Saint Louis County High Point Trip Report
Date: October 19, 2001
Author: Michael Schwartz
Approach: From the junction of MN 169/21, go SW 1.8 miles on MN 169, and turn left (south) onto CR 305.
This turnoff is also about 4 1/2 miles northeast of the US 53/MN 169 junction. Make an immediate
right where CR 368 bears left, and take CR 305 one mile south to a locked gate just before a huge tailings pile.
Whereas Bob Packard was able to drive this road another three miles south, the gate is now locked,
requiring hiking the next three miles around and past the tailings piles to the base of Pike Mountain.
The route is not posted. I checked other dirt roads near the gate, but they all deteriorate and end at
impassable swamps. The main dirt road shows signs of a lot of travel, but I never saw a soul.
Hike: The road would be snap on a mountain or street bike, but I used foot power. There is not a bit of shade,
and this would be a hot walk in midsummer. Beyond the gate, turn left at the tailings, eventually
swing around to the right, and then head steadily south. Pike Mountain isn't even visible for the first mile or
so, and looks depressingly far away when it first comes into view. Pass under a power line as you approach
the mountain. Close to the mountain reach a fork where the gray colored road you've been on swings to the left.
Take the lesser two-track road to the right which looks to be the track road shown on the topo curving
southwest toward the section number 25. Reach a "T"-shaped intersection with another track road,
go left and climb gradually, passing over a rock clearing, after which the grade gets steeper.
Lots of ATV tracks.
Reach the summit, where only the concrete tower footings remain, and find the BM. From here, Bob Packard's
details of the ups and downs to the fourth and highest knob are right on. Use a compass to get a
bearing from one knob to the next. The boulder/ highest point on knob number four still has a faint footprint
in the moss, and I wondered if it was Bob's.
Total round trip took about 3 hours 40 minutes, and the bushwhack from the
first knob to the fourth and back took a little over an hour.