
Subject:
[cohp] Digest Number 5169
From:
cohp@yahoogroups.com
Date:
10/9/2015 1:34 AM
To:
cohp@yahoogroups.com

County High Pointing in all 50 states
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County High Pointing in all 50 states Group
6 Messages
Digest #5169
1a
Congrats, Josh! by "fplobdell" deadbugman
1b
Re: Congrats, Josh! by "Scott Surgent" surgent1
1c
Re: Congrats, Josh! by "xander Carlson" xandathor
2a
Re: Gary Suttle has passed away by "fplobdell" deadbugman
3a
2015 HIGHPOINTERS KONVENTION TRIP - IOWA by jlhcpa
3b
Re: 2015 HIGHPOINTERS KONVENTION TRIP - IOWA by jlhcpa

Messages
1a
Congrats, Josh!
Thu Oct 8, 2015 6:06 am (PDT) . Posted by:
"fplobdell" deadbugman

Hearty congratulations to Josh "Xander" Carlson on his completion of the county HPs of Indiana.  He finished the Hoosier State yesterday, Oct. 7, in Spencer County.  Josh is the third completer of Indiana, and the first to do so in Spencer County.  Indiana has now been completed in two of its 92 counties.

Thanks to Andy Martin for finding this completion, and to Mike Schwartz for figuring out who the completer was.

Fred Lobdell
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1b
Re: Congrats, Josh!
Thu Oct 8, 2015 9:17 am (PDT) . Posted by:
"Scott Surgent" surgent1
I saw the mention on the Facebook highpoints group, but was not aware it
was Mr Carlson until now. Congratulations! The photo of the brambles would
have turned me back immediately.

Scott

On 8 October 2015 at 06:06, 'fplobdell ' fplobdell@embarqmail.com [cohp] <
cohp@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

>
>
> Hearty congratulations to Josh "Xander" Carlson on his completion of the
> county HPs of Indiana. He finished the Hoosier State yesterday, Oct. 7, in
> Spencer County. Josh is the third completer of Indiana, and the first to
> do so in Spencer County. Indiana has now been completed in two of its 92
> counties.
>
>
>
> Thanks to Andy Martin for finding this completion, and to Mike Schwartz
> for figuring out who the completer was.
>
>
>
> Fred Lobdell
>
>
>

-- 
Scott Surgent
Principal Lecturer & Associate Director, First Year Mathematics
Arizona State University, Tempe
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1c
Re: Congrats, Josh!
Thu Oct 8, 2015 4:51 pm (PDT) . Posted by:
"xander Carlson" xandathor
Really hadn't planned on Indiana being my next completion, but Dick getting us access to the Crane naval base and a very good string of winter trips out to the Hoosier State set me on the path early in the year.

Some superlatives from Indiana:
Toughest access: Martin County (Crane Naval Depot) Although I had to go back to a couple counties a few times for access because no one was home, I was never denied access in Indiana when asked.
Best view: The picnic shelter that looks out to the east In Clark County's Knostone Escarpment.
Best hike: Jackson County (if you have the time, hike to the Pinnacle as well).
Most boring: None of Tipton County's 96 areas were even remotely interesting.

--------------------------------------------
On Thu, 10/8/15, Scott Surgent surgent@asu.edu [cohp] <cohp@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

Subject: Re: [cohp] Congrats, Josh!
To: "Egroup" <cohp@yahoogroups.com>
Date: Thursday, October 8, 2015, 11:17 AM


 









I saw the mention on the
Facebook highpoints group, but was not aware it was Mr
Carlson until now. Congratulations! The photo of the
brambles would have turned me back immediately.

Scott

On 8
October 2015 at 06:06, 'fplobdell ' fplobdell@embarqmail.com
[cohp] <cohp@yahoogroups.com>
wrote:















 









Hearty
congratulations to Josh "Xander" Carlson on his
completion of the county HPs of Indiana.  He finished the
Hoosier State yesterday, Oct. 7, in Spencer County.  Josh
is the third completer of Indiana, and the first to do so in
Spencer County.  Indiana has now been completed in two of
its 92 counties.
 
