Monroe County High Point Trip Report
eleven areas (1,020+ ft)
Date: March 6, 2004
Author: Bob Schwab
From the intersection of US 34 and Iowa Route 97, drive south 4.75 miles,
passing through the town of Russell. The road becomes Route S-56 and jogs
around a bit in the town, but eventually continues south. At the 3.75 mile mark,
the road swings east and in another mile bends south. Continue traveling east
on a dirt road signed as 430 Lane for a total of 4.4 miles. This road will also
jog south and east a few times but keep going until you notice the main road
bending south at the 3.9 mile mark. Continue traveling east on 430 Lane another
0.5 mile to a crooked intersection with the county line road (500th Avenue in
Monroe County, and 340th Avenue in Wayne County). Turn right and go south about
0.3 mile before you park. The contour in the cornfield to your left (area 1) is
actually an intrusion from Wayne County. There is an abandoned house to the
north and a small wooded area to the south.
Continue south on 500th Avenue, crossing 255th Street. Now you are driving on a
large contour (area 2) that reaches south and southeast for over 1.5 miles.
You can walk east anywhere along this road and wander the open fields, most of which
has been dedicated to corn. At the intersection of 500th Avenue and 262nd
Street, you’ll find some long metal barns near spot elevation 1022. I thought
the field south of the metal barns felt a bit higher. About 0.5 mile south of
this intersection, the contour shifts farther east out into the huge cornfield.
Another high-feeling area is east of the road, in the southwestern part of
section 30. If you stroll diagonally along the contour from 500th Avenue to
270th Street, you should be close to the high ground. While you’re visiting
spot elevation 1022, be sure to drive east on 262nd Street about 0.6 mile,
just past where the road jogs south. Area 3 is the contour that goes into the
cornfields on both sides of the road.
Next, drive down 500th Avenue to 270th Street. Turn left and go east on 270th
for about 0.75 mile and park near a fence line going south. This is the
southern terminus of area 2, but there are three more contours nearby.
Hike north, then northeast about 0.4 mile across the corn field to area 4.
This section has been drained/tiled so I don’t know whether the contours we see are natural.
After you return to your vehicle, follow the east side of the fence
line about 0.3 mile south, passing the beans to get to the cornfield where area
5 is located. From here, you can strike out to the northeast across the bean
field to visit area 6, or return to your car, continue east a short distance and
park near a metal barn and bin. From here the hike is shorter and there isn’t
as much squishy field (or mud) to tromp through, but since this contour really
isn’t visible, I suspect that future visitors may decide to skip it.
Continue east on 270th Street to 515th Avenue and turn right. Go south on 515th
for about 0.8 mile to a tan house on your right (#2779). The high ground in
area 7 is in the back yard and cornfield behind Mr. Olsen’s house. You can also
ask him for permission to visit the contour across the street (area 8) which is
in a weedy, overgrown field.
To visit the last three areas, continue south on 515th Avenue to 280th Street
(may be signed as 400th Street for Appanoose County). Turn right and go west
about 0.25 mile to where a road goes south, near a house. The road that
continues east is in very bad shape. Park here and hike north into the corn field
("No Hunting" sign). Area 9 is north about 0.15 mile. Area 10 is another
0.2 mile to the northwest, followed by area 11 .2 mile further. Area 11 is big,
so you’ll want to keep hiking maybe another 0.4 mile west to see it all.
The hike to these three areas seemed more pleasant because the field wasn’t very
muddy and the nearby trees made it seem more scenic, etc....
You can exit this area by driving east on 280th Street for 2.6 miles to Route S-70.
Turn right and go south 0.9 mile to Route 142. Drive a short distance
south on Route 142 to the Rathbun Lake Recreation Area. There is good camping here,
and the drive across the causeway is quite scenic by Iowa standards.