Highpoint #31: Wisconsin

The Highest Point in Wisconsin!

After a full day of driving to the highpoints in Ohio and Indiana, my wife and I decided to call it a night in Lafayette, IN.  The next day we continued onward to Wisconsin for another highpoint. 

Our route took us through Madison, which was a charming city.  We were treated to a man walking out on the middle of a lake (a testimony to the temperature) and really great fried cheese curds.  North of Madison, the interstate eventually turned over to a state road, and then everything got a bit rural.  There was some uncertainty about how well the roads were going to hold up as we pushed deeper and deeper into the Wisconsin hinterland.  Leaving the small hamlet of Tomahawk, WI, we held our breath for the next 20+ miles of nothing but snow-lined road, hoping the turn-off to the highpoint would be passable by car. 

The county road turn-off was only partly passable.  We tried following an adjacent road through some rolling hills out past Timm’s Lake, but that only took us farther away from the highpoint visible in the distance.  With completely snow-covered roads, I was a bit afraid of encountering an icy section, which would not spell well with all of the rolling terrain.  Fortunately, we never slid, and we never got stuck.  Realizing our error, we doubled back to the intersection with the county road and parked. 

I figured I would just have to hike in from where I was, since I would not be able to get any closer by car.  So what is almost a drive-up in the summer was a full on snow hike in the winter.  This was going to be fun!

A Cross-Country Skier Made My Day a Little Bit Easier!

I considered donning snowshoes, but I was actually in luck.  The snow, while high enough for snowshoes, hadn’t drifted and it was nicely packed down in the middle by a cross-country skier who must have recently passed through the area.  I decided to just follow the path on foot.

A Very Useful Sign for Getting My Bearings

Walking over a couple of hills, I came upon a sign that indicated that I was on the “High Point Ski Trail”.  There was a small hand-drawn illustration showing three different routes.  This was the clearest indication that I was on the right path, literally.  I kept following the path until it eventually intersected with a snow-covered road.  I knew from the illustration, that I would likely to need to follow this new road, lest I continue on the trail I was on and loop back around.  Sure enough, I quickly saw the trailhead for the highpoint in the distance. 

Finally! The Trailhead for Timm's Hill.  

There was a pretty large, covered picnic area, space for a good-sized parking lot, and a visitor’s register.  I signed in and once again took my bearings.  To the left there was a sign indicating that the Timm’s Hill Observation Tower was a mere 300 yards away by trail.  

Pretty Close Now.  

The Trail to the Summit

All (slightly) up hill of course and in the snow, but again, I was lucky enough to encounter ski tracks leading the way up. 

A Really Peaceful Walk!

Bench Along the Way

It was a pretty easy jaunt along some switchbacks that eventually led to a clearing.  I had climbed Timm’s Hill!  Before me was the observation tower.  

Observation Tower at the Summit

I made my way up to it and encountered the Highpointer’s mailbox at the base of the steps (see top photo).  I signed the summit register inside of it, and made my way up the steps.  Carefully.  The steps had quite a bit of snow on them and had some icy sections.  

The Steps Could Use a Little Grooming

I made it to the top, though, and had great views all around.  There were plenty of trees, lots of snow, and everything just looked frigid.  

View from the Top of the Observation Tower.

Detail of the Adjacent Radio Tower

The view straight down was a touch harrowing -- cool!

The View Looking Down

I descended the observation tower and made my way over to the adjacent tower.  There was nothing particularly special about this tower, except for the fact that it sits upon the true highpoint of Wisconsin.  Walking onto its base, there was a small concrete column, which had the USGS benchmark marker on top of it.  I took a vanity shot and officially tallied my 31^st highpoint – yay!

Summit Marker Beneath the Radio Tower

Vanity Shot at the Summit Marker

I walked around the area some more, took one last photo of myself in front of the observation tower, and made my way back down to the trailhead.  

Vanity Shot in front of the Summit Tower

Once again, it was a race against the sun.  I had a headlamp on just in case, but I was able to make pretty good time heading all the way back to the car, just beating the sunset once again.  Onward to Minnesota!

Highpoint #30: Indiana

Summit Rock for Indiana's Highest Point!

I was able to finish up pretty quickly at the highpoint in Ohio, and I continued straight on to the highpoint in Indiana.  The good news was that the Indiana highpoint is located just across the border with Ohio, making it relatively close by.  The bad news was that the sun was due to set at 5:15pm and my estimated arrival time was the same exact time.  This was going to be a race against the sun. 

Now, technically, the Ohio and Indiana highpoints are only a mere 78 miles apart, but it does take some time to travel the distance due to the series of rural roads that must be negotiated.  In fact, the theme is that the roads become progressively more rural until they culminate in a farm lane just short of Hoosier Hill.  Yes, the highpoint of Indiana is, once again, another “hill”.  So no spectacular mountain climbing at all was in store, rather this was going to be an easy drive-up instead. 