Thanks to Andy Martin for finding this completion, and to
Mike Schwartz for figuring out who the completer was.
 
Fred Lobdell























-- 
Scott Surgent
Principal Lecturer & Associate Director, First Year
Mathematics

Arizona State University, Tempe
 











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2a
Re: Gary Suttle has passed away
Thu Oct 8, 2015 6:14 am (PDT) . Posted by:
"fplobdell" deadbugman

I never met Gary in person, but when I began the county HP column in the Club newsletter, he very kindly sent me an autographed copy of his guide book.  I then sent the copy I had previously purchased to Fen Yan, my California hiking buddy.

Gary's guide book was the first to be published specifically as a guide to county HPs, and it is still one of the best.  While conditions have changed for a few of the cohps, the inclusion of topographic maps makes the book useful for almost all the cohps, as Coby noted in his post.  RIP, Gary.

Fred Lobdell

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3a
2015 HIGHPOINTERS KONVENTION TRIP - IOWA
Thu Oct 8, 2015 10:16 pm (PDT) . Posted by:
jlhcpa


It was an epic personal journey by all measures. The 12 days on the road resulted in 50 new HPs, including 24 additions to the home glob; 3 new state HPs; 1 national monument; and another Washington. The home glob was extended nearly twice as far as it previously reached, and my personal extents pushed to new extremes to both the north and to the west. HPs were summited in 6 different states  3 of which were virgin states on my list. I also set new personal-best completion totals for 1-day, 2-day and 3-consecutive days. I achieved most goals that were set for the trip, with the exceptions being the first stop in Kenosha County, WI and the time constraints that caused me to skip Saint Louis and Red Lake Counties in MN.

For archival purposes, the HPs for the entire trip are listed below. Certain HPs - those whose date is followed by an * - have trip reports below to add information that should be relevant to future visitors to those HPs.


07/15/2015 a WI Kenosha (Access Denied)
07/15/2015 b WI Racine
07/15/2015 c WI Waukesha
07/15/2015* d WI Washington
07/15/2015* e WI Dodge
07/16/2015* a WI Jefferson
07/16/2015 b WI Walworth
07/16/2015 c IL McHenry
07/16/2015 d IL Winnebago
07/16/2015 e IL Stephenson
07/17/2015* a WI Lafayette (Platte Mounds)
07/17/2015 b WI Green
07/17/2015 c WI Sauk
07/17/2015 d WI Juneau
07/17/2015 e WI Wood
07/17/2015* f WI Marathon (Rib Mountain)
07/18/2015* a WI Price (not the HP - Pearson Hill revisit)
07/18/2015* b WI Langlade (Kent Lookout Tower)
07/18/2015 c WI Oneida
07/18/2015 d MI Gogebic
07/19/2015 a MI Baraga (Mt. Arvon)
07/19/2015 b MI Ontonagon
07/20/2015 a MN Cook (Eagle Mountain)
07/20/2015* b MN Lake
07/21/2015 a IA Osceola (Hawkeye Point)
07/21/2015 b SD Minnehaha
07/21/2015 c SD McCook
07/22/2015 a MN Rock
07/22/2015 b MN Pipestone NM (a national monument HP)
07/22/2015 c MN Pipestone
07/22/2015 d MN Lincoln
07/22/2015 e MN Lac Qui Parle
07/22/2015 f MN Yellow Medicine
07/22/2015 g MN Murray
07/22/2015 h MN Nobles
07/23/2015 a MN Faribault
07/23/2015 b MN Freeborn
07/23/2015 c IA Winnebago
07/23/2015 d IA Hancock
07/23/2015 e IA Cerro Gordo
07/23/2015 f IA Kossuth
07/23/2015 g IA Palo Alto
07/23/2015 h IA Emmet
07/23/2015 i MN Martin
07/23/2015 j MN Jackson
07/24/2015 a IA O'Brien
07/24/2015 b IA Carroll
07/24/2015 c IA Sac
07/24/2015 d IA Buena Vista
07/24/2015 e IA Cherokee
07/25/2015 a IA Lyon
07/26/2015 a IA Dickinson




CoHP  WASHINGTON COUNTY, WISCONSIN 1330+ ft., BM 1332
Wednesday, 7/15/2015
The candidates of Washington County are 3 distinct locations, one having a Catholic Basilica atop it, and one having a BM. I did the 3 targets in the order of Holy Hill, BM 1332, and Powder Hill.

