Pike County Highpoint Trip Report

four areas within 1 1/4 mile of Spellman Crossing (1,320+ ft)

Date: September 10, 2007
Author: Andy Hatzos

The highest points in Pike County are located near Spellman Crossing, which is nothing but a dot on the map. The points are found a few miles south of Bainbridge in Ross County. I approached from the north and the road due south of Bainbridge becomes known as Pine Top Road as soon as it enters Pike County.

area one

The first two areas are located along Greenbriar Road, which goes east from Pine Top Road. The first area is a rather large contour that falls mainly to the south of a large bend in the road. I pulled up a gravel driveway to the south of Greenbriar Road and found the top of the hill to be under development. There was quite a bit of heavy machinery parked at the top and a foundation was being laid for what will soon be a new house. From what I could tell, this development essentially eliminated the highest point of the hill, sitting on top of what was once the 1336-foot spot elevation. I walked the perimeter of the new foundation, and explored a few areas along the eastern edge of the property line, which is near a barbed wire fence that separates the lot from a nearby field. I later went back down to the main road and took a look at the northern extension of the contour, which crosses the road to the north into a field posted as private property. This section of the contour is clearly lower than the area near the spot elevation.

area two

The second area is further south on Greenbriar Road, located near the first driveway to the east after the road turns from blacktop to gravel. I agree with Bob Schwab that this point is nowhere near as high as the 1336-foot spot elevation and can be skipped. This is especially evident since the point is just down the road from area one. I took a cursory glance and was on my way back north.

Note: The last two points are reversed from areas three and four listed in Bob Schwab's report.

area three

The final two areas are the ones which require the real effort for Pike County. They can both be accessed from Pine Top Road, near where Spellman Crossing is depicted on the map, and right at the spot elevation (1155 feet) on the topo. At this point, which is located in a clearing, is an unfinished grey house on the south side. There is a small house on a gravel road to the north of this point. This house belongs to Bob Fleming, who owns the property to the south and the third area of interest. I first talked to a relative of Mr. Fleming's, who granted me permission to make the trip to the south. The entrance to the road is directly across from the Fleming house and passes the unfinished grey house on the right. The road is not gated but it is not in good enough shape to be driven by any vehicle.

This road works its way generally to the south, ascending a ridge through thick vegetation. Of all of the trails I hiked on this day, this one by far had the highest number of spiders building giant webs from one side to the other. The trail meets up with a few intersections as it meanders south. At the first intersection, not far from the grey house, I stayed to the left. Soon thereafter, I passed a small and derelict cabin signed for "Troop 361." The trail descends a little bit after this and I was sure to stay straight at all future intersections. There is somewhat of a summit about halfway to the true highpoint and I almost got confused and thought I had made it far enough! The trail descends again as it continues to the south but the true highpoint area is fairly obvious. Right at the crest, the trail bends sharply west and then again to the south, as it meets up with another trail that runs to the north. It is right after this intersection that I found the numerous gravestones mentioned in Bob Schwab's report. I only stopped long enough to look at a few but the dates I saw were all from the middle 1800s, with varying ages listed for the deceased -- one as low as seven years old. The distance traveled for area three was about two miles round trip.

When I returned to the trailhead, I met Bob Fleming and we talked a bit about the area I had just visited. The cemetery at the top is mainly from the Civil War era, with some deceased from the Great Depression as well. Its name is either Zion Hill or Mt. Zion. Some of those buried died in the war but others died from influenza. There was formerly an old church on the site as well; Mr. Fleming noted that he has found nails and other assorted items up there using a metal detector. In all, we spoke for about 10 minutes, and it's clear that Mr. Fleming has a lot of history to share about the area!

Mr. Fleming is happy to allow those with a legitimate purpose to access his land, so please ask permission before making the trip. He said there have been some issues with thieves in the recent past.

area four

The fourth area is the hill directly to the north of the Fleming house. Mr. Fleming allowed me to drive back through a small trailer camp to a trailhead. Immediately behind the Fleming house is a large wooden sign for the camp. I turned right here and passed a blue double-wide trailer on the left, then a tan double-wide trailer on the right. The road ends in a small grassy field at the trailhead. This road is not fit for driving, so I parked and began the hike to the north. The topo shows a trail that leads up the hill. While this trail does not exist anymore, the one I followed fairly closely approximates it. In general, as I climbed to the north, I noticed low ground to my west and high ground to my east. Mr. Fleming noted that this trail was part of the original Buckeye Trail wagon road.

There are a number of other trails that intersect with the one I traveled but the most confusing of the intersections is right at the summit itself. The main trail that I traveled seemed to bend off to the east, while a very rutted road intersects from the north. This road has some orange blazes on the trees and is likely the road used in Bob Schwab's ascent. There is another grassy road that heads southwest from this intersection and along the western bank of this road is the highest point of the fourth area. I found the large, hollow tree stump, which Bob mentioned in his report. I thought the highest ground was just southwest of the stump, along the bank of the grassy road.

The distance traveled for area four was about a mile and a half round trip.

report with links to photos