Saint Louis is Minnesotas's largest county, and 6th most populous. Its high point is one of four peaks on Pike Mountain, east of the lookout tower where the high point is assumed to be. I attempted to reach this summit on November 20, 2004, after completing Carlton County. I successfully attempted it on May 28, 2005. For that report, click here.
I found these directions on the website shown below. It is from 1997. In 1998, Inland Steel was acquired by Mittal Steel. In any case, I did not see any markings at any point on the trip showing ownership.
"From Virginia go north on highway 53. Turn east on highway 169. Approximately 4.5 miles from highway 53 turn right (south) on gravel road. (Approximately 0.5 miles east of Florenton Cemetery.) Proceed south for one mile until you come to Inland Steel Mining Gate. Permission for access is required. From end of Inland Steel Property, follow trail along clear cut due south. Main trail will eventually turn west, another (4-wheeler) trail continues south up Pike Mountain. Follow this trail up the mountain and continue beyond lookout tower site. Follow plot instructions from lookout site." (http://files.dnr.state.mn.us/ecological_services/nongame/projects/consgrant_reports/1997_Johnson-Groh_sign.pdf, page 8)
There are no roads approaching Pike Mountain from the south, but there are roads and trails that approach from the north. I came through Virginia, Minnesota on U.S. Highway 53, north to the western terminus of Minnesota State Highway 169. I drove northeast on 169 for 4.55 miles, then turned south onto Saint Louis County Road 305, then an immediate (0.04 mile) right onto C.R. 368. .Like Bob Packard and Michael Schwartz before me, I followed this road south for a mile. From there, I'm unclear what exactly happened with them. I suspect that Packard drove this road south to the foot of the mountain. From Schwartz' report I think that he concluded that this road is impassable at a swamp, as are the other roads in the area, so he then understood Packard's notes as describing a route that went through (at that time) an unlocked gate, and south to the mountain. I suspect that Packard did take the road that I tried, and was able to negotiate through the swamp.
What I did was, I turned left on an unmarked road 1 mile south of the 305/368 intersection. The road was narrow, but easily passable by standard passenger car. At about 0.5 mile, I saw a road going south, which I figured was the road shown on the maps as the one that goes generally toward the lookout tower, but it was too rough for the vehicle I was driving, so I continued east. At 0.6 mile, the road dipped under water level and narrowed too much for the car,
so I backed up and parked in a small area big enough to turn around in.
Then I walked past the point where I turned the vehicle around, and around the water. Shortly after that, it curved around to the southeast. Then, it split--one trail continuing straight, the other curving west. I followed the straight trail, but could soon see from the lack of trees and the presence of reeds that it was about to enter a large swamp. I turned around and followed the other trail, which was becoming more and more narrow, to the point of being only wide enough for an ATV-size vehicle. Not long after that, it joined the north-south road that I initially saw as too rough to drive on.
I was able to walk on this road, but it was muddy in places, and under ice-water in others. In fact, there were several places where large ice chunks had been displaced from the tire tracks by a vehicle that had passed by some time that day, I presume. In warm weather, I could probably drive my truck on this road, but 4WD would be preferred. I kept walking south on this road, at times walking around large wet areas.
I got within 2.5 miles of the top, but was concerned for several reasons. One is that my GPS was showing that I was approaching the lookout tower at an obtuse angle, which I couldn't understand because the road should have been going almost straight for it. Secondly, it was about an hour before sunset, which on a cloudy day would be darker even earlier. Thirdly, I had no flashlight, and fourthly, my wife had made reservations at a pizza restaurant in Superior, Wisconsin for 8:30.
I conceded this one with my late start, my poor use of routes in Carlton County, and the lateness in both day and season. I decided to turn around after about 15 minutes after curving onto the road, and return to the car.
I then thought to check out the locked gate just north of the tailings pile. That is a high pile. On the way there, just past the east-going road, maybe 100 feet, was a grass-covered road that eventually curves to meet the main east-then-south going road, shown on the topo map as a dotted line. That might be more friendly to vehicle traffic, but I did not attempt it, nor did I attempt to pass through the gate to see what that road looked like.
| Family Member | Count |
|---|---|
| Mark |
On my second attempt, I approached from the east, from Lake County.I came through Babbitt.
From the intersection of County Roads 21 and 70 in Babbitt, I drove west on C.R. 21 for 24.9 miles, and turned left onto S.H. 169.
From there, I took the same roads south to the roads I tried earlier.
This time, I parked at the grass road and kept walking south, to the locked gate.
I hopped over the fence, and turned left (east) around the north side of the embankment.
I was curious what it looked like from the top, so I walked up the road. I was expecting to see a large pile of waste iron tailings, but it was a large pond. There was a 1-foot diameter pipe, which was pumping water northward, across the grass-covered trail, but not going as far as the gravel road.
I continued walking east, then south, as the road followed the eastern edge of the embankment. The road continued to hug it, and gradually climbed uphill to the point where it became level with the top of the embankment. Here, the pond did not need a wall to keep it from flowing out, because the ground was high enough there. A curious thing happened, when I got to that point. My cell phone regained its signal, and I began a conversation with my wife at home. However, when I took a step in any direction, the signal faded.
Then, the road curved to the left and I continued on it. Mike Schwartz was right--a bike would have been a better choice. If I'd have had room in my vehicle, I would have taken it, for both this and Roseau County.
Shortly after, I got my first view of Pike Mountain. At this point, I was about 2.4 miles from the lookout tower. Then the road changed from a dark grey gravel to the normal brown gravel.
I continued on this way for some time, until it curved westward and joined a grass trail going north and south. The northeast corner of this intersection was marked as Private Property. I didn't want to go that way anyway, so I turned left and walked up. It was about this point that I realized that my assumption about Mike Schwartz' analysis of the roads was incorrect. This was the only way to go.
This road ascended more quickly than the previous road, and became more rugged. I walked over this bald, and downhill a short ways, then uphill on the trail marked on the topographical map. It was on this part of the trail that the batteries in my GPS failed. I had along several pairs, but they were all dead or nearly so, except for the last pair I had. It was good. Had it not been, I would have had to consider turning back, for even with the map, I doubted that I could find my way to the fourth hill in this heavily wooded area.
Nevertheless, I made it up this trail and arrived at the remains of the lookout tower. I climbed the glacial erratics nearby.
From here it is 0.65 mile to the 1950' contour. I did not enjoy the prospect of bushwhacking that far, but there is a trail that continues along the same general direction, but more easterly, from the tower site.
This trail wound around generally over hills and through valleys, often through rock fields, the ATV trail continuing through them. That interested me considering how rocky this area is.
This trail became unrecognizable about 0.2 mile from the top. From here, I bushwhacked. I found a 3' erratic, probably the same one that Packard and Schwartz found, and, like them, I looked around and saw the 10' erratic behind some trees.
It was a fairly easy ascent up this rock. It took me 2 hours and 3 minutes to get here. I rested briefly on top, wondering how the pioneers of this cohp found their way here.
I returned the same way I came. Total time was 3 hours and 52 minutes.
This was the last Minnesota county of this trip, and my 85th Minnesota County High Point so far. From here, I got on to U.S. 53, drove back through Virginia and Duluth, into Douglas County, Wisconsin.
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http://www.topozone.com
Minnesota Atlas & Gazeteer by Delorme, 3rd Edition, 2001.
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| Written by: | Mark Ness |
| Last Revised by: | Mark Ness |
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