I followed Bill Shulers trip report to Holy Hill, which sits right atop the first candidate. There were several others wandering around the site, and the building itself was open to those interested in spiritual pursuits. I wandered up the hill and around the facility. I visited all sides anywhere access was permitted. Since you cant see much of the hill from each of the various nooks and crannies of the church, it is impossible to get enough of a panoramic view to compare one location to another. Wander everywhere you think might be a candidate.

I then left the basilica and set off for the second candidate. You will actually pass this hill to your left (east) as you drive in on Carmel Road. While driving south on Carmel Road, you will come to a point where the road splits. You bear to the right on Stationway Road. I parked a short bit up this road in a nice pullout to the right.

From this parking spot, I headed across Carmel Road, bushwhacking NE into the woods. I soon picked up a blue-blazed trail that took me up the hill. Near the top, I encountered a large boulder. Naturally, I climbed atop the boulder, just because it was there. On top, I found a BM reference marker 1332 cemented into the boulder. I then dismounted and continued along the trail to the true summit which was a couple hundred feet ahead. I was able to find another BM reference marker, but I never did find the true BM.

Total R/T hike from my car to the top was about  mile with about 100ft of gain.

The final stop to complete this county was Powder Hill, located several miles to the north. As I approached the Powder Hill area, at one spot I was able to look across the miles of treetops and see the basilica sitting atop Holy Hill several miles to the south. This was quite a pleasing surprise, and I actually stopped my car to snap a few photos of the structure.

As I approached the hill on Powder Hill Rd, I noted that the road was generally narrow; it did not offer many places to park. I drove past the hill to the north, looking for the best option. Just past the hill, I came to an entrance to Pike Lake State Park Campground. I considered turning and parking, but I decided to turn around and look elsewhere. I came to the farm at 3310 Powder Hill Rd, and I turned in to ask permission to park there.

I knocked, but no one was home. There was a wide grassy area near the road just off their drive, so I decided to take a chance and park there. I walked north along the road and found an entry point into the woods to my left. From here, I simply bushwhacked north and a bit west as I summited the hill. Going in a westerly direction was pretty steep, so I traversed north in more of a switchback manner to gain elevation. This route eventually brought me to the base of a large stone wall. This was not a wall constructed for beauty; it was hundreds of large boulders held in place by a form of wire mesh. The purpose was clearly erosion control.

I traversed the bottom of the boulder wall, and I climbed the hill on the other side, where trees and vegetation provided handholds to assist the steep climb. The top of the stone wall was lined with a long chain-link fence, and I headed for the right end. Once the top was reached, I maneuvered around to the other side of the fence, and I followed my nose. I summited standing on the ground above the fence and wall. Facing this side of the fence was a large sign that read WARNING  STEEP DROP OFF AHEAD. Seeing nowhere higher, I claimed this as the summit.

I found some trails that headed down to the N and NW. I decided to bushwhack down the S side of the hill rather than reencountering the wall. This descent was much easier than the climb.

In retrospect, I believe the best route up the hill would be from the N or NW paths that I just mentioned. I am guessing that there are some trails from the state park or from the Ice Age National Scenic Trail that passes to the W and to the N of the summit. In any case, the R/T I followed was only about  mile, so it is no big deal if you do the same.


CoHP  DODGE COUNTY, WISCONSIN 1230+ ft.,
Wednesday, 7/15/2015
The candidates of Dodge County are 2 distinct locations, one near a windmill tower and one in a farm field. The Jon Mann directions are adequate to visit both locations.

