Pike County High Point Trip Report
Date: February 17, 2002
Author: Bob Schwab
The topo maps cannot be trusted in this county because strip coal mining has continued to change the landscape.
The Folsomville quad was published in 1960 and photo revised in 1980, so we shouldn't be
surprised that big changes have occurred since then. The tailing piles now have trees and brush growing on them,
there are holes and ponds where some high spots should be, and only one natural area remains.
one small area (plus one more in strip mine) in section 5-3S-6W (650+ ft)
Leave Interstate 64 at Exit 54 and drive north on Route 161 for 5 miles to Old Route 64. Turn left (west)
and drive 3.8 miles to 950 E Road. Turn right on 950 E Road and drive north for 1.5 miles to 900 S Road.
Turn left, drive west 0.25 mile to the crest in the road, and park on the north side in a posted pull-off.
The south side of the road is not posted, so hike south into the woods and up the hill to the high point (area 1)
which is very close to a three-way ATV intersection. This is the one remaining natural area in Pike County.
Return to your car and drive down to the 950 E/900 S Road intersection. Turn right and drive south for 0.3 mile,
while watching for a trail that goes off to the right. Park on the left side of the road, enter the woods
here and find a path that starts to parallel the road and soon bends southwest as it ascends a hill. Follow this
path to its crest and then go a bit south into the woods where the high spot of tiny area 2 is located.
This high point is actually the leftovers of a coal mining operation that ceased many years ago.
one small area (plus four more in strip mine) in section 24-3S-7W (650+ ft)
From Route 68 in the tiny town of Selvin, find the Yellowbanks Trail intersection and turn north. In one
mile, turn left (west) on Vincennes Road. Drive all the way to the end of this road. Just before you get to
the turn around area, notice that the land on both sides of the road is posted. Brett Deskin owns a great deal
of this mined-out land, and he maintains a camp over on Coles Creek Road. I showed him my topo maps
and he told me that mining had continued in this area until about six years ago. The road now stops about
0.25 mile south of the county line, but there is still a trail that runs up across the county line and through the
mine dump area where four Pike County highpoints can be found. There is also one high spot in Warrick
County which is located east of this trail, just south of the county line.
I hiked up the trail from where I parked and almost immediately came upon the dump piles. They extend
somewhat south of the county line on the east as well as the west side of the path. Watch for an orange
surveyor's ribbon tied to a tree on the right. This marks the county line (confirmed by Mr. Deskin).
Make your way east into the mine dumps and search for the Warrick County spot just south of the county line.
According to the topo map, this used to be a natural area, but the mine dump seems to be all that remains today.
I found a likely spot (with trees growing on it!) and took a GPS reading to satisfy myself that I was
in the right area. I don't believe this high spot in Warrick County is a natural area. Future visitors can judge
for themselves.
I continued north less than 200 feet into Pike County and found two adjacent high areas in the mine dump
just east of the path. These man-made ridges (areas 3 and 4) are quite close together, but are separated by a
deep trench. Apparently, coal was mined here by digging trenches and piling up the waste on either side.
The eastern area seems a bit higher.
Continue north on the path until it bends to the northwest and starts to descend. As the path crosses a low
area on your right, enter the woods/dump and head in a northeastern direction up the dump piles. You will
cross a couple debris ridges and then encounter a large trench. Cross the trench and ascend more debris
ridges until you see two mounds that appear to be higher than the others (areas 5 and 6). Be sure to keep on
a northeasterly heading, otherwise you'll miss these areas. The northern pile is definitely larger and higher
than the eastern area. Since these are man-made land forms, I'm not sure there's a good reason for future
highpointers to seek these areas out, although the northern area is the tiny spot that Andy's book refers to as
having a 660 foot elevation.
I returned to the path and continued to walk northwest for about 0.4 mile to where a gravel road returns
with a large pond (mine cut) on the left. The topo map indicates there should be a hill on the left, not a deep
cut and pond. Continue following the road northwest for roughly another 0.4 mile to where it meets a good
gravel road (Coles Creek Road), turn north and hike 0.3 mile to a very bad road running east with an
abandoned white car on the shoulder. Walk east for roughly 0.2 mile. Just to the south you should find the
final high spot (area 7) which is supposed to be a natural area. What you'll see today is an open weedy area
to the south, and fairly high debris piles (treed) to the east and west of the large open area. On the north,
from west to east, there is a road heading north, a pond, a hill, and then a low area. The hill on the north
aligns with the open area on the south, and the pond is just north of the western debris hill. I hiked back and
forth on the road, compared the terrain north and south with my topo maps, climbed both debris piles and
took some GPS readings. The easterly debris hill rises at least 25 feet, and the western area is even higher.
The largest trees appear to be growing on the northern side of the western area, which has an ATV trail
running up from the east. This may be part of the original area shown on the topo map, but it has been
significantly altered to the point that only weeds are growing on the east and south sides. Mr. Deskin told
me that this area had been mined until just five or six years ago, and according to him,
nothing is natural here anymore.
I'd like to know what future visitors think about this site. An alternative approach to this area can
be made by driving west on Route 68 from Selvin for about 2 miles to Coles Creek Road. Head north for 3
more miles and you'll find the bad road with the abandoned car to your right. Mr. Deskin's weekend camp is
on Coles Creek Road roughly 1.6 miles north of Route 68, up a short, steep drive to the right.