Clinton County High Point Trip Report

seven areas (940+ ft)

Date: January 20, 2002
Author: Bob Schwab

These seven areas are just a few miles northwest from the relatively easy highpoints of Hamilton County, but don't attempt this county unless the fields are clear.

Find your way to the small settlement of Terhune on Route 38 and drive north 1 mile to the Boone/Clinton County line. Route 38 bends sharply left (west), but continue north on 1200 E Road for 0.5 mile to 700 S Road and turn right. Go east for 1 mile to 1300 E Road and turn right (south). Drive just 0.1 mile and park along the road. Out to your left (east) in the field is a low rise (area 1).

Backtrack to the intersection of 1200 E and 700 S Road. Proceed north on 1200 E Road for about 0.25 mile to a field road going to the right. Park here and explore the low rise (area 2) that crosses the road here. I felt the highest spot was on the west side, not far from the road.

Drive south on 1200 E Road to the intersection with Route 38 on the county line. Turn right and drive west on Route 38 as it swings sharply right and left, and then approaches a house on the north near the intersection with 1150 E Road. No one was home when I stopped by, but the house and yard cover area 3.

Turn right on 1150 E Road and drive north for almost 0.4 mile to a slight rise in the cornfield on the left, very close to the road. This small spot is area 4.

Return to the intersection of 1150 E Road and Route 38. Cross Route 38 and go south on 1150 E Road 0.1 mile and park along the edge of the road. The woods and buildings shown on the topo map are no longer evident. Out in the cornfield to the west is an obvious rise with a thin ridge than runs north-south (area 5). This site has some prominence and it feels like it is the highest spot in the county, but due to dimming light, I wasn't able to do a hand level check of all the other likely candidates.

Return to Route 38 and travel west to 1200 E Road. Turn right (north) and proceed about 0.25 mile, passing a house and yard to the east. Park along the road near the northern edge of their wood fence and walk west along a field line to a low rise that crosses from south to north. Originally, I was confused by a more northerly contour that appears to be a bit more prominent, so here are my coordinates for the correct location of area 6 (40° 11.199' N, 86° 18.058' W).

To visit area 7, return to the intersection of 1200 E Road and Route 38. Cross the intersection going south and immediately park on the right near a fence that runs west. Walk west along the south side of the fence for 0.5 mile to a rise in the cornfield (area 7). I originally tried to approach this spot from the north, but found the intervening fence to be too high and sturdy to easily surmount. This site feels high like area 5, but hand level checks were not done because of pending darkness. Future visitors should bring a hand level and check these areas further.