I did the 2 targets by first visiting the windmill site. From County Road AP, I turned north onto the two-track Arthur Road that went past the farm and continued on to 2 windmill towers. I drove past the first and parked near the base of the second. I then followed my nose a short distance north to the highest ground. As I was walking north, I surprised a turkey. The bird squawked a couple times before going airborne to get away from me.

The views from this spot were quite pleasant. You could look off to the north and east and see many farms, windmills and other attractions dotting the rolling countryside. While I was looking in the distance to the NE, I spied what I thought looked to be competing high ground. I did not know at this time, but that ground was candidate #2.

When I arrived at the second contender, I found it was loosely planted in some kind of taller, week-like yellow plant that I did not recognize. I carefully wandered into the field, doing my best to leave the shoulder-high crop undisturbed. I hit the high points and returned to my car. I looked SE and located the first contender but could not determine which was higher.

Someone with a hand level could probably do easy comparisons, from both directions, between the two candidates. I could not make a visual determination just by looking from one to another. I recommend visiting both contours until/unless either contour gets ruled out.


CoHP  JEFFERSON COUNTY, WISCONSIN 1060+ ft.
Thursday, 7/16/2015
The candidates of Jefferson County are 2 distinct locations, and my route to each differs in major ways from the routes and locations described by Bill Shuler. I also have serious questions about whether Bill reached the proper destination when I compare his trip report to the topography of the region.

Busseyville Section 13
For the first area in Busseyville Section 13, Bill describes driving north on G Road. He crosses Dell Road on the left (west) and drives straight to address N4071. He drives to the house at the top to claim the HP.

It might be helpful to have the topo map handy. There are two hills along Highway G in the Dell Road area. One is north of Dell Road while the other is south. The hill having the higher elevation, including BM 1060, lies to the south. Bills trip report describes a visit to the hill to the north. While trying to determine the correct one, I noted that the address to the house atop the northern hill is N4017, a transposition of the address reported by Bill.

The address for the hill south of Dell Road is N3965. This address defines a white house with a number of farm buildings on the property. I turned into the large circular drive and parked there to ask permission to hike on their property. I went to the door and knocked. On about the third try, an elderly woman came to the door. She was very nice, and she knew that her land was the highest in Jefferson County. She granted me permission to hike after consulting with her husband. They are frequent visitor to the top as evidenced by the golf cart path that led up the hill through the tall brush. For a moment, I thought I might get a cart ride to the top. Alas, that offer did not come. But I thanked her for the permission, and I set off.

I followed the cart path SSW past the garden, behind some of the buildings and up the hill. Total ascent was about 100ft. on a hike of about 0.6mi R/T. When you get to the top and a false summit, you need to continue around a woodsy corner to reach the highest part of the field. Once you turn the corner, the highest ground is obvious. Step on all pebbles of interest and call it done.

I asked the farmer about the BM. She reported that her husband had seen it sometime in the past, so I looked around for it. I was not successful in finding a BM. I returned to the car and set off for the second candidate.

Little Prairie Section 26
Uncertain how I wanted to approach this HP, I stumbled upon an alternate route. From the town of Palmyra, travel east on State Road 59, also called the Kettle Moraine Scenic Drive. Turn south when you come to County Road Z. In about 0.6mi, you will arrive at the Emma Carlin trailhead on the right. Turn in and park.

This was a well-maintained nature area that was complete with miles of trails that departed from here. I inquired of a couple bikers that I met, and they told me they believed the HP was about 1.5mi along the trail, projecting a 3mi R/T. So I grabbed my pack and GPS and started hiking on the leftmost orange-blazed trail. I was searching for a bench that would mark the top of the trail.

The trail meandered through the woods, and I became concerned when my GPS had recorded 2 miles. I carried on, and I finally reached the bench. True to their comments, there was a nice view. But the mosquitos were not friendly today, and I did not stand still for long. Sadly, the GPS at this bench showed me to be quite a distance from the HP. There were other trails from here, so I set off on the one marked S to Muir.

