Koochiching County Highpoint Trip Report
two spots (1,520+ ft)
Date: November 11, 2006
Author: Nick O'Connell
Parked at the Seventh Day Adventist Church south of Northome. I followed a
large trail past a deer stand south of the church. After the deer stand,
the trail climbed the hill back to the northwest to the western point.
This was quite easy to identify and to reach.
The entire week prior to my hike there had been hard frosts so I took a chance
bushwhacking to the eastern point. I was hoping that this would help to avoid
the swamp mucking that Mark Ness had suffered through. Armed with my topo map,
compass, and GPS I started through the woods. I had programmed coordinates for
the highpoint location and the 1510+ hill. Visibility was quite good through
most of the woods this time of year due to the lack of leaves on the trees and
very few conifers in the area. I kept a track for the 1510 hill and followed
the path of least resistance. This lead me directly through the swamps shown on
the topo and I ended up skirting along the southern flank of the 1510 hill.
From here it was a short hike to the top of the highpoint area which is very
wide open, apparently due to logging in the area.
After stomping on all ground that appeared to be the highest, I made my way back
to the church. I followed a similar path back on a straight beeline from the
eastern point to the western one. This route will only work in the late fall
due to the many swamps in the area. I did not see a drop of water the entire
hike and the swamp beds were actually the easiest routes to navigate due to less
tree growth. If at all possible I would recommend attempting this highpoint
from late October to November.
Total hike: 3 miles, 1 hour 19 minutes, 170 feet of gain.