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Ascent of Charles Mound on 1992-03-10

Climber: Greg Slayden

Date:

Tuesday, March 10, 1992

Ascent Type:

Successful Summit Attained

Motorized Transport to Trailhead:

Car

Peak:

Charles Mound

Location:

USA-Illinois

Elevation:

1235 ft / 376 m

Ascent Trip Report

In Madison, WI I called back the realtor in charge of showing the highpoint property--the woman said it was fine if I were to arrive at the Glanville estate around 4:30 P.M.--no problems with getting to Charles Mound. After buying a candy bar in the UW Student (it was like Houston Hall at Penn) I walked back to my car, taking a longer route on some residential streets and around the far side of the capitol, thoroughly freezing myself again.

I was later than I thought when I got back to the car, so I just drove for the next hour and a half, straight to the town of Scales Mound, IL, via a whole bunch of back streets in Madison at first, then U.S. 18 southwest, a nice four-lane road, then bushwhacking south on local routes through farm country and the towns of Darlington and Shullsburg. On WI County Route L, a serious back road, I crossed into Illinois and saw Charles Mound to my left. I came to the town of Scales Mound and followed the directions in Paul Zumwalt's Fifty State Highpoints book north and west to the entrance to the Glanville Estate, where I followed a narrow dirt track through a small forest and then up a hill to a farmhouse/barn area, where the road ended. There were cars there, and probably people in the house, but the realtor said I just had to put three dollars in a white mailbox, which I found, and go on up, which I did.

My "hike" to the 1235 foot summit of Charles Mound involved an elevation gain of 85 feet and some bushwhacking when I lost the snow-covered trail momentarily. I soon arrived at the top of the elliptical mound, marked with a little fort-type shelter, a fenced-in highpoint sign, and a tree. I took pictures to record my state highpoint #44, looked around, and retreated soon, because it was awfully cold and windy up there. I returned to my car, thought I would go give the three dollars to the people in the house, but couldn't get the money out of the mailbox, so I just drove off without seeing anyone. I assumed the realtor had let them know I was coming.

Photo: A bitter cold winter's day on the highest point in Illinois.

Summary Total Data

Elevation Gain:

85 ft / 26 m

Trailhead:

1150 ft / 350 m

Grade/Class:

Quality:

2 (on a subjective 1-10 scale)

Route Conditions:

Road Hike, Maintained Trail, Snow on Ground

Weather:

Frigid, Very Windy, Clear

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