Following my GPS, I continued along this trail until it intersected with another wider orange-blazed horse trail. I turned and followed GPS, horse trail and nose until I found the HP after a couple more turns, reaching the HP not far after a turn at an intersection marked by Post 19. I looked around but did not find the BM seen by Bill S. I returned to the parking lot the same way I came.

Back in the parking lot, the trip was actually a R/T of 6.25mi with about 180ft of gain, quite a bit longer than the bikers had projected. But then again, they had the wrong destination in mind. I drank plenty of water from the cold well located there, and I filled a couple water bottles too. As I was about to leave, a caretaker drove into the lot. I approached and asked where I might find a map of the trails system. To my pleasure, he had some park system maps with him! He gave me one before he drove away.

Apart from the hungry mosquitoes, this was a pleasant hike. I would recommend this route to anyone. Maps are certainly helpful, but they are optional if you have the GPS coordinates to the HP. There is no map kiosk at the parking lot.


CoHP  LAFAYETTE COUNTY, WISCONSIN PLATTE MOUNDS 1440+ ft.
Friday, 7/17/2015
The purpose of this trip was damage control. The third time is a charm, they say. Well, I wasnt leaving today without putting this hill to bed once and for all.

Recall that I had previously visited here on 1/13/2007 and then again on 1/18/2008. In 2007, I did not know at the time that this was a county HP. In 2008, I returned. I climbed the south hill again. I knew there was another peak to the north, but I did not have good knowledge of where it was. With only a compass in hand, I headed north. I got to what I believed was the highest ground. I dropped off the hill to the west and did a road walk back to my car. When I got home, I looked and topo maps and realized I probably had not been to the north summit. I had ended too soon. The true summit surely must have been farther north. DRATS!

This time I was prepared. I had good maps and I still had my compass, and I even had a GPS. And this was the first stop of the day, so I had as much time as I needed. I arrived at the south mound and climbed the stairs as before. This time, I noted that the tower complex that formerly was atop the mound was gone. All that remained was a lot of tilled soil that told me the transition had recently been made. I saw the dirt roads that dropped off the back side of the mound.

As before, I headed a bit west of north into the brush, heading for the elusive north mound. I fought some brush for about a hundred feet before coming upon a trail. I did not recall a trail from my earlier visits. Since the trail was trending in the right direction, I decided to follow it.

The trail was obviously there for folks who traveled between the two summits. It was generally easy to follow. It dropped down at the expected place between the two mounds, and it rose again as it climbed the north mound. As the trail continued to rise, it eventually wound its way through some large rocky boulders. For a brief moment, I thought this was the summit. Then I saw that the trail continued on, and so did I. A few minutes later, I arrived at the true summit. My GPS confirmed my location as being where I had targeted, so I finally was able to claim the north mound.

This time, when I bushwhacked west off the mound, I arrived at the road north of the curve at the saddle between the two mounds. This was more of an expected arrival point  another confirmation of a successful summit. I walked around the couple turns in the road and back to my car, pleased that the next time I come here, it will truly be a return. The total hike was about 2mi R/T with about 260ft of gain.

CoHP  MARATHON COUNTY, WISCONSIN RIB MOUNTAIN 1924 ft.
Friday, 7/17/2015
The purpose of this trip was damage control. Recall that I had previously visited here on 1/13/2007. On that date, I had climbed the boulder but failed to reach the top because of icy conditions. In 2007, I did not understand that climbing to the top of the mountain meant climbing to the TOP of the rock pile.

On this day, I returned under summer conditions. I had good soles on my feet, and climbing the rock was no problem once I identified my line of attack. I placed my hand on the summit, and I claimed this county done in true CoHPer fashion. The only concession I made was driving to the top rather than climbing the 400ft mountain.

I performed extensive searching for the BM here. I

WHILE IN THIS AREA:
Of tangential interest to HPers, Marathon County is also home to N45.000 W90.000, billed as the center of the northern half of the western hemisphere. This is one of the few land-based convergences of significant latitude-longitude coordinates.

