Scioto County Highpoint Trip Report
one area 1 5/8 miles southeast of Mount Joy (1,340+ ft)
Date: September 10, 2007
Author: Andy Hatzos
I approached this highpoint from Rarden in northwestern Scioto County.
I followed OH-772 north from there. Big Bear Creek Road splits off to the east as
OH-772 rounds a big curve in a cleared area at the top of a hill. I followed
Big Bear Creek Road until reaching Mount Hope Road, which is also marked with a
big sign for Mount Hope Bible Camp. I took Mount Hope Road to the south.
There is a cleared area about a mile and a half down the road, which offers a view up
to the county high point (and nearby hills) to the east. Crabtree Cemetery Road
heads east, just south of the driveway for the bible camp. I drove on this road
for about a mile and then parked at a gate on a leftward fork in the road.
The gate was locked but in the event that it is open, the road is in good enough
condition to drive safely in any vehicle.
This road travels mainly north, before bending northeast as it rounds the
elongated hill. The road is not terribly steep and, through the trees,
there are some decent views of nearby hills and valleys to the southeast.
The terrain bounding the road's north side is very steep and there are remnants of
a stone wall along the edge. At the summit, the road makes a sharp hairpin turn back
to the west. Here, I found the footers for what was once a lookout tower.
One of the footers is engraved with the year "1934".
A partial clearing to the east offered some prospects for a great view but
it was rather foggy when I visited and the growth along the side of the hill
made it difficult to see anything below the horizon.
While the main road continues southwest toward a radio tower, the path to the
highpoint is a small trail that begins just north of the lookout tower footers.
This trail enters through the brush and travels north for a short distance
before making a sharp turn to the left. The trail then makes a steep descent
down into a col between the first hill and the true highpoint. The trail
ascends the second hill and leads directly to the summit area. Areas off-trail
are covered in briars and thorns so I had to be careful when trying to find the
highest ground. The crest of the trail itself seemed pretty high to me but
there were a few areas to the west of the trail that I covered just to be certain.
As this hill is covered thickly in trees, there are no views at all.
Overall, the hike took about 55 minutes and the total round trip distance was
just short of two miles.
report with links to photos