, and the view was unobstructed, so it was the best vantage point all around.  By comparison, the actual summit is wooded, so there are no views to be had.

View from the Overlook

Speaking of the summit, we realized after a few minutes that the observation area was not the actual summit.  So we began exploring, on foot, farther up the road.  Again, taking care with each step, we eventually came upon a sign for the trailhead area.  The trail is the Mina Sauk Falls Trail which leads to the highpoint and then onward to a nearby waterfall.  It also joins up with the famous Ozark Trail.  On this visit, we were just interested in the summit.  

Trailhead

The Trail to the Summit and Beyond!

Interestingly enough, there was a warning about local wildlife.  Unlike the previous highpoint warnings of rattlesnakes and mountain lions, here they warned you of the threat of skunks and raccoons.  We were definitely in safer parts.   

Beware Raccoons?

We followed the paved walkway for a bit, and came upon the highpoint of Missouri.  Amid the snow, ice, and trees there were a few scattered boulders.  Just before one of the boulders (presumably the highest), there was a nice square granite plaque marking the highpoint.  We posed for the necessary photos and spent a moment scouting around.  

The Summit!

Detail of Summit Marker

There was a bench to the side, but we were not going to make an extended visit.  We opted to simply return back to the trailhead and down to the car.  It was nearly dusk, and it was pretty cold.  It really was time to go.  

Lonely Bench at the Summit

Again at the helm, my fiancée braved the downhill drive on the ice and snow and we were soon out of the park entirely unscathed and on our way (eventually) to Mississippi whose highpoint I missed on the way out…   

View from the Top (actual summit)