The true location of this spot is in a farm field just NW of the town of Poniatowski. There is a county tourist attraction set up on Meridian Road to the west of the true point of convergence. If you stop there, you will find several signs explaining the history of the place, as well as a proxy BM placed in the ground here to celebrate the nearby famed point. It will take you just a few seconds to say Been there, done that.

That county park is said to be the smallest county park in Wisconsin. I learned that when I visited at the home of the person who lives nearest to the grid point. After looking at a satellite view of the area, I drove to R439 Lovers Lane, the home just NE of the cross-point. There, I found a well-kept home complex. I knocked at the door, and a shirtless, shoeless man answered. I told him why I was there, and he offered to walk me to the point of interest.

This man had lived here a long time, and he was aware of the fame of his land. He formerly was a ginseng root farmer until he retired. He sometimes placed a marker in the field that highlighted the exact spot. But this year the field was in corn. We walked to the edge of the woods to the east and to the north of the spot, and he showed me some flags he had placed on trees and stakes that pointed to the cross-point. We were still about a hundred feet away from the true point, so I cannot in good faith claim this stop as a completion.




Not the CoHP  PRICE COUNTY, WISCONSIN PEARSON HILL 1951 ft.
Saturday, 7/18/2015
The purpose of this trip was damage control. Though not the county (or state) HP, Pearson Hill is interesting to CoHPers because it shares a BM reading of 1951 with the state HP on Timms Hill. Recall that I had previously visited here on 1/14/2007. On that date, I did not have good location information. I had followed my nose into a field near the farm at the top of the hill. I was way off target, I found, when I got a look at a topo map. So I returned today to the Swanson Farm, determined to make this a successful summit.

I knocked at the farm door when I arrived, but no one answered. So I moved my car to a more permanent spot and set off to find the HP. From the farm house, I traveled N along an open grassy path into the woods. I continued generally NW and followed my compass to the ridge. I then utilized my GPS to confirm that I was approaching the summit area. I wandered around a bit and was successful in finding the Pearson Hill BM.

I returned to my car by bushwhacking SE. When I got back to Risberg Rd., I walked a short bit uphill to reach my car and Wisconsins Highest Farm. The total hike was a bit less than 1mi. R/T.

The thing I dont understand is this: the Timms Hill BM is stamped 1952.868 Ogema Tower. The Pearson Hill BM is stamped Pearson Hill 1950.447. My math says that is greater than a two foot difference. So this was an interesting exercise, but why is it considered to contend with Timms Hill for the HP title?


CoHP  LANGLADE COUNTY, WISCONSIN KENT LOOKOUT TOWER 1903 ft.
Saturday, 7/18/2015
The purpose of this trip was damage control. Recall that I had previously visited here on 1/14/2007. On that date, I arrived just before dark and took a stab at finding this HP on poorly-marked forest roads. In 2007, I abandoned my search when it got dark and I became concerned about just finding my way out of the maze and back to main roads.

On this day, I returned under full daylight conditions. I carefully followed the Mitchler trip report as I drove into the woods. As I arrived at mile 2.7, I noted a faint road going off acutely to the right. It was quite overgrown with floor brush, but no new trees had filled in the road. Closer inspection revealed a rusty gate that was now permanently open. I felt this might be the place. So I turned in and actually drove up the path about 1/10 of a mile before parking on the road. A skilled jeep driver might have driven all the way to the tower.

I walked along the path for about  mile. It was obvious that a road had been here in the past; it was just as obvious that the road had been abandoned long ago. True to the topo map, the road went straight until you reached a point where you made a slight bend to the right. It was not until that point that you saw the tower.

I walked around a bit, looking for a BM. I never did find one, though I did observe the broken concrete mentioned in the David Tlusty trip report. I snapped a few photos and returned to my Jeep the same way I came, satisfied that another red county had been turned yellow. Total trip from the car was about .75mi R/T with maybe 100ft of gain.

This county concluded my damage control efforts for the trip. From this point on, each HP was a new effort in regions never before traveled.