 The turn-off for the highpoint was not signed from the farm lane, but I was able to deduce where it lied, since the Google Maps directions were so accurate.  There was a small area to pull into next to what I presume was a cornfield earlier in the year.  A sign was there proclaiming the area to be Hoosier Hill, “Indiana’s Highest Point” with an elevation of 1,257 feet.

The Highest Point in Indiana!

Walking from the car, it could not have been more than 30 feet before the path turned right into the adjacent woods.  At the turn, the true highpoint was immediately visible in the distance.  Another 30 feet, and I was there.  It was that easy, making for a nice counterbalance to some of the more difficult highpoints I have climbed in the past, like Mt. Hood, say. 

View of the Summit

At the highpoint, there was a Highpointer’s mailbox with a summit register tucked inside.  I dutifully signed my name and noted that this was my 30^th highpoint – yay! 

Vanity Shot at the Summit Register

Also, in the mailbox, there were souvenir postcards with photos of the site and, strangely enough, driving directions to the highpoint.  Presumably one would have figured out that part by this point. 

Souvenir Postcard:  Face

Souvenir Postcard:  Reverse

There was also a summit rock that was engraved with the elevation and exact latitude and longitude coordinates.  Sadly, even though the sun did not quite yet set by this point, the wooded area made for a much darker space, compromising the quality of some of my photos.  I even had to use the flash.  Oh, well.  Additionally, there was a picnic table, so one could have a longer respite here on a warmer day. 

Vanity Shot Atop Summit Rock

Stepping out from the wooded area, I was able to get a pretty good view from the highest point of Indiana.  I guess I should get bonus points for catching the sun just as it was disappearing from the horizon.  I could not have timed this closer!   

View from the Top:  The Sun Kissing Indiana Good Night!

Highpoint #29: Ohio

 

The Highest Point in Ohio!

I haven’t been on a highpointing road trip since August!  The problem is that I have already highpointed most of the states that are relatively near to me in D.C., so topping out in new states takes a bit more of planned effort.  Looking over the map of the U.S., I saw a swath of “unclimbed” states in the northern Midwest that I might be able to reasonably cover in a 5-day trip.  To heighten the difficulty, I decided to go in December just before Christmas.  The plan?  Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa.  Boy, was I in for an adventure…

The highpoint in Ohio is tellingly named:  Campbell Hill.  Indeed, the highest mountain in all of Ohio is just a hill.  It is located near Bellefontaine, about an hour east of the Indiana border and about an hour northwest of Columbus.  Coming in from the east though, I had a nice leisurely drive across the entire state.  Bucolic views abounded, save for a brief stretch through Columbus where I was treated to a modest skyline and an amazing Reuben sandwich (seriously, check out Katzinger’s Deli).  I was fortunate enough to have cool, calm weather most of the day and only a touch of rain.  The roads were great!

Finding the highpoint was pretty straightforward.  After following the main road out of Columbus for a while, I only needed to leave this road for a mile to drive up to the highpoint.  It was well signed making for a minimal detour, all in all. 

On the way to the summit, I passed through the Ohio Hi-Point Career Center, which is apparently collocated there.  I just followed the signs to the highpoint, and I eventually was able to park my car just short of it on top of the hill.  Being a weekday, the gate to the property was open, so I was free to make my way straight to it. 

It is a pretty small affair, really.  There is a sign in the parking lot proclaiming “Highest Point in Ohio” and giving the elevation.  

This is a Well-Signed Highpoint!

There is a brick column with a stone inlay that also says “Highest Point in Ohio”.  

View of the Summit from the Parking Lot.  Note the Stone Inlay in the Column. 

Walking just past the column along the sidewalk will take you to a third sign that says, you guessed it, “The Highest Point in Ohio”.  This third sign (see top photo) actually says quite a bit more giving some of the history of the site including its use in the Cold War.  

A Close-Up View of the Summit.  

Near the sign are two benches, a flagpole, a stone marker in the ground, and, of course, the official U.S.G.S. benchmark marker marking the true highpoint.  

USGS Marker Marking the Highpoint and Giving the Exact Elevation.  

On the way out, I was sure to stop back at the brick column.  Along its side there were two main compartments.  One was for “Visitor Registration”, and the other was for “Points of Interest”.  

Be Sure to Sign the Register!

The former houses the official summit register along with complimentary certificates.  Seriously.  

They Really Go All Out at this Highpoint.  

The latter includes brochures for things to do in the nearby area.   I took one, but really was I hard pressed to keep moving so that I might make the Indiana highpoint before sunset -- no mean feat given the very short days of winter!

The View from the Top!  Note the Presence of Snow.