Highland County Highpoint Trip Report

spot elevation on Washburn Hill (1,343 ft)

Date: September 10, 2007
Author: Andy Hatzos

I approached this highpoint from the west, starting in downtown Hillsboro. US-50 heads to the east from Hillsboro and I followed this until reaching OH-124, which splits off to the southeast. OH-124 continues roughly eastward until reaching the small community of Marshall. I stayed straight and continued on OH-506. At this point, a series of prominent hills became visible in the distance. The tallest of these is Washburn Hill, the county highpoint.

On OH-506, just before reaching Carmel at OH-753, I took Carmel Road to the south. Carmel Road rounds a few hills and eventually makes a right turn at an intersection. I continued straight on unsigned Millerstown Road. As this road turns to the east, there is a long and rutted driveway that leads back to the base of Washburn Hill. Bob Schwab's report mentions this as Paul Miller's farm. When I got there, I found few signs of life. The house on the property appeared ready to collapse and the trailer and barn showed no signs of recent use. I left a note on my dashboard and proceeded up the access road, which is near the barn at the end of the western bend of the driveway. There was no gate on the access road but it is not fit for driving, and there are no places to turn around.

The road travels steeply through the woods, eventually reaching a power line right-of-way on the east edge of Washburn Hill. The ascent is steep here as well but the views are incredible! The road bends back to the west near the top of the hill. It follows the northern edge of the treeless field on top of the hill; this part of the hike is much less steep. I walked west to the far western edge of the field and then cut south into the center. The field at the hill top is grown about waist-high but is easy enough to walk through. It makes discerning the highest ground a little difficult but I spent a few minutes wandering to be reasonably sure I touched it. There are a few cleared areas that run lengthwise through the center of the field, which does make the task a little bit simpler. Given that the hill top is rather flat and that the field is surrounded by tall trees, there are no views.

Overall, the hike took about 35 minutes and the total round trip distance was around a mile and a half.

report with links to photos