StHP  LAKE COUNTY, MINNESOTA STONY TOWER HILL 2080 ft.
Saturday, 7/18/2015
Conditions havent changed much from prior trip reports. After climbing Eagle Mountain earlier in the day, I set off to visit Lake County and the Stony Tower that sits atop Stony Tower Hill. Previous trip reports will get you there, but I would like to suggest a different approach. Let me tell you why.

Like most previous visitors, I traveled north on MN 1. When I reached Isabella, I knew I was getting close, and I became more watchful. I continued west and arrived at Forest Road 103, the Stony Loop Road. My GPS confirmed that this was the proper place to turn, so I turned left and continued generally in a SW direction.

I saw the unsuitable for standard passenger cars sign, and the sign did not lie! I was glad to be driving a 4WD Jeep with good clearance underneath. It was easy to see a two track road on the ground, and trees had not filled in the floor of the way. But the next 2.6miles were driven in virtual white-out conditions because of the growth of the weeds, small trees and other brush on either side of the vehicle. The brush completely engulfed the vehicle, growing up and meeting the brush from the other side of the way. My vehicle had a road to travel, but nearly the entire way was accompanied by brush and small tree limbs scraping the sides of the car. I could see nothing ahead of me; I just pressed on, believing that I was on the right way. At one point the brush was strong enough to cause the mirror on the passenger side of the car to pivot to a rest next to the car body.

Fortunately, the brush thinned as I neared the HP. Around 2.5mi, I carefully watched for signs of a road to the right (north). There it was! I found a road heading north, a road quite similar to the one I had just traveled. I parked and surveyed the damage.

The constant whipping of the brush had left many faint scratches in the paint. Not gouges, but several noticeable small scratches none the less. My new Jeep had received some battle scars.

The hike north was quick. I would guess it was about 600-700ft before I came to some witness markers and some concrete piles that I concluded were the former tower footings. I never found a BM. I took a few photos and wandered around before heading back to my Jeep.

My car GPS noted the presence of a road intersecting ahead, so I decided to venture out a different way. That turned out to be a great decision. The topo shows an abandoned railroad bed just west of the Stony Tower Hill. It turned out that a nice, wide, gravel road has been constructed atop the railroad bed. This was Forest Road 380, and I followed it about 2.2mi to its intersection with MN 1.

To recap, future visitors can travel MN 1 to FR 103. But If you continue 1.3mi further west on MN 1, you will arrive at an intersection  Isabella Station. Turn left (SW), and follow this gravel forest road 2.2mi to an intersection with FR 103. Turn left (east), and travel 0.6-0.7mi around a big curve to the south, then north, then back east. Watch for the faint road to the left after you resume traveling to the east, and park. Hike the 600-700ft NE to the site of the former tower. Taking this route is a lot cleaner than the former route to this trailhead on FR 103.



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3b
Re: 2015 HIGHPOINTERS KONVENTION TRIP - IOWA
Thu Oct 8, 2015 10:28 pm (PDT) . Posted by:
jlhcpa
One additional note of interest - On Saturday morning at the Konvention pancake breakfast, I discovered a tick that was attached to the back of my left thigh. I showed it to some others who sat with me, and they agreed this tick was engorged and had probably been there for hours - probably since yesterday's outings. Rather than pulling the tick off, they encouraged me to seek medical attention. So I left the pancake breakfast and drove to the Sibley local hospital. There, I was directed to a doctor's medical clinic rather than being treated at the hospital. The doctor who saw me was, coincidentally, in Iowa on a short term assignment from Warsaw, Indiana, a community about 40 miles from my residence. The doctor pulled the tick off with tweezers and wrote me a precautionary prescription (the tick was not infected) for antibiotics which I proceeded to take twice a day for the next three weeks. The time spent chasing the doctor and the prescription caused me to miss the formal activities at the HP. I also missed an impromptu trip to nearby Lyon County made by a group of highpointers. However, I was fortunate to obtain trip notes from another HP'er who had made the trip the previous day, so I set off on my own and bagged Lyon County not long after the group.

John Hasch
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