Langlade County Highpoint Trip Report

Kent Lookout Tower (1,903 ft)

Date: January 14, 2007
Author: John Hasch

an attempt

About an hour after leaving Sugarbush Hill, I arrived in the Kent Lookout vicinity. I was heading southwest on WI-52 from Lily and I was watching my odometer as I approached the turnoff into the woods. Like others before me, I initially drove past the gravel road without recognizing it. I drove on until I came to the T-intersection with the paved Kent Road and I knew I had gone too far. I pulled over, looked at my maps one last time and then turned around and retraced the 1/4 mile to the entry point. From the beginning, I appreciated the roads that were established in these woods. Although the roads were not paved, they were wide, snow-covered, and easily passable. Every so often however, the road had debris from overhead branches that had been torn away by the passing of the presumably large logging vehicles. Although the best course would be to steer around the debris, I sometimes took the direct route over it. As I drove through the woods, I attempted to follow the topo map that I had printed from the Internet but it was late, the sun was going down, and I was apparently not reading the map very well. I took a couple of turns and followed the roads deeper into the woods.

At around 5:29 pm, I decided to abort the attempt to find the Kent Lookout Tower. Others had been there before me but today was not going to be my day. I parked my car at one point that I thought might be the correct route but I soon realized after a short 1/4 mile hike that this was not going to get me there. It was dark and I would not see much with my flashlight anyway. After driving over 5 miles into the woods, it was obvious that I had taken a wrong turn somewhere.

I walked back to my car and began the drive out but something strange was happening. The terrain looked different in the darkness illuminated by my headlights. Suddenly everything looked the same and subtle clues I observed on the way in were no longer discernable. I carefully drove back out, making the turns in reverse from what I had memorized but having some anxiousness about whether I was going the right way. I kept driving and watching the odometer. I was quite surprised and relieved when the woodsy gravel roads literally spit me out onto the pavement of the main highway. I was glad no cars were coming from either direction because I surely would have been accident fodder for any unsuspecting oncoming vehicle. My odometer now recorded a total of 10.2 miles, nearly double the 5-mile trip into the woods. So I indeed had returned the correct way. I turned west on the main road and began driving home. My peakbagging attempts were officially done for this trip.

Later, taking another look at the topo map reveals what may be the better approach to the Kent Lookout. From Kent Road south of WI-52, at the intersection that leads right (west) to the Radio Tower. Turn left (east) and travel for about 1/2 mile. Continue on this road through an "S-hook" as the road winds southeast-northeast-southeast for another 1/2 mile. Continue on this road east turning gradually southeast for about 0.6 mile to a T-intersection where the road continues south. The topo map shows 1789 feet as the elevation here. Turn left (northeast) and travel about 0.6 mile to another intersection. Turn left (west) and continue 0.1 mile to the Lookout. Overall, this route is only 2.3 mile from the paved Kent Road, and it appears to offer fewer intersections to confuse the route-finder. This is worth checking out.

I crossed the Kent Road intersection, and at about 5:42 pm, I looked out my driver’s side window. There, nearby, was a red light flashing at a nearby tower, presumably at the radio tower near the Kent Lookout site. A couple miles later, I pulled over to get a look at my maps. The odometer read 909.7 miles. I found a route that would take me 28 miles back to Wausau, the place where today’s activities began. At 6:49 pm, I was on the road again. This time the destination was home!

It was beginning to snow and flakes were colliding with the windshield at a steady pace that had me concerned. The radio reported a large system of snow and ice that was approaching from the southwest. I was told to expect the worst in the Chicago area. High beams were not functional because all they did was illuminate the wall of snow and draw my focus to the windshield immediately in front of my face. I had misread the map slightly. It was a bit farther than I thought. After nearly an hour, at 6:53 pm, I pulled into the Days Inn motel where I had stayed the previous night. I had driven about 46 miles.

At the Days Inn, I went inside because I remembered the lobby had a TV and a computer for internet access. I handed my room key to the attendant (which I had forgotten to do this morning), I explained the long trip ahead, and I sat down to watch the TV coverage of the weather. I also got on the internet to see some of the progressing weather maps. I knew it was going to get worse before it started clearing, so I wanted to leave this area without unnecessary delay. I had a two-hour drive ahead just to get to Madison. I went next door and got two meals at McDonalds, one for now and one to have in case I needed something later. I ate quickly, called home with a report, gassed the tank back to full, and set off south on the interstate at 8:27 pm.

On the drive south, the flying snow limited visibility but the roads were reasonably maintained and apparently not yet hazardous. I do not recall seeing any slide-offs. So I drove near the speed limit by maintaining a safe distance behind the numerous trucks that seemed very willing to blaze on into the white-speckled darkness. We made good time on this stretch and, at 9:38 pm, I pulled off the interstate in Madison. I stopped to rest my eyes, call home again, and fill the tank with gas. In a little more than an hour, at 10:47 pm, I was back on the road again.

Thankfully, the snow and ice storm never materialized with the severity that was predicted. My biggest battle was fatigue. My lack of attention caused me to miss my exit into Indiana, so an alternate route was followed to the same destination at the service area on the Indiana Toll Road. Once there, I rested for about 90 minutes before resuming the trip. After filling the gas tank one last time, I made the last leg of this 1,406 mile journey to arrive at home at 7:50 am local time.