Saint Joseph County Highpoint Trip Report
three small areas in SW 1/4 of section 10-36N-2E (930+ ft)
Date: March 24, 2001
Author: Bob Schwab
From the US 31 bypass interchange on the south side of South Bend, Indiana, drive south 3.3 miles on US
31 to Madison Road (Citgo Station). Turn right and drive west for 1.1 miles to Locust Road. Continue
west for another 0.5 mile, passing a Bison farm, to Maple, which goes off to the south. Across the street
from the Maple intersection is a farmhouse with another house behind. I knocked at both homes but no
one answered the door.
The first two points are in the bean field just east of these homes and north of Madison. It appears that
the first point (closer to the farmhouse) is the higher of the two.
The third point sits back along a fence line that runs due north from Madison, about 0.25 mile east of the
farmhouse mentioned earlier. While one could just hike along the fence line for about 0.5 mile to point 3,
I thought it might be better to approach from Locust Road, where a large house sits near the top of this hill.
I found the owner, Mr. Vern Casteel to be friendly. He told me that there was a marker somewhere
on his property, but he had never found it. I did find his marker (BM Reliable), but it is not near the
highpoint. From Mr. Casteel's house, go southwest across his lawn and another bean field to an obvious
high spot along the fence line. There is a telephone pole sticking up through some underbrush, and there
are a few rocks that protrude about 1 foot above the soil on the west side.
I would recommend that visitors to this site seek permission to enter. Mr. Casteel has a very large dog
that appears